Email Marketing Features by Industry (6,887 Calls)

• Blog

What Email Marketing Features Matter for Your Industry (According to 6,887 Sales Calls)

November 11, 2026

Too often when you’re looking for an email marketing platform, you’re faced with a big list of email and automation features that leave you wondering “that sounds good, but is it going to work for me?”

The truth is that most email platforms don’t specialize in any particular industry, and that’s actually a good thing. A lot of industry-specific email features you might be interested in are important, but if your platform doesn’t have good email deliverability and automation features they aren’t going to matter.

That said, there are some email marketing features that are more important to some industries than others. If you’re looking for an email marketing platform and you want to make sure you’re looking at the right features, this article is for you!

We looked over 6,887 sales calls to understand what people in different industries look at in their email marketing platforms.

What did we find?

• Core email marketing features are important to all industries. Integrations, automation, price, and segmentation come up in every industry.
• Some industries care a lot about one particular feature. Ecommerce businesses ask about online store features 11x more often than typical, health and wellness businesses ask about compliance (3.6x more often, mostly HIPAA), and agencies ask about running the platform for clients (4.5x more likely).
• In others, a familiar feature means something specific. When a local service business says they want “several channels in one platform,” that generally means they want SMS. Nonprofit integrations most often mean “Salesforce,” and B2B software cares about attribution reporting.

If you’re interested in specific platforms, we used this same research to study why people leave the 13 best email marketing platforms.

Most industries care about the same features, but have one email marketing feature they’re specifically looking for

Businesses generally care about the same features — marketing automation, reporting, email deliverability, segmentation — but every industry has one or two other features they care about most.

Sometimes this is important but not a deal breaker; other times it can make or break the whole platform purchase. In our research these “extras” came up anywhere from 1.4x more often than normal (a “nice to have” feature) to 11x more often than normal (dealbreaker).

Here’s what businesses from each industry cared about most.

These email marketing features matter in every industry

Integrations, automation, price, and segmentation come up in every industry. At the end of the day, an email marketing platform is an email marketing platform and has to have the core features businesses expect.

• Integrations came up on 44% to 68% of calls
• Automation came up on 40% to 52%
• Price came up on 37% to 51%
• Segmentation came up on 24% to 51%

In our previous research on why people switch platforms, integrations was the single topic most likely to come up on a call.

If you’re deciding on an email marketing platform, you should first check that it checks all your email features boxes in these four areas — a platform with a really interesting real estate feature (for example) is not going to be useful if it has bad automation or doesn’t integrate with your other tools.

This guide to email marketing covers the basics of what you’re looking for in terms of features. If you want help choosing a platform, this email marketing software comparison guide compares some of the most popular platforms.

1. Email marketing features for ecommerce

For an online store, “store features” matter more than anything else. Ecommerce businesses were 11x more likely than average to bring up store features like abandoned-cart emails and store sync. Those came up on 35% of their calls, compared to 3% overall.

This makes sense — if you run an ecommerce store, you need ecommerce features! And if you don’t run an online store, those features don’t matter to you at all. That’s likely why this finding has the most skewed result in the whole study.

What specifically came up on ecommerce calls?

• Abandoned-cart or browse-abandonment emails (about 3 in 10 of those conversations)
• Shopify was mentioned by name (about 1 in 5 calls)
• Seeing order and product data on each contact (about 1 in 5 calls)
• Segments and automations built based on purchase history (about 1 in 7 calls)

What are ecommerce businesses thinking about when they switch email platforms? Ecommerce businesses were 1.7x more likely to start looking for a new email platform because they were changing their CRM. They were also 1.6x more likely to worry that sender reputation would drop during the change.

Ecommerce businesses tended to have larger contact lists than other business types, which can affect the price of email marketing.

What should ecommerce businesses look for in an email platform?

• What a store integration gives you. Ask whether it syncs orders with line items, the product catalog, and cart events for guest shoppers. Past orders matter too, so you can segment on purchase history from the first day.
• Abandoned-cart emails. Baymard Institute puts the average cart abandonment rate at 70.22% across 50 studies. In a field experiment in the Journal of Marketing, retargeting reminders sent within an hour of abandonment made a purchase less likely. Abandoned cart emails are important!
• Segments built on purchases, so a repeat buyer and a first-time browser get different emails.

