The Forrester Wave Email Marketing Vendors Q3 2014 Research report provides a comprehensive overview of how Enterprise email service providers are ranked against each other. This edition of The Wave categorized email service providers into four distinct groups based on their current offerings and strategic vision.
Research Methodology Behind the Wave
In April 2014, Forrester meticulously evaluated email marketing service providers across 34 specific criteria. To gain valuable client feedback, they conducted interviews with 27 email marketers and an online survey with 89 email marketers, gathering insights on their vendors and the broader market. Forrester interviewed ten vendor companies, which included StrongView (now a part of Teradata), and Yesmail Interactive, among others. All interviewed and surveyed email marketers were provided by the vendors themselves.
The initial section of the report delves into survey findings, exploring the most critical goals in email marketing, the types and duration of email innovations being applied, and marketers’ perspectives on the most vital aspects of a vendor’s offering.
The report also presented a table detailing applied email tactics, categorized by their duration of use (more than three years, one to three years, and “don’t use but would like to”). This offers a valuable roundup of what Forrester identifies as innovative tactics for email marketers to consider when selecting an Email Service Provider.
Longest Employed Email Innovations by Enterprise Marketers:
- Triggers: 45% (more than 3 years), 39% (1 – 3 years)
- Personalization: 45% (more than 3 years), 38% (1 – 3 years)
- Triggered Transactional Email: 44% (more than 3 years), 26% (1 – 3 years)
- Dynamic Content: 29% (more than 3 years), 34% (1 – 3 years)
Most Anticipated Email Marketing Innovations:
These are innovations not yet widely adopted by enterprise email marketers but are highly desired:
- Microsegment Targeting: 66%
- Open-Time Personalization: 61%
- In-Email Transactions: 58%
- Email-Enabled Video: 43%
Notably, responsive design was already in use by 72% of the enterprise email marketers surveyed at the time of the report.
Most Important Email Marketing Vendor Offerings
Surveyed senders ranked vendor features, functions, and services from one to thirteen, with one being the most important. The results indicated that enterprise clients prioritize vendor data security above all else. This was closely followed by strong account management, ease of use, and robust database capabilities alongside integrations.
Conversely, these enterprise email marketers placed less importance on whether a vendor was part of a broader marketing “cloud.” Furthermore, international support and local offices were often not deemed critical in their ranking of vendor offerings.
The Forrester Wave: 2014 Vendor Rankings
The second core component of the Forrester email marketing vendor report is the actual Wave chart, complemented by a table of Wave scores. Forrester’s 2014 report focused exclusively on enterprise-level email marketing vendors, ultimately including nine providers in its assessment.
The Forrester Wave scores email marketing software providers based on their current offerings and strategic direction, then positions them within the Wave graph. Vendors are ultimately categorized as “Leaders,” “Strong Performers,” “Contenders,” or a “Risky Bet.”
The “Risky Bet” Vendor: Zetta Interactive
In the 2014 report, Zetta Interactive was notably ranked as a “Risky Bet.” This assessment came at a challenging time for Zeta, as they had just released their new platform, Zeta Hub, intended to replace the reviewed email platform, Zetamail 7.0.
You can download the full Forrester Wave Email Marketing Vendors Q3 2014 report here.
Report Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria
The 2014 edition expanded its scope to include nine vendors, an increase from the six featured in the 2012 report. This expansion can be attributed to a loosening of the selection criteria. The chapter “The email marketing vendor evaluation explained” details these specific criteria.
Criteria for 2014 Inclusion:
- The vendor must offer a proprietary email marketing platform.
- The vendor must have revenues of at least $60 million.
- At least 35% of their total clients must be enterprise firms with more than 1000 employees.
For Comparison: 2012 Exclusion Criteria:
- Email service providers labeled “niche providers” were omitted due to factors such as a B2B focus or having lead management integration as their primary product proposition.
- Email service providers operating predominantly from Europe.
- Email service providers with less than 25% enterprise clients.
- Email service providers with less than $100 million in email revenues for 2010.
- Email service providers that generated limited Forrester client inquiries.
ESPs Not Included in the 2014 Report and Their Reasons:
- Crown Partners and DEG: Manage client email programs using partner technology.
- Gold Lasso, Listrak, and Sailthru: Had smaller revenues.
- Infor and Pitney Bowes: Did not offer email services separate from their CRM solutions.
- BlueHornet and Lyris: Had less than 35% enterprise clients.
Vendor Press Releases
Several vendors issued press releases acknowledging their inclusion and ranking in the Forrester email marketing vendors report:
- StrongView Named a Leader in Email Marketing by Independent Research Firm
- Epsilon Cited as a Leader In Email Marketing by Independent Research Firm