The Email Experience Council has published a survey on the “State of Email Metrics & Bounce Management.” The report found a lack of standards around industry metrics, bounce data, definitions and bounce management practices.
The council found that those issues make it difficult for senders to improve the marketing effectiveness of campaigns, manage their lists and maintain positive reputations as legitimate email senders.
“I see the EEC report as a wake-up call that marketers can’t always trust what they believe their results to be, said David Lewis, vice president of market development at StrongMail Systems, Redwood City, CA. “I can’t tell you how many times at StrongMail where clients were convinced their performance was much better than they actually were.”
The report was developed by the EEC’s Deliverability Roundtable chair Deirdre Baird and Bounce project Committee co-chair David Lewis who worked with Pivotal Veracity, Strongmail, Datran Media, e-Marketing Strategies, Listrak and ReturnPath to compile and finalize the survey results. Surveys were sent to 329 mailers and 25 email service providers to study the current state of email metrics and bounce management.
Three key problem areas were discovered by the surveys. There were conflicting metrics when it came to delivery, open and click rates. Also there was inconsistency in bounce data provided by ISPs, corporate domains and other email receivers. Lastly the survey found inadequate bounce management and confusion surrounding the key processes effecting deliverability.
Mr. Lewis added, “These problems require an industry-wide commitment to establishing and enforcing standards, only then can we demystify the bounce process and ensure that senders are able to follow through with best practices.”
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