Mayfield warn that marketers may have the wrong email technology in place

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They could be using providers that don’t fit their needs in three key areas – the software are either too expensive, include excess levels of functionality which are not being used, or don’t have the functionality that should be being used.
 
Using its marketing industry knowledge, Mayfield tested email marketing software against what marketers actually require first, rather than presenting a list of functionality available. This report forms the foundation for a business to match their needs with the right provider.
 
No vendor chose to be in the report and no vendor chose what was said – however they did get a right to reply to check for accuracy – so it’s fully independent.
 
Kate Mayfield, Managing Director of Mayfield Solutions comments: “So much online information is overtly or covertly sponsored. We want to give marketers and IT people a toolkit for making good email marketing software decisions as well as providing unbiased analysis of what's available.”
 
The report is the first time ever that an independent review of ESP functionality has been published in the UK, directly comparing 15 leading vendors. It uses a methodology developed by Mayfield Solutions while managing software search and selection projects on behalf of B2B and B2C businesses. It was conducted in May-July 2010.
 
The UK has seen a huge shift in ESPs over the last three years as the market matures, new entrants appear and repositioning and differentiation occurs. This has brought about extremely differing price points, as well as levels of functionality.
 
Therefore, some platforms are better suited to different types of email marketing than others:
Best for ad-hoc campaigns (tactical, offers) – CommuniGator, Suite26 and MailChimp
Best for regular newsletters  – Adestra, CommuniGator and Pure360
Best for automated email programs: CheetahMail, Communicator, eCircle and dotMailer
 
The most successful email marketing strategies are extensions of the businesses’ CRM and web analytics strategy – if they are not viewed in such a joined-up context, marketers can make erroneous investments in platforms and not be able to take advantage of all the functionality.
 
This report profiles 15 email marketing service providers: 247EmailData, Adestra,
CheetahMail, Communicator Corp, CommuniGator, Constant Contact, dotMailer,
eCircle, Emailvision, ExactTarget, MailChimp, Pure360, Sign-Up.to, StrongMail and
Suite26.
 
For further details visit http://mayfieldsolutions.co.uk/emailmarketingsoftwarereview.aspx .
The Email Marketing Software Review – 2010 is available for £495+VAT