Press Release

High Email Service Provider Turnover Revealed by Industry Survey

77% of companies employing an ESP make a switch due to lack of product features, services and escalating cost according to a new industry survey

Redwood City, Calif., July 20, 2010 – StrongMail, a leading provider of online marketing solutions for email and social media, today announced new survey data that shows that the majority of businesses employing an email service provider (ESP) have switched within the last two years and another third plan to in the next 12 months. The June 2010 survey of more than a 1,000 global business leaders also found deliverability services to be the #1 service that businesses procure from their ESP by a factor of 3x. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of businesses are planning to integrate email with social media in 2010.

While 63 percent of companies employing an email service provider suggests that this is a popular choice for deploying email marketing campaigns, the data shows that 77 percent of these companies have switched providers in the past two years for three main reasons: lack of product features, limited services and high costs. Equally important, 29 percent of current ESP clients are planning on switching in the next 12 months. For this group, a lack of product features remains the top reason, but data integration and deliverability are also key reasons why businesses are planning to switch.

Deliverability as a reason to change ESPs is also underscored by 67 percent of companies using an ESP's deliverability services, making it the most popular ESP service offering by nearly a factor of three. Execution (21%) and production services (19%) round out the top three services offered by ESPs.

The survey also found that 71 percent of companies have either integrated email and social media or plan to in 2010, representing an increase over the 69 percent who responded to an earlier December 2009 survey. While social media integration remains high, the top objectives of promoting corporate presence on social networks (71%) and making email content shareable (63%) indicate a growth opportunity for more sophisticated social media tactics like viral marketing campaigns (48%) and user-generated content (35%).

With ESP turnover continuing to be a challenge for the industry, StrongMail offers marketers a better alternative. The company has recently experienced a surge of major brands that have chosen to migrate from an ESP to StrongMail for its unique benefits, including data integration, industry-leading social media and delivery features, and cost savings. Online retailer Hautelook recently announced that it switched from an ESP to StrongMail in order to send 2 million highly-dynamic messages within a 5-minute window every day, overcoming latency and delivery challenges that it had experienced with its prior provider. As an added bonus, StrongMail’s unique ownership pricing model enables marketing teams to grow their email programs without escalating CPM fees due to increased volumes.

"When integration challenges, scalability limitations and high costs caused IHG to begin looking for a new email service provider, StrongMail stood out as the only email marketing vendor that had the technology and services that would allow us to meet our email marketing objectives," said Ryan Sagan, Marketing Automation Manager at InterContinental Hotels Group. "By combining a dedicated and scalable solution with its top-notch services, StrongMail has enabled us to improve our email programs while lowering our costs."

Industry Whitepaper
For more information about StrongMail's unique approach, download the whitepaper "10 Reasons Why StrongMail Should Be on Your ESP Shortlist" at www.strongmail.com/shortlist

Survey Highlights

• 77% of businesses employing an ESP have switched in the past two years due to dissatisfaction with product features, services and cost
• 29% of current ESP users are planning to switch in the next 12 months due to a lack of product features and challenges with deliverability and data integration
• Deliverability services are consumed at nearly 3X the rate of any other ESP service offering
• 71% of businesses have or are planning to integrate email and social media in 2010

Infographics

• Frequency of Email Service Provider Churn
• Reasons for Having Switched Email Service Providers
• Reasons for Switching Email Service Providers within 12 Months
• Top ESP Services Consumed by Businesses
• Business Objectives for Integrating Email and Social Media

Survey Methodology
The StrongMail “2010 Email Marketing Survey” was conducted online by Zoomerang on behalf of StrongMail. The poll, which gathered feedback from 1,081 business executives in a wide range of industries, was conducted from June 2 to June 14, 2010.

About StrongMail Systems, Inc.
StrongMail’s online marketing solutions for email and social media enable businesses to reach, engage and influence their target audience using the most powerful channels available to marketers today. StrongMail gives email marketers the control and support they need to improve campaign performance, boost deliverability and lower costs, while also leveraging the power of social media to extend the reach of their campaigns and brand to new audiences. Combining an easy-to-use email marketing application, high-performance delivery system, viral-marketing tool, social media integration, and a wide range of deliverability, strategic and supporting services, StrongMail makes it possible for companies with all levels of resources and expertise to take advantage of its proven solutions. Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, StrongMail’s clients include global leaders across virtually every industry. To learn more about StrongMail, please visit www.strongmail.com or follow us online at www.twitter.com/StrongMail or www.facebook.com/StrongMail.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Kevin Cheng
Eastwick Communications for StrongMail
650-480-4080

To schedule a free demo, call (800) 971-0380 or contact us via the following link: http://www.strongmail.com/company/contact-us/contact-us.

Press Contacts:
Laurie Gibson
Kickstart Consulting
+1 (650) 969-0764
strongmail@kickstartconsulting.com