1、The 2023 State ofESPsReportAll the latest in Email Service Provider(ESP)uses,data,and trendsfrom marketers like you.What to expect in The 2023 State of ESPs ReportWelcome to the third installment in our four-part series on the state of email in 2023!Yes,livin on a prayer or not,we are more than half

2、way there!Thanks for sticking with us through the nitty gritty of email workflows,the beautiful flowing waterfalls of email design,and now,finally,joining us for our deep forest expedition into the world of Email Service Providers(ESPs).In this report,well cover the tools we use to send emails to ou

3、r beloved subscribers and customers.An ESP,most simply,is the software or program you probably spend the most time in as an email marketer.It stores the email addresses of your audience,it hosts all the lovely emails youve built,and powers the mighty send button that were all so fond of.Its every em

4、ail marketers best friendor worst enemy.Its important to have and utilize an ESP that best fits the needs of yourself,your business,and your audience.And thats why we included a look at ESPs as part of this report series.We want to shed light on what tools email marketers are using in each industry,

5、at each company size,and whether theyre happy with those choices.With that data,we hope to empower marketers like you to choose the tools that will best suit your email-sending needs.The 2023 State of ESPs Report2About this projectJust like the previous two reports,we reached out to all the very tal

6、ented marketers we know to get this data.We surveyed 750+email marketers worldwide on their email service providers(ESPs),including what they use,how they use them,and where wed all like to see those ESPs improve.Respondents included email marketers from the following star-studded list of companies.

7、Theres more where that came from,but some of you were shy.We get it.Cant have anyone knowing whose secret sauce is whose.The 2023 State of ESPs Report3Ready to find out whats going on with ESPs?Strap on your hiking boots,grab those binoculars,and hop in the Jeep.Were about to head out on our most se

8、rious journey yetdriving out into the vast forest of email service providers.If were lucky,well set our eyes on some big,impressive email tools that you can take back to your team.Lets get started!Insights OverviewChapter 1:The Email Service ProvidersChapter 2:The ESP UsersChapter 3:Integration&Inno

9、vationChapter 4:Personalization&ReachChapter 5:Action ItemsQ:What is an Email Service Provider(ESP)?A:An ESP is the software that you use to store email addresses and lists,segment audiences,and send email campaigns to your list of subscribers.The 2023 State of ESPs Report41.The most common ESP in u

10、se today is Salesforce Marketing Cloud(27%)Out of all the marketing professionals we surveyed,the largest percentage are using Salesforce Marketing Cloud(27%)to run and manage their email campaigns.But not by much!The winners in this contest came out pretty close.The top five on our ESP leaderboard

11、are Salesforce Marketing Cloud(27%)Mailchimp(19%)HubSpot(13%)Constant Contact(9%)Marketo(9%)Insights OverviewHeres a quick overview of the top takeaways from this years research into the state of ESPs.If youre in a rush and just need the highlights,this sections for you.27%19%13%9%The 2023 State of

12、ESPs Report52.Out of our top five ESPs,Salesforce Marketing Cloud also had the highest satisfaction rate Out of those top five,satisfaction rates matched up pretty similarly with popularity.Salesforce Marketing Cloud users are most satisfied with their ESP,with 69%of users stating they are somewhat

13、or very satisfied.HubSpot,Mailchimp,Constant Contact,and Marketo all got great ratings here as well,but SFMC led the pack.69%of SFMC users say they are somewhat or very satisfied with their ESPGet more out of your email marketing tech stack with Litmus.3.Only 9%of email marketing leaders say their e

14、mail marketing channel is very highly integrated into their other marketing channels In the world of artificial intelligence(AI)and automation,integrated marketing is essential.We found that many folks dont feel their ESP is doing more than an adequate job at integrating with other marketing channel

15、s and tools.In fact,only 9%of email marketing leaders say their email marketing channel is very highly integrated into their other marketing channels.This is the biggest area where we saw ESPs having room to grow across the board.69%Check out our integrationsThe 2023 State of ESPs Report64.Most ESPs

16、 have robust personalization capabilities In a world where over 80%of customers are more likely to make a purchase after a personalized experience,personalization is a must.And most ESPs have the tools to make a wide range of personalization choices a reality.In fact,we learned that when it comes to

