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2018M A R K E TOEMAILBENCHMARKS T U DYPresented By:Sponsored By:
As the overwhelming response to this studyindicates, email marketing continues tobe one of the most important marketingchannels. Companies count on it to establishtheir brand, build a client base, and guidecustomers through the lifecycle. Those who doit well have developed a thoughtful strategythat determines who, what, and when to email.But how does the process work in your organization?Who’s responsible for building templates, generatingcontent, coding, design, and approval? Is it a well-oiledmachine or a daily struggle? And do you have the toolsyou need to be successful?We want to show you how your process - and yourresults - compare to those of other companies. We wantyou to know what’s working and what isn’t, so we’vecompiled the largest email marketing benchmark evertaken for Marketo users. The results are from companiesacross a variety of industries, and it reveals some of thebiggest challenges and opportunities companies justlike yours are facing.1We’ve compiledthe largestemail marketingbenchmark everfor Marketousers.
ABOUT SURVEYRESPONDENTSOur respondents have a wide range of annual revenues, but on average, they’vebeen using Marketo for 3.6 years. Most have between 50K and 500K records intheir database.How many records arein your database?24%6%12%21%18%13%46%12%36%7%4%1%Annual Revenues 0 - 1 Million 50 - 500 Million 1 - 50 Million 1 Billion 50k 100K 250K 500K1M50K 100K 250K 500K5M5M NotSure1MAverage: 3.6 Years19%19%16%17%10%9%6.59%MILLION1234567 The average company hassent nearly 6.5 million emailsduring their lifetime usageof Marketo.How long has your company been usingMarketo?2
WHERE ARE THERECORDS COMINGFROM?Legacy Systems are the most common acquisition sourcefor respondents databases. Events and webinars makeup the second largest group, followed by list purchases.Events/WebinarsList PurchaseOtherSalesLegacy SystemsOrganic ContentPaid 25%18%14%12%12%10%8%9%6%6%3%SmallPercentageN/A36%
WHAT’S THESTRATEGY?Almost everyone does at least some nurturing, butnearly 60% do primarily batch and blast.Even though batch and blast emails are historicallyineffective, companies continue to rely on them, sendingidentical content to everyone in their database. WithMarketo, companies can segment their database andsend personalized emails to the right person at theright time. A focused, targeted email strategy will leadto higher open rates and help them maximize theirMarketo investment.4%36%59%Batch and Blast with Some LeadNurturingMostly Nurture with Some Batchand BlastEMAILPERFORMANCEBatch and Blast, No o-OpenRate.3%UnsubscribeRate4MEDIAN EMAILPERFORMANCE
Deliverability Rate by List PurchasePercentage 1%0%Open Rate by List Purchase PercentageLarge PercentageDecent PercentageSmall Percentage-1% 1%-3.2%-.2%-1.1% 4.1%N/AMedian: 94%Median: 16%Click-To-Open Rate by List PurchasePercentage-2%-2% 9%Unsubscribe Rate by ListPurchase PercentageLarge Percentage 0.1%Decent Percentage 0.1%Small Percentage 3%0%-0.1%N/AMedian: 9%Median: 0.3%Deliverability Rate by StrategyOpen Rates by Strategy 1%Mostly Batch & Blast0%Median: 94%-1%Median: 16%Unsubscribe Rates by StrategyClick-To-Open Rates by StrategyMostly Nurture 3%-1% 4%Mostly NurtureMostly Batch & BlastMedian: 9% 0.01%0%Median: 0.3%How do your email performance resultsstack up? Take a look, and then considerthis:on purchased lists had an average rate ofonly 15.1%.Legacy Systems and list purchases continueto be the least effective data sources.Companies who rely largely on thesesources experience significantly lower Openand Click-to-Open rates. In addition totesting how changing subject lines or linkswithin emails affects results, companiesshould consider their acquisition sources.What’s your strategy? Have you developed atargeted plan, or are you among the 60% whodo primarily batch and blast?Where are you getting the files in yourdatabase? Respondents report an averageopen rate of 19.3%, but those who rely heavily5
AND WHO’S PUTTINGTHE EMAILS TOGETHER?One caveat:When the design and coding processesdon’t go as planned, marketers tendto take the situation into their ownhands. This leads to delays, and itshifts the team’s focus away from morecritical tasks.82% of respondents have fewer than 5 peoplebuilding emails at their company. Further,many companies do not have the in-houseHTML, development, and design help they needto create compelling, effective emailsand landing pages.1%3%3%12%How many people build emails atyour company?82%0-530-505-1050 10-30Do you have graphic designersin-house?Do you have HTML/developmentresources in-house?24%41%YesNo76%59%6
