Although research shows that non-standardized metrics and bounce data hinder email marketing evaluation efforts, StrongMail's VP of market and product strategy proves measurement is still possible.

New research from Jupiter Research and the Email Experience Council (eec) draws needed attention to a serious problem within the email marketing industry: a lack of standardized metrics and bounce data. There's no denying the problem; it has existed for years. The question now is what we're going to do about it.

Findings from the March 6 Jupiter Research report, "Email Marketing Measurement," suggest that part of the problem may rest with email marketers themselves, since half don't review their email metrics even once a month. This is a very disturbing data point, since direct marketing is all about the measurement that comes from direct customer interactions and applying the lessons learned to achieve a better result. 

Unfortunately, the other half of email marketers who do check their email metrics regularly have a challenge as well. As presented in the March 5 eec white paper, "The State of Email Metrics and Bounce Management," the widespread use of conflicting metrics compromises their ability to properly assess campaigns, compare results across solution providers or rely on meaningful industry benchmarks. 

The eec research also exposed the problem of inconsistent bounce data and inadequate bounce processing. While accurate and consistent data from the ISPs is clearly needed, the fact remains that many mailers and ESPs don't have reporting systems capable of drilling down on the data to identify and correct their deliverability problems. 

While the problems with metrics, bounce data and bounce management are real, there is hope. With the right approach, you can overcome these challenges and reap the rewards made possible by effective bounce metrics and bounce management.

The issue of inconsistent bounce metrics should be a wake-up call to carefully evaluate your own practices. Start with fundamental metrics like "mailed" and "delivered" that are used in many other core calculations. Then move onto key engagement metrics like opens and clicks.

Finding the right metrics for your business and establishing a standard calculation method across business units is key to properly evaluating and acting on the data they generate. If you're using a service provider, you'll want to understand their methodologies and insist on proper labeling so you can make apples-to-apples comparisons. Until the industry comes together in adopting more standardized metrics, this approach will give you valuable insight into how your campaign results should be interpreted.  

The next problem to address is non-standardized bounce data. Opens and clicks are dependent on the email getting delivered in the first place, and proper bounce management is an essential tool for maximizing delivery rates.

Without detailed visibility into your bounce rates, you cannot properly manage your lists and practices. Being able to differentiate a soft bounce from a hard bounce is not good enough. You need to know the exact reasons why. Only then can you utilize the data to correctly identify problems and their underlying causes, such as the bad addresses that may result from poor data capture or list hygiene practices. These things are critical to safeguarding your sender reputation and ensuring maximum deliverability. 

While inconsistent bounce data can make this a difficult process, there are solutions available that address the inherent shortcomings. When choosing a bounce management solution, you need to ensure that it has all the right tools to be effective. 

In brief, an effective bounce management solution should provide the following capabilities:

1. Capture data: An effective solution should capture all data streams, both asynchronous and synchronous bounces.
2. Interpret data: The right solution will be able to process the incoming bounce data and correctly interpret a myriad of inconsistent messages.
3. Organize data: After acquiring the data, it should be able to organize it into logical categories, such as hard bounce, soft bounce, block and technical failure.
4. Make data actionable: Once organized, the system should generate reports that make the data actionable in addressing the causes of failures.

The concern over inconsistent metrics and bounce management is legitimate; however, the negative effects can be largely overcome with the right information and tools. Instead of viewing the survey results as an indictment of the industry, you should use them as a catalyst for initiating positive change within your organization and with the service providers you rely on. You should then let your voice be heard in the industry debate. 

Dave Lewis is vice president of market and product strategy for StrongMail Systems. Read full bio.