17、 personalization in subject lines,using dynamic content,or using animated GIFs or PNGs,more than 50%of marketers said their ESP handled those elements very well.This is the biggest area where we saw ESPs winning across the boardpersonalization is easier than ever to implement within the ESP!Thats th

18、e short and sweet round up of our data on the state of ESPs in 2023.Hungry for more?Just keep turning pages!NOTWELLWELLVERYWELLGREATESP Feature PerformanceThe 2023 State of ESPs Report7CHAPTER ONE THE EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS(ESPS)The land of Email Service Providers(ESPs)is a wild one,populated by ma

19、ssive beasts that require special training to use and perform many powerful functions.In this section,well take a look at the data we surfaced on these mighty beasts themselves,in order to learn more about how each ESP is being utilized and received by teams around the world.Well splice data by the

20、most simple metricpopularitythen get into the nitty-gritty and break down that same data by industry and by user satisfaction.So if youve ever wondered if your competitors are hunting with the same tools you are?Now youll know.Without further ado,the moment youve all been waiting forThe 2023 State o

21、f ESPs Report827.0%19.2%12.6%9.3%8.8%The most popular ESPs in use todayWell start by simply examining the most popular ESPs in use today.Popularity doesnt necessarily mean best or most efcient,herewere just looking at what tools are used most often when it comes to sending emails.(So if your favorit

22、e tool isnt as high on this list as you expected,make sure to tell your friends about it!)That said,the top five most common ESPs in use today are Salesforce Marketing Cloud(27%),Mailchimp(19%),HubSpot(13%),Constant Contact(9%),and Marketo(9%).Those numbers are pretty close,with Salesforce out in th

23、e lead,but Mailchimp through Marketo within spitting distance of each other.Scroll for the full data belowThe 2023 State of ESPs Report9 27.02%19.24%12.63%9.25%8.81%8.66%8.22%6.9%6.9%5.73%5.58%5.43%5.29%5.14%4.99%4.85%4.26%3.96%3.08%2.94%2.79%2.79%2.79%2.64%2.06%1.91%1.76%1.32%1.17%1.17%1.03%0.88%Sa

24、lesforce Marketing CloudMailchimpHubSpotConstant ContactMarketoSendgridMarketing Cloud Account EngagementEloquaKlaviyoCampaign MonitorAdobe CampaignBrazeActiveCampaignDotDigitalMailgunMicrosoft DynamicsIterableAcousticBluecoreCordialConvertKitEmarsysEpsilonResponsysSendinBlueSAP Marketing CloudListr

25、akSelligentMessageBirdSailthruSocketlabsQuadientWhich ESP(s)/MAP(s)do you currently use?For reference,there have been some shakeups in Emails Most Popular in the last few years!In our 2021 State of ESPs Report,these were the top ESPs:Salesforce Marketing Cloud(23%),Mailchimp(21%),Marketo(10%),HubSpo

26、t(10%),and Pardot(8%).While Salesforce and Mailchimp continue to hold the top spots,Marketo is falling down the list and Constant Contact is definitely gaining ground.Were excited to see how this landscape continues to change and evolve over the next few years!Share these insightsThe 2023 State of E

27、SPs Report10Now,lets get even more granular.We broke down the answers to the most popular ESP by industry,to see if there were any interesting distinctions to make at the industry level.And there were!For example,marketing professionals prefer Mailchimp(13%),the software world loves Marketo(12%),whi

28、le Salesforce Marketing Cloud continues to clean up shop in several other industries.Agriculture,energy,mining,&commodities Bluecore,Dotdigital,Klaviyo,and MailgunAutomotive Iterable and Salesforce Marketing CloudConsulting,legal,stafng,&business services HubspotEducation,higher education,&training

29、Salesforce Marketing CloudFinancial services Salesforce Marketing CloudFitness,wellness,beauty Klaviyo,ConvertKit,Braze,SendgridGovernment,public administration,&political Adobe Campaign,Constant Contact,Microsoft DynamicsHealthcare,pharmaceuticals,&social services Salesforce Marketing CloudInsuranc

