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Meeting the Challenges of Marketing
Communications Delivery

Email is the top channel for marketing firmsdelivering communications for their customers, withvoice not far behind. But a third (33%) of firms still sendfaxes. And companies struggle most with staying
efficient and managing costs while juggling the multiple
systems and databases used for marketing campaigns.
These are some of the findings of a survey
conducted by IDG with OpenText. The survey reveals
the main objectives of marketing firms when they aredelivering messages for their clients and also uncovers
the biggest pain points. The results also point the way

Email Is King
IDG and OpenText surveyed business and IT
executives at ad agencies, marketing communications
companies, customer engagement solutions providers,and other communications services firms. The
companies ranged in size from 10 to 499 employees.
Everyone surveyed uses email to delivercommunications on behalf of customers. Email also
emerged as the top revenue driver, as reported by 54%of the respondents. That should come as no surprise,says Saurabh Jain, lead product manager for email

to solutions for running campaigns more efficiently andeffectively.

STRATEGIC
MARKETING SERVICESIDG Communications, Inc.

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notifications at OpenText. “Email is the cheapest way“Marketing service providers are sometimes sendingof interacting with your recipients,” he says. “And if you

millions of messages per day,” Rodriguez says.

look at the ROI, it’s higher than other channels.”“Anybody they outsource to is going to charge for that

But today’s marketing requires multiple forms ofcommunication. More than three-quarters (77%) alsouse voice communications, and 55% send messages

volume.”According to Rodriguez, firms typically don’t passon the direct cost of sending out all those emails.

via SMS text. Print is still in the mix for 36% of theInstead, they charge based on conversion rates. And

survey respondents, and nearly as many (33%) sendwith millions of emails going out and industry-standard

faxes. Among the respondents, 13% cited fax-basedconversion rates in the 1% range, communications firms

communications as their top revenue driver, perhaps

need to keep costs as low as possible to realize a goodreflecting faxing’s staying power as a channel for secure

return. That may run counter to their need to meet all

business-critical information exchange.

of their other objectives, forcing them into a precarious“Fax is still growing in volume for us,” says Jose
Rodriguez, lead product manager for OpenText
notifications at OpenText. “It’s a more secure methodbalancing act between adding capabilities and trying tokeep costs down.
It stands to reason, then, that close behind theof communication, so it’s used for situations wherecost challenges reported by survey respondents issecurity and industry compliance are required.” One

the challenge of managing multiple systems, including

example transaction: insurance policy confirmations

separate databases and more than one vendor (cited bythat require users to transmit personal information.

41% of the respondents).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given these results, 36% of“If you’re dealing with multiple vendors, that brings

the respondents cited boosting email engagement overanother level of complexity,” Jain explains. “When you’rethe next 12 months as their top objective.

dealing with different vendors for, let’s say, SMS, voice,

Other top objectives include:• 31% – expand the number of channels• 31% – increase data security• 30% – improve users’ communications
experience• 28% – expand services regionally and globally• 26% – integrate communications channels fora more unified approachWith all of these objectives to meet, executives
also expressed frustration at the limitations of thetechnology they use to drive engagement in whateverchannels they use.

Firms Struggle to Corral Multiple Systems
The top challenge communications firm executives
face with their clients’ campaigns is keeping costs down
while maintaining efficiency.
Nearly half (47%) of the survey respondents said
they struggle with efficiency and cost management.

and email — versus having just one vendor to deal with— you need more people and more integration points.”
Which also contributes to rising costs, Jain points out.

Deliverability and Other Problems
Also in the top three challenges: meeting customerexpectations for email deliverability, open rates, andclicks (40% of the respondents). Another significant
problem: limited operability or visibility acrosscommunications channels (24%).
A small number, only 14% of the respondents,
reported relying solely on a shared IP address fordelivering emails. About a third (36%) said they use bothshared and dedicated IP addresses, depending on thecircumstances.
Rodriguez points out that shared and dedicated IPaddresses each have their pros and cons. On the one
hand, shared IP addresses can help businesses with nohistory of sending large volumes of email stay within
the parameters of behavior expected of a given domain,
improving deliverability. On the other hand, a dedicated3MarketPulse

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IP address can insulate one marketer from the badactions of another, such as one with a history of sending
irrelevant emails that get flagged as spam.
Adding to their difficulties, respondents reported
using an average of five channel solutions to send
messages on behalf of clients. That’s a problem, sincenearly three-quarters of the respondents (70%) said

45%
Ability to implement more flexible strategies(e.g., deliver communications according to endcustomer
preferences, program progressive escalations, etc.)

