SaaS Email Metrics That Matter: Beyond Open Rates

Open rates get all the attention, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. For SaaS companies running lifecycle email, the metrics that matter tie email performance directly to business outcomes: trials converted, churn prevented, MRR generated. This guide covers the email metrics that actually drive decisions.

The Metrics Hierarchy

Email metrics fall into three levels, from surface to substance:

Level 1: Delivery Metrics

Did the email reach the inbox?

• Delivery rate: % of emails accepted by mail servers
• Bounce rate: % rejected (hard bounces are permanent, soft are temporary)
• Spam complaint rate: % marked as spam by recipients

These are table stakes. If delivery metrics are poor, nothing else matters. Target 98%+ delivery rate and under 0.1% spam complaints.

Level 2: Engagement Metrics

Did recipients interact with the email?

• Open rate: % who opened (increasingly unreliable due to privacy features)
• Click rate: % who clicked a link
• Click-to-open rate: Clicks divided by opens (email content effectiveness)
• Unsubscribe rate: % who opted out

Engagement metrics indicate email quality but don't directly measure business impact. An email with high opens but no conversions isn't valuable.

Level 3: Business Metrics

Did email drive business outcomes?

• Conversion rate: % who took the desired action
• Revenue attributed: MRR connected to email