30、e Salesforce Marketing CloudManufacturing Eloqua Marketing,PR,&advertising agency or freelancer Mailchimp Media,publishing,events,sports,&entertainment Salesforce Marketing Cloud,MailchimpNonprofit Salesforce Marketing CloudSoftware&technology Marketo Telecommunications&utilities Bluecore,Dotdigital

31、Transport,wholesale,distribution,&logistics Aweber,Bluecore,ConvertKit,Marketing Cloud Account Engagement(Formerly Pardot)Travel,airlines,tourism,&hospitality Salesforce Marketing CloudReal estate&construction Salesforce Marketing Cloud Retail,ecommerce,&consumer goods or services Salesforce Marketi

32、ng CloudWhich ESPs are most popular per business type?The 2023 State of ESPs Report11How satisfied are you with your ESP?Next,we asked perhaps the most controversial question:do you actually,well,like your ESP?Out of these results,Salesforce Marketing Cloud emerges as the highest overall winner once

33、 again,with the most users rating themselves satisfied with their experience,with 30%reporting very satisfied,39%somewhat satisfied,22%neutral,8%somewhat unsatisfied,and 2%very unsatisfied.How satisfied are you with your ESP(s)/MAP(s)?Top 5 showingVery satisfiedSomewhat satisfiedNeutralSomewhat unsa

34、tisfiedVery unsatisfiedSalesforce Marketing CloudHubSpotMarketoMailchimpConstant ContactThe 2023 State of ESPs Report12Results to the satisfaction question were mixed,as expected,but the top five email service providers from the cool kids table in the previous questions did pretty well!Salesforce Ma

35、rketing Cloud users are most satisfied with their ESP,with 69%of users stating they are somewhat or very satisfied.HubSpot came in second,with 61%of users stating they are somewhat or very satisfied with their ESP.Marketo(56%),Mailchimp(54%),and Constant Contact(40%)all ranked well here as well.1st

36、tSwitching ESPs If you havent thought about switching ESPs at least once in the last year or so,youre probably lying to yourself.We all kick around the idea!But,its a time-consuming process,and email marketers are loath to embark on it.In fact,we learned that while 15%of email marketing leaders have

37、 switched ESP providers in the past year,65%of email marketing leaders have been with their current ESP for at least one year.The business type most likely to switch their ESP?Business-to-business(B2B).The business type least likely to switch their ESP?Business-to-consumer(B2C).The 2023 State of ESP

38、s Report13Everyone has their favourite or least favourite ESP for all sorts of reasons.Absolutely consider what platform other marketers are using,but the ESP you use needs to support your business goals.Which might not be the most popular one.-Jaina Mistry,Director of Email and Content at Litmus“Ov

39、erall,we can see that while there are a lot of ESP optionsand certainly some that are more popular than othersthere are also some trends per industry that are worth following.If youre in Agriculture,for example,what youll need out of an ESP will be very diferent than what someone who works in Softwa

40、re will need from their ESP!Ultimately,no one but your team can decide which ESP is right for you and your business needs.and you can always switch if you really need to.So Hows all that going for us?The 2023 State of ESPs Report14CHAPTER TWO THE ESP USERS Yes,that means you!In this chapter,well go

41、beyond the ESP itself to discuss perhaps arguably the most important part of the email ecosystemthe ESP user.Well cover the responsibilities of email teams,the most common ESP per team size,and who owns the ESP management itself.If theres anything weve learned through years of research into marketin

42、g tools and teams,its that while the tool is important,so is the team using it.Because really,where would we be without our email teams?Lets dive in and look at some data on how email teams interact with their Email Service Providers!The 2023 State of ESPs Report15The responsibilities of email marke

43、ting teamsFirst,lets look at the responsibilities of email marketing teams.We cant all be designers and developers,so who else is on the docket?Responders to our survey shared that the most common job responsibilities for email marketing teams include Email strategy and planning(58%),Email developme

44、nt(50%),Email operations(49%),Email program management(48%),and Email deliverability(46%).As we can see from this data,the most common email responsibility isnt necessarily email development,but is actually Email strategy and planning(58%).While building emails is important,planning and executing a

45、successful email program definitely takes priority.Strategy and planningOperationsDevelopmentProgram managementDeliverability58%50%49%48%46%The most common email job responsibilities for email marketing teamsThe 2023 State of ESPs Report16The number of ESPs and MAPs in use Next,lets consider the num