43%

their technology integrations are insufficient for smooth
operations. The added complexity is more than an

Data privacy management/seamless acquisition of opt-ins

annoyance; it impacts the bottom line. Nine out of 10(92%) of the respondents reported that managing

37%
Easier to gather audit/compliance information

multiple channel solutions limits their work on moreproductive tasks.
Change is needed. And leaders from36%
Improved effectiveness of communications

36%

communications firms agreed that a single-vendor
approach to omnichannel communications has theTime savings/One solution to manage

potential to offer real solutions for meeting internal andcustomer needs while keeping costs in line.

Relief With an Omnichannel Approach
Nine out of 10 (91%) of the communications
firm executives surveyed said they’re considering
moving to a single-solution approach for seamless
communications on behalf of their clients. More thanhalf (51%) said they’re very likely to make the move.
Critical to making it work, respondents agreed,is a single-vendor solution. Nearly half (45%) of therespondents cited campaign flexibility as a benefitof an omnichannel and single-vendor approach tocommunications, making it the top perceived benefit.
Coming in as a close-second top benefit, cited by
43% of the respondents, is data privacy management,including seamless acquisition of options. More thana third (37%) also cited easier gathering of audit andcompliance information as a related benefit of theomnichannel approach. [Fig. 1.]“I think the biggest benefit of using a single vendor
is that there’s a degree of standardization acrosschannels,” Rodriguez says. That’s because message
recipients tend to expect message coordination
between channels, he explains. “They expect it to be aseamless message.”

34%
Faster/more efficient execution

32%
Ability to easily transition from one mode of delivery to another30%
Tracking and tracing of all communications
in a single solution/better visibility

1%
NoneSource: IDG

Jain adds that costs can go down with a singlevendor approach. “It’s easier for a customer to negotiate
prices, given the combined volume of messages
spanning all the channels.”
But getting the right technology in place presents
challenges of its own. Fortunately, the right solution
partner can help ease the transition.

Learn more more about how OpenText’s
omnichannel approach to messaging campaigns
can reduce costs and improve message
effectiveness for communications firms andtheir clients.

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MEETING THE CH A LLE NG E S OF MA RKE T ING COM M UN I CAT I O N S DE L I V E R YSolutions From OpenText
Eight out of 10 (80%) of the surveyed
communications firm executives — technical andbusiness leaders alike — said it’s hard for theirtechnology and business teams to communicate
well with each other regarding technology needs.
The problem is particularly acute because thetwo groups typically work together to determine
technology requirements and manage solutions
after purchase. Especially in such cases, a trusted
partner may provide the surest path to campaigns
that are more effective and efficient and that return
optimal results.
Technology and business leaders do agree
on key capabilities they’re looking for in channel
technology providers [Fig. 2].
OpenText provides support for these functions
and more, providing a clear path to omnichannel
communications. OpenText capabilities include:• System and application consolidation, lower

28%

32%

27%

10%

Multiple-channel support

24%

47%

21%

High-vulume email deliverability

22%

36%

29%

13%

Access to operational analytics

18%

43%

31%

16%

45%

24%

13%

Shared IP (ability to leverage IP reupuation)

Not very importantfor flexible strategies

Very Important

Not at all important• Enhanced email engagement and improved

Somewhat Importantdeliverability, thanks to the ability to provide
shared IP addresses, which are monitored toensure adherence to best practices by all users• An application-programming interface(API) that supports tight integrations between
applications and systems• Increased visibility and easier reporting“Our API is the same regardless of whether you’re
doing email or SMS or voice,” Rodriguez says. “Ourreporting is all very similar. So there’s a consistency
in dealing with each channel.” Using one vendor
also means there’s only one call to make if anyissues come up, he says. And that can make all thedifference for communications firms working hard toget the message out as efficiently and effectively as
possible.

7%

Prebuilt integrations/APIs

Criticalcosts, efficiency, productivity gains, and support

8%

Source: IDG