# Email Marketing News Digest In this week’s issue, we look at a preview statistic from the 2013 DMA Tracking Study, the average company response time to complaint emails, reasons why consumers mark email as spam and ways to work that subject line! **[Segmentation driving email…driving segmentation](http://dmaemailblog.com/2013/09/30/segmentation-driving-emaildriving-segmentation/ "Segmentation driving email…driving segmentation")** One third of respondents in the 2013 DMA tracking study still feel that 20% or less of the emails they received were relevant – a clarion call to marketers to start doing more [segmentation](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/weekly-digest-022/#sthash.SOa0e6Rs.dpbs "The Do's & Don't of Email Segmentation") with their lists. [Superficial personalization may well be falling out of favour](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/weekly-digest-031/#sthash.P8B7n2Ei.dpbs "Are consumers now numb to email personalization?"), but subscribers appreciate emails that are properly customized to their preferences. The official 2013 DMA tracking study will be launched on October 17 and needless to say, we’ll definitely be looking forward to seeing the results. **[News Byte: 59% of Companies Take More Than Eight Hours to Respond to Email Inquiries](http://www.dmnews.com/news-byte-59-of-companies-take-more-than-eight-hours-to-respond-to-email-inquiries/article/314585/ "News Byte: 59% of Companies Take More Than Eight Hours to Respond to Email Inquiries")** When it comes to email enquiries, 59% of companies take more than 8 hours to respond, and 26.5% take 24 hours or more. Email remains the most common channel for complaining with 42% of respondents listing it as their preferred channel and 36% listing the phone. For comparison, the average Twitter response time is 4.6 hours. If you’re one of these companies that have a long lag time in responding to customers then it seems that automation may be the way to go. Read about how US Airways has managed to raise customer satisfaction in the [case study](http://www.messagesystems.com/resources/case-studies/us-airways "US Airways Case Study"), or watch the video below. **[Top Reasons Consumers Give For Marking Emails as Spam](http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/online/top-reasons-consumers-give-for-marking-emails-as-spam-36897/ "Top Reasons Consumers Give For Marking Emails as Spam")** Here’s a finding that would make most email marketers sit up and take notice: Reasons why subscribers mark your email as spam. **[Four Approaches to Make Your Subject Lines Work Harder](http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2296059/four-approaches-to-make-your-subject-lines-work-harder "Four Approaches to Make Your Subject Lines Work Harder")** Subject lines remain one of the main determinants on whether an email is opened. If subscribers can’t be bothered to click on your email, they can’t see your special enticing offer, which means the possibility of a sale is absolutely zero. Here are some ways to get your subject lines noticed. - Incorporate special characters like ✈ - [Personalization](http://www.messagesystems.com/blog/weekly-digest-031/#sthash.LQzZo34f.dpbs "Are consumers now numb to email personalization?") - Frontload subject lines with the most important information - Include [Quick Action](http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/take-action-right-from-inbox.html "Quick Action Gmail buttons") buttons from Gmail that allow subscribers to convert without opening your mail **[Infographic: How Email Strategies are Changing](http://www.marketingtechblog.com/infographic-email-changing/ "Infographic: How Email Strategies Are Changing")**