46、ber of ESPs and Marketing Automation Platforms(MAPs)in use in your average marketing team.According to our data,42%of email marketing teams use one ESP.However,30%use two ESPs or MAPs,16%use three,and 10%actually use four or more,so theres still a lot of variety in the way marketing teams are utiliz

47、ing these tools.The percentage of users using only one tool here is fairly large,which is perhaps what most would expect,but there are still quite a few using several.Those of you using four or more We have some questions.Fun fact:Out of these ESP users,we found that the business type most likely to

48、 use many ESPs was Agencies.This makes sense,as agencies will select the right ESP for their client.The business type least likely to use many ESPs was B2B companies.1 ESP 41.5%2 ESPs 29.8%3 ESPs 15.9%4 or more 10.0%My company creates but doesnt send emails 0.5%Not sure 2.3%The 2023 State of ESPs Re

49、port17Who owns the ESP management?Especially at a larger organization,the question of who owns the ESP is a big one.We found that for over half of the organizations we surveyed,the email marketing team owns the relationship with the ESP(51%).For 39%of organizations,the marketing operations team owns

50、 the relationship with the ESP.External partners manage ESP relationships in only 7%of organizations.How many users at your company are active users in your ESP(s)/MAP(s)?The number of people on each team actively using an ESP or MAPAnd finally,lets look at the number of individual users in each com

51、panys ESP or MAP.We found that the largest percentage of users had between 1-5 users in the ESP or MAP(48%),followed by 6-10 users(21%),11-20 users(13%),41+users(8%),and 21-40 users(6%).Altogether,this means that over 68%of organizations have 10 or fewer ESP users.Thats really not very many!You are

52、the giants whose shoulders we all stand on!For over half of the organizations we surveyed,the email marketing team owns the relationship with the ESP.“1-5 users 48%6-10 users 21%11-20 users 13%21-40 users 6%40 and over 8%Not sure 4%The 2023 State of ESPs Report18The benefits of integrating your ESP

53、with your marketing tech stack are endless,but the heart of all those benefits is that you can better understand your audiences interests and actions.This allows you to create a more consistent experience for them,and to optimize your marketing eforts based on what you know they want,need,and respon

54、d best to.”-Constant Contact Partner Marketing Team“Overall,we can draw the conclusion from this data that most email teams are still fairly small and being asked to do a lot.Most organizations have one ESP,with less than 10 users in that ESP,and those users are responsible for everything from strat

55、egy to boots-on-the-ground email production.For those using several ESPs or MAPs,this could be a symptom of another marketing trend weve observed recently,which is that email marketers are now using specific platforms for specific purposes.For example,one platform for marketing emails,one for transa

56、ctional emails,or one for triggered/customer onboarding emails.Sometimes these diferent types of emails are even owned by diferent departmentsall of which points towards a trend of more specialized platforms out there designed for specific needs.So Hows all that going for us?The 2023 State of ESPs R

57、eport19CHAPTER THREE INTEGRATION&INNOVATION Now that weve covered the stats on the ESPs themselves and the marketing heroes who work with those tools every day,lets take a look at the future of ESPs.Whether that looks like innovations on the horizon,integration with other tools and technologies that

58、 make wild new feats of analysis or delivery possible,or some combination of the twothe future is bright.Lets take a look at the horizons of integration and innovation when it comes to your ESP!The 2023 State of ESPs Report20Integration between ESPs and other marketing channelsAs we all know,in mark

59、eting,integration is the name of the game.And thats only more true when it comes to one of the hardest working tools in your tech stack!We asked our respondents how well their ESP was integrated into their other marketing channels,and the results were mixed,to say the least.The highest percentage of

60、 respondents said their ESP was only adequately integrated into their other marketing channels!And only 30%said their ESP was highly integrated or very highly integrated.When only 9%of email marketers say their email marketing channel is very highly integrated into their other marketing channels,tha

61、t sounds like an opportunity to us!Get more out of your email marketing tech stack.Our broad range of integrations can help you better connect your email marketing tech stackand bring your teams workflow to the next level.Litmus is here to help you get the most out of your email marketing.Learn more

