The survey of 211 email marketers found that 87% felt the relevancy of content within an email message is very important, while an email's deliverability placed second at 81%. Notably, only 68% of respondents felt it is very important that emails be coded to work across email clients.

Deliverability has been a hot topic among email marketers, even if rendering has not caught up to this same level.

"With all of the talk around image blocking and Outlook 2007 not supporting styles properly, it is interesting to find that only two-thirds of respondents feel rendering is important," the eROI study reads.

"Secondarily, it is age-old email marketing wisdom that calls to action above the fold help increase email's efficiency, especially with preview panes," it continues. "With only 59% of respondents saying this is important, there is a lot of room for improvement for marketers in this area."

Image blocking is being rapidly adopted by email clients as new versions roll out, but only half of marketers are adjusting their email design in favor of "branding," according to the study. As a result, 49% of target consumers do not see emails as marketers intend them to be seen.

In an industry that still favors blanket messaging, only 55% of marketers believe proper email segmentation is a very important aspect of email marketing. This leaves a massive opportunity for marketers to improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, according to eROI.

This news story is important. I recommend that everyone read it.