Every ActiveCampaign plan connects to Shopify and WooCommerce and includes abandoned-cart emails (ActiveCampaign for ecommerce).

2. Email marketing features for healthcare and wellness businesses

For a clinic, gym, or wellness business, compliance was the most important email marketing feature. Health and wellness businesses were 3.6x more likely to bring it up, most often as HIPAA. Compliance came up on 39% of their calls, against 11% overall.

What specifically came up on healthcare calls?

• About 7 in 10 compliance conversations were about HIPAA, so HIPAA came up on about 1 in 4 of all health and wellness calls.
• About 1 in 6 were about signing a BAA, which is also related to HIPAA
• Having several channels in one platform also came up 1.3x more often, and mostly meant adding SMS.

What should healthcare businesses look for in an email platform?

• Whether HIPAA applies to you. HIPAA covers health plans and providers that bill insurance electronically (CMS). Some kinds of coaching or cash-pay studios may not be covered, but you should still check the FTC's health-data rules.
• A signed BAA before any patient data goes in. A platform that stores or sends a covered provider's patient data counts as a business associate under federal law (45 CFR 160.103). Ask which plans include a BAA and which features it covers.
• Patient lists should be treated as protected health information. Protected health information includes demographic details tied to a person's care, so a patient list may count even if there is no medical information in it.
• Health details kept out of texts and subject lines.

ActiveCampaign offers HIPAA support on its Enterprise plan, with a signed BAA (ActiveCampaign for healthcare).

3. Email marketing features for agencies

When you run email for clients, your email platform has to handle more than one business. Agencies were 4.5x more likely to talk about running, setting up or reselling the platform for clients. Business fit, meaning whether the platform suits an agency's setup, came up 1.6x more often.

What specifically came up on agency calls?

• Business fit meant handling several client accounts or brands (about 3 in 10 of those conversations) and a platform that isn't overkill (about 3 in 10).
• CRM meant having marketing and sales in one platform, with a deal pipelines feature (about 1 in 4 each).

What are agencies thinking about when they switch email platforms? Having someone with the time and skill to run the platform was a deciding reason for agencies 1.4x more often than on other calls. Agencies were also the least likely of any industry to raise a worry about switching; it came up 0.79x as much on their calls.

What should agencies look for in an email platform?

• Separate client accounts under one login, each with its own contacts, automations and reports, and roles that limit what your team and each client can change.
• Who pays. Either you resell the platform and bill the client, or the client pays the platform directly. Either way, ask about a partner discount or commission.
• White-label branding, if your clients will log in.
• An entry plan that fits a small client, so a small account doesn't pay for features it won't use.

ActiveCampaign's Agency Partner program pays a commission or gives resellers a discount, and agencies manage client accounts from one Partner Portal, with white-label options.

4. Email marketing features for nonprofits

If you're a nonprofit, school or public body, data and segmentation are the standout extra features. Nonprofit, public sector and education organizations were 1.6x more likely to bring up data and segmentation. Integrations (68% of calls), reporting, compliance, and the email editor also came up more than average.

What specifically came up on nonprofit calls?

• About a third of integration conversations were about Salesforce, which came up on about 1 in 5 of all nonprofit calls.
• Custom databases or data warehouses came up in about 1 in 6 calls
• Donor, membership, or payment systems came up on about 1 in 7.
• Segmentation concerns were more likely to be based on demographic, location, or interest than on their past behavior.
• Reporting for nonprofits means “email performance,” and they were creating reports for a board or other stakeholders.
• Compliance was mostly about security reviews and procurement, and going through the formal buying process (for larger organization).

What are nonprofits thinking about when they switch email platforms? Nonprofits were the most likely of any industry to raise a worry about switching, at 1.3x more likely than a typical call (switching concerns are common across industries, but nonprofits were most likely to be concerned).

The effort of switching was a deciding reason 1.4x more often than on other calls. On half their calls, prospects said deadlines, approvals or IT review would determine their timeline for migration. Their biggest worries were meeting the deadline, cleaning up contact data, and reconnecting integrations.

What should nonprofits look for in an email platform?