62、Adequately integrated 40.0%Highly integrated 20.8%Poorly integrated 20.1%Very highly integrated 9.0%Very poorly integrated 6.0%Not sure 4.1%The 2023 State of ESPs Report21Q:Which business type had the best integration between marketing and email marketing channels?Q:Which business type had the worst

63、 integration between marketing and email marketing channels?A:FreelanceA:B2CWinners in the integration gameWhile were here,lets take a pause to look at some standouts in the integration field.Implementation of new features and innovationsNext,lets talk about innovation.This is often a contentious to

64、picjust like theres always someone at your organization who hates change and still uses the oldest possible version of Outlookbut its a big part of keeping your company at the cutting edge of email innovation.The bad news is that many folks dont feel their ESP is actually innovating enough.In fact,n

65、early half of organizations say their ESP has introduced fewer than 5 innovations in the past year.We asked our audience how many innovations their ESP had introduced in the past year.Out of those responses,47%said 1-5 innovations,18%said 6-15 innovations,6%said more than 15 innovations,and 29%said

66、they were not sure how many innovations.(So valid,yall.)While the B2C statistic above may not surprise you,the Freelance data certainly surprised us.Theres probably an observation in there somewhere about mobility and the ability to self-manage leading to innovation and integration.But youll have to

67、 consult with the freelancers in your life for more of their secrets.The 2023 State of ESPs Report22Integrating your ESP with other marketing tools empowers you to create seamless customer experiences,automate workflows,and boost your ROI by creating a source of truth for your customer and marketing

68、 performance data.”-Jamal Miller,Senior Director of Product Marketing at Intuit Mailchimp“When it comes to integrations and innovations,theres lots of room for improvement.In a world where half of all marketers are only adequately integrating their ESP with other parts of their tech stack,thats a lo

69、t of time and insight left on the table.We can do better than adequate!And of course,if youre an ESP looking for innovation ideas,adding more integrations or making integrations easier is a great place to start!So Hows all that going for us?The 2023 State of ESPs Report23CHAPTER FOUR PERSONALIZATION

70、&AIFinally,lets cover personalization and artificial intelligence(AI)in the ESP.This is the final stage in our journey into the forest of email sending and list management,so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the stats you can snap screenshots of and take home as souvenirs.Wondering why these n

71、umbers on personalization look a little diferent than the ones in The State of Email Design Report?Well,designers and developers work with personalization elements a little diferently,since designers will use personalization to serve unique products or custom images.Strategists and marketing program

72、 managers,however,may be more likely to personalize a subject line,use other personalization tokens like shopping history or birthday,or use other more program-centric dynamic elements.With that in mind,lets look at how the Marketing Operations folks use personalization within the ESP.The 2023 State

73、 of ESPs Report24Personalization in email programsPersonalized content was a big hit with the Email Designer audience,so it should come as no surprise that the Operations crew loves it too.When we asked our audience which email elements they personalized most often,they listed Personalization in the

74、 subject line(71%),Personalization using dynamic content(64%),Animated GIFs or PNGs(56%),Interactivity powered by HTML and CSS(37%),and Video(15%).Personalization in subject linePersonalization using dynamic contentAnimated GIFs or PNGsInteractivity powered by HTML and CSSVideoImages powered by CRM

75、dataAI-generated contentInteractivity powered by AMPHTML71.0%63.7%56.0%36.7%14.6%13.1%10.3%8.8%Do you regularly include the following elements in your emails?The 2023 State of ESPs Report25How well does your ESP handle personalized elements?Perhaps the next relevant question to ask after whether you

76、 use personalization elements,is whether that works out well for you or not.And in a report about ESPs,we certainly want to know whether your ESPs are helping or hindering your personalization eforts or not.The personalization elements that email marketers said their ESP handles very well included P

77、ersonalization in the subject line(60%),Personalization using dynamic content(52%),Animated GIFs or PNGs(50%),Interactivity powered by HTML and CSS(35%),and Video(34%).Personalization using dynamic contentInteractivity powered by HTML and CSSPersonalization in subject lineVideoInteractivity powered

