• by Ray Schultz , July 27, 2018

SendGrid reports that email is rated as the second-most integral channel, behind websites. 

Email is the second-most important channel for marketers. And most say it helps them reach their goals. But many of those who manage it have other tasks, and few think of themselves as email marketing experts, according to a study released Friday by SendGrid. 

Of those polled, only 14% rate themselves as email marketing experts. On average, they are directly involved in seven different activities or tasks that may include strategy/positioning, CRM management, email marketing, paid search, social media and event marketing.   

Yet 34% say email is “an integral part of my job responsibilities.” Only 24% say the same about social media and a mere 14% agree that SEO is integral (among those involved with each channel). 

In addition, 57% rank email as very or extremely effective in helping them accomplish their objectives. 

Cited by 81%, email ranks behind websites (86%) in overall importance. But it beats SEO/paid search (72%).

One-to-many email blasts are the most common type of communication — 71% send them, and 42% claim they make up 42% of their total email volume.

Meanwhile, 74% percent say that business metrics (e.g., how they contribute to revenue) are very or extremely important to their performance reviews. But 38% add that "difficulty attributing my work to revenue impact" is challenging. 

Still 51% say they are able to measure the revenue created by email marketing. And 74% feel they can link email to business results more than they can with other channels they have…

When evaluating an email service provider, 86% focus on reliability, followed by deliverability (83%) and scalability (80%).