• Which Salesforce setup the integration supports. Salesforce now offers nonprofits two setups. Since December 2025, new production accounts don't come with the older Nonprofit Success Pack preinstalled (Trailhead). The newer Nonprofit Cloud has been renamed Agentforce Nonprofit (Salesforce Ben). Ask whether the platform you’re looking at syncs donations and households as well as contacts.
• Security and data processing agreements. Not every platform will meet the security standards a nonprofit demands. These usually include a SOC 2 report (an outside security audit) and a security questionnaire, as well as a data processing agreement.
• Reports that show donations by campaign. In M+R's 2026 Benchmarks, email brought in 11% of nonprofits' online revenue. Reporting on email performance is very important, and you want to make sure it shows donations and not just clicks and opens

ActiveCampaign offers nonprofits 20% off with proof of status, and its SOC 2 report is available through its Trust Center.

5. Email marketing features for B2B and SaaS companies

If you sell to other businesses, reporting and attribution are the largest extra concerns. B2B software and tech businesses were 1.5x more likely to bring up reporting, most often attribution and revenue. CRM and AI also came up more than average.

What specifically came up on B2B and SaaS business calls?

• More than 4 in 10 reporting conversations were about attribution or revenue.
• For B2B, needing a CRM meant needing deal pipelines specifically.
• When B2B and SaaS businesses talked about AI, they wanted tools that build or run campaigns rather than tools that write copy.

What are B2B and SaaS businesses thinking about when they switch email platforms? B2B and SaaS businesses were 2x more likely to want a platform that was not too complex, and also 2x more likely to not want one that charged for more features than they used.

What should B2B and SaaS businesses look for in an email platform?

• Which attribution models the reports offer, meaning whether credit goes to the first touch, the last touch, or multitouch. You also want to be able to tie revenue back to closed deals.
• How the CRM sync works, if you're keeping your CRM instead of switching: which records sync, in which direction and how often.
• Deal stages and deal-triggered automations, if you'd use the platform's own pipeline instead of a separate CRM system.
• Pricing that matches what you'll use, so you're not paying for features you won't touch.

ActiveCampaign's Pro and Enterprise plans include revenue attribution and conversion tracking (ActiveCampaign for SaaS and technology). ActiveCampaign also has a CRM.

6. Email marketing features for local service businesses

Restaurants, salons, contractors and other local services want to send text messages in the same platform as email marketing. Local service businesses were 1.4x more likely to want several channels in one platform, most often SMS.

What specifically came up on local service business calls?

• About 2 in 3 conversations about multiple channels were about SMS
• WhatsApp came next, at about 1 in 6 channel conversations.

What are local service businesses thinking about when they switch email platforms? Many were stepping up from a platform that couldn't run nurture sequences or triggered automations, which came up 1.35x more often than in a typical call.

What should local service businesses look for in an email platform?

• Texts and emails on one contact record, with clear consent tracking and ability to add both to one automation.
• Replies in a shared inbox, so that anyone on the team can respond to text messages.
• Ability to collect written consent for every marketing text. Under US rules, automated marketing texts may need written consent that clearly authorizes your business to send them (47 CFR 64.1200). US carriers also make businesses register their SMS campaigns before sending (Holland & Knight).

On ActiveCampaign, SMS is available on the Plus plan and up as an add-on. SMS campaigns go to the US, UK and Australia, and replies come into a shared SMS inbox.

7. Email marketing features for creators and coaches

If you sell courses or coaching, price and the cost of switching are more important than in most other industries. Creators and coaches were 1.9x more likely to bring up the cost of switching, and price came up 1.16x more often.

What specifically came up on creator calls?

• The cost of switching meant spending time and effort, rebuilding automations and moving contacts intact (each came up in about 3 out of 10 calls).
• Several channels in one platform came up 1.26x more often as well, and usually was related to WhatsApp (about 4 in 10 calls), then SMS (about 1 in 4 calls).

What are creators thinking about when they switch email platforms? Deliverability and reliability problems were slightly more common reasons for switching. The effort of switching or feeling of being locked in came up 1.57x more often on calls with creators.

What should creators look for in an email platform?

• WhatsApp through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform, if your audience is outside the US, with pre-approved message templates and opt-in. Meta doesn't deliver WhatsApp marketing messages to US phone numbers. It has charged per message since July 1, 2025 (Meta).
• Integrations to your course, payment, and booking tools, so a purchase or booking can start an automation.
• Migration done for you. You want an easy switch, so you keep your tags, templates, and automations.