78、by AMPHTMLImages powered by CRM dataAnimated GIFs and PNGsAI-generated content100%75%50%25%0Very WellWell PoorlyVery PoorlyUnknownThe 2023 State of ESPs Report26Looking at the previous pages chart,we can see,we can see that most ESPs handle the common personalization elements well.We can also see so

79、me other trends here,namely that 71%of email marketing leaders use personalized subject lines,and 64%of email marketing leaders use personalization with dynamic content.Thats just more fuel for the personalization fire!Personalization is the new industry standard for email,whether youre in design,de

80、velopment,program management,or any other avenue of email.Artificial intelligenceLast but not least,lets consider artificial intelligence.This element is relatively new to the email game,so we expected results to be a little bit more scatteredbut ESPs handle AI well overall.In fact,40%of marketers s

81、aid their ESP handles AI-generated content very well!Q:Which industry is most likely to use AI for email marketing?Q:Which industry is least likely to use AI for email marketing?A:Transport,wholesale,distribution,&logisticsA:InsuranceWe expected there to be a little bit more resistance or at least t

82、echnological roadblocks around the idea of implementing AI,but we were excited to find that most respondents shared very few challenges around AI in the ESP.The 2023 State of ESPs Report27When it comes to personalization,artificial intelligence,and other innovations in email technology that can impa

83、ct the ESP,we can see a lot of progress in these areas from our beloved ESPs.The tools of our trade are pivoting to keep up with the pace of progress,and we appreciate the dedication to continuing to make it easier to use tools like AI to keep pushing the horizons of whats possible in email.Were exc

84、ited to see what the future holds!So Hows all that going for us?Creating personalized emails can seem daunting,but there are more tools at marketers fingertips now more than ever before to execute personalization at scale.-Hannah Tiner,Marketing UX Design Manager,Litmus“The 2023 State of ESPs Report

85、28State of EmailWorkflows2023CHAPTER 5 ACTION ITEMS This brings us to the end of our tour through the top ESPs on the market today,and how teams like yours are using them.(Thank you for keeping hands and feet inside the ride at all times.)We learned a lot about which ESPs are most popularand which o

86、nes are quiet up-and-comersand we hope you did too.Before we go,however,well leave you with a few of our top takeaways from this data.The 2023 State of ESPs Report29If youre thinking about migrating to a new ESP,look for an ESP that wont just support your current needs,but also your needs in the nex

87、t 5 years.You should consider team growth and change,how youll be using email,and even list growth.-Jaina Mistry,Director of Email and Content at Litmus“#1 Evaluate your needs before choosing an ESPThe best type of ESP for your needs will vary based on sector,team size,email volume,and more.As we sa

88、w in the industry breakdown section,the ESP favored by marketing teams varies widely by the industry youre operating within.So do your research,evaluate your team needs,and ask a lot of questions before selecting an ESP.And if you arent using the right one and need to migrate?Thats okay too!There ar

89、e lots of resources available for migrating ESPs smoothly,and your team will be grateful in the long run that theyre using a tool made for the job at hand.And hey,your subscribers will probably appreciate it too.The 2023 State of ESPs Report30#2 Look for an ESP that integrates with other marketing c

90、hannelsIntegration is the future,and thats just a fact.Some of the most popular ESPs respondents to our survey shared are leaders in this spacelike Salesforce Marketing Cloudand its worth noting that could be a reason why those leading ESPs are quite so popular!Its important to look for an ESP that

91、integrates with other marketing channels.When it comes to your current ESP,be sure to look for more integration opportunities with the tech stack you already have.Are there integration opportunities you havent taken advantage of yet that you could look to implement?#3 Most ESPs support personalizati

92、on and other interactive elements wellAs we learned in our research,most ESPs support personalization and other interactive elements very well in 2023,so theres no excuseyou should be utilizing them!Whether thats through personalization tokens within the email body,dynamic content that serves custom

93、 recommendations based on preferences,or personalized images,there are so many ways to create impactful personalization in your emails.If your ESP doesnt have all the personalization options you want we know some folks.Litmus Personalize integrates with most major ESPs and ofers a wide variety of low-implementation personalization tools like countdown timers,timed images,live polls,and more!The 2023 State of ESPs Report31Contact UsHi!Were Litmusa complete solution