So how do marketers use their email metrics?

Thanks to EmailStatCenter.com's First Annual State of Email Metrics survey , interactive marketing professionals now have a better answer to that question. What they do with their email metrics and the findings from studies like these may be a different story.

First, the links:
Press Release on the survey

Findings from the study

Over 300 marketing professionals (both client and agency/ESP side) took the survey and some of the interesting discoveries are below. I find the background on the survey respondents just as interesting as what they had to say. A few highlights:

-37% Manage their email marketing program and 20% manage all online marketing.

-76% of client side respondents said they had 1-3 staff for email marketing.

-In terms of client side company revenue, 25% had $10,000,000 or above.

Frequent Measurement is Integral to Success
-Over 95% of the individuals surveyed said that they did measure the results of their email campaigns. When asked how often they measured results, 57% of respondents indicated that they measure results 24-48 hours after deployment. However, only 18% indicated that they measured results on an annual basis.

Click Through and Deliverability Rank Tops with Professionals
-Professionals ranked click through rate and deliverability as the most important metrics to track. Metrics surrounding total subscribers and forwards were among the lowest ranked metrics in terms of importance.

Metrics Not Widely Used for Budgeting
-Only 50% of the email professionals surveyed reported that they use metrics for budgeting and forecasting purposes while 35% of professionals cited that they do not use metrics for budgeting. The remaining 15% were unsure.

Timing & List Growth Are Key Challenges - Opportunities Ahead in Email Strategy & Measurement
-Cited list development and time constraints as the biggest challenges they face and email strategy and measurement as areas for near term focus

Some of the other key takeaways are mentioned in the survey overview from Jeanniey Mullen Founder and Executive Chairwoman of the Email Experience Council, which is a partner of EmailStatCenter.com, Luc Vezina, Vice President of Marketing & Product Management at Campaigner, which sponsored the study and yours truly.

Just like your own email campaign metrics, this survey's findings are worth a deep dive. Spend a few minutes getting some perspective on what your peers do. You can read it here.