ActiveCampaign has WhatsApp built in, as its own plan or an add-on to Plus and up (ActiveCampaign for creators). We will also migrate some of your account (a contact list, template, form, or automation) for free on qualifying plans.

8. Email marketing features for publishers and newsletters

A newsletter or media business needs to check deliverability first, since email delivery is a huge part of their business. Media and publishers were 1.9x more likely to bring up deliverability. When they brought up “reporting,” they usually meant email performance.

What are publishers thinking about when they switch email platforms? Publishers had the largest lists of any industry. Worry that sender reputation and results would suffer in a switch was 2.7x more likely to come up on these calls.

Building trust for a new sending domain worried them nearly 3x as often as other business types. Paying for contacts they don’t email also came up 1.67x more often.

What should publishers look for in an email platform?

• Great deliverability. If your email platform doesn’t have good deliverability, nothing else matters.
• How you'll meet the bulk-sender rules. Gmail and Yahoo require email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) on your domain, one-click unsubscribe and spam complaints below 0.3%. Gmail and Microsoft apply their rules above 5,000 messages a day. A great email platform should help with this.
• A written warm-up plan for your list size, starting with your most engaged subscribers.
• Which contacts count toward your bill. With big contact lists, the price depends on whether unsubscribed, bounced and inactive contacts count.

ActiveCampaign's help center sets out a 30-day warm-up plan for lists of more than 50,000 contacts, and our guide to email deliverability covers the rest. ActiveCampaign also has the #1 highest email deliverability according to Email Tool Tester’s independent tests.

9. Email marketing features for real estate and financial services

Real estate, insurance and financial businesses didn’t care about any specific feature more than others, except for compliance. Financial services and real estate businesses were 1.5x more likely to bring up compliance, spread across consent rules, security reviews and regulators.

What specifically came up on real estate and finance calls?

• There was no single compliance rule that all businesses were trying to meet. Consent and opt-in rules came up in about 1 in 4 of those conversations and security reviews in about 1 in 5. Industry regulators and procurement came up in about 1 in 6 each.
• When these businesses talked about “automation,” they meant nurture and drip sequences first (about 1 in 4), then automations triggered by what contacts do. About 1 in 10 calls mentioned automations tied to renewals or key dates.

What are real estate and finance businesses thinking about when they switch email platforms? These businesses were less likely than average to raise a worry about switching, and it came up 0.86x as often. They were slightly more likely to start looking for a new platform because of a deliverability problem, and this came up as a starting factor 1.38x as often.

What should real estate and finance businesses look for in an email platform?

• Approval and archiving, if you're a broker-dealer or adviser. FINRA Rule 2210 requires a qualified supervisor to approve most marketing to retail investors before it goes out. SEC Rule 17a-4 makes broker-dealers keep business communications for at least three years. Advisers must keep ads for five (Rule 204-2). Ask whether a reviewer can approve each campaign before it sends, and whether every email and text reaches your archive.
• Segments built on what people told you they want. The federal fair-housing rule bars targeting by protected traits such as race or religion. It covers who you send to as well as what the email says (24 CFR 100.75).
• Automations tied to dates, such as renewals, anniversaries and review reminders.

For more, see ActiveCampaign for real estate.

About this research

This research comes from 6,887 ActiveCampaign sales calls with prospects weighing a switch.

• Tagging. AI tools tagged a summary of each call against a fixed list of 19 buying factors (features, price, support, and so on). They also tagged what started the search, worries about switching, and nine broader themes, marking up to three themes per call as deciding reasons. A second reviewer re-checked a random sample without seeing the first tags.
• Industry. Industry was tagged on about 3 in 4 calls, and the two reviewers agreed closely on it. We report nine industries and leave out calls in other industries or with no industry stated.
• What each feature means. We read the call summaries behind each industry's standout features and sorted them into specific topics. A second reviewer sorted about 1 in 4 of those calls again without seeing the first sorting, as a reliability check. We report only topics where the two reliably agreed.
• Multiples. Figures like 3.6x compare an industry's calls with all 6,887 calls. The chart's shading marks increases unlikely to be caused by random chance.
• Limits. These are ActiveCampaign's own calls, so they show what businesses raise when they talk to ActiveCampaign.