HOW ARE THEYBUILDING THEM?We asked if these companies use templatesto build their emails, and the answer was anoverwhelming yes: 94% are using a template,and 51% are using a Master 2.0 template.63% of respondents report using an agencyto design and develop their template, but nomatter who designed it, 88% say they’re happywith the Master template they’re using.However, only 13% said their template was builtin less than a week, which means that 87%of respondents need at least 2 weeks - andsometimes more than a month - to get theiremails out the door.When you build emails, do you use atemplate?How long did it take to completeyour template from start to finish?6%13%13%Less Than A WeekYes1-2 WeeksNo33%40%3-4 Weeks4 Weeks94%4%10%14%82%Which version of theMarketo email editordo you use?13%50%40%37%87%Do you use a master2.0 template?63%Are you happywith your mastertemplateDid you use anagency to helpdesign/develop yourtemplate?New (2.0)YesYesYesLegacy (1.0)NoNoNoThere areversions?Not Sure7
SO WHAT’S THEPROBLEM?For 93% of respondents, lack of resources isa concern. They may have a good idea of thedirection they want to take, but they lack thepersonnel, funding, and expertise to make ithappen.This is likely due to the fact that the developershave neither the time to support themarketing team nor the expertise to specializein email creation. The ability to do both is aunique and highly specialized skill set.More than 90% say that coding and designare also problematic. And remember: 60%and 76% report that they have in-house HTMLand graphic design help, respectively. Soeven though they have coders and designerson their team, they’re still having troubleproducing emails.Another 85% report that using the Marketoeditor is a problem, even with the 2.0 version.The time marketers spend managing theselimitations adds to delays in email deployment.How big of a problem are each ofthe arketo %26%19%13%18%14%52%5%50%5%43%Pretty Big27%25%21%17%12%10%20%17%13%8%A BitNo Problem8
WHAT DOES THEPROCESS LOOK LIKE?86% of respondents said they require some typeof approval for emails, but only about half saidthey have a formal approval process at theircompany. Less than half said they utilize projectmanagement or collaboration systems to trackrequests and facilitate the creation of emails.This results in missed approvals, long processtimes, and disparate documentation. Marketingdepartments need to drive collaboration andmanage approvals, but they aren’t properlyequipped to handle them efficiently.Do emails require some typeof approval before they aresent out?Do you have a formalapproval process at yourcompany?14%51%49%86%YesDo you use a projectmanagement system totrack email requests?Do you use a collaborationsystem to help facilitate thecreation of emails?No61%55%45%39%9
THE BOTTOMLINEThe vast majority of organizations don’thave the resources they need to developthe content, design, and coding necessaryto produce emails. Marketers must also findefficient ways to overcome internal challenges,because without a clear workflow, valuabletime is being spent determining content andtracking down approval.Further, organizations need to consider theirdatabase sources and email strategies as theyreview performance results. Relying on LegacySystems and list purchases leads to belowaverage open rates.emails, but using it effectively requires athoughtful, intentional strategy.Organizations would be well served by freeingup time for their marketers to develop sucha strategy, and take advantage of tools thatallow them to easily build templates, developemails, and simplify the collaboration andapproval processes.Marketers must find efficient ways toovercome internal challenges and streamlinethe approval process.Similarly, a batch and blast approach toemail marketing is ineffective. Marketo allowscompanies to segment and send personalized10
Marketo, companies can segment their database and send personalized emails to the right person at the right time. . and Blast Batch and Blast, No Nurturing Batch and Blast with Some Lead Nurturing 59% 36% 4% EMAIL PERFORMANCE MEDIAN EMAIL 16% PERFORMANCE Open Rate.3% Unsubscribe Rate 94% Deliverability Rate 9% Click-To-Open Rate. 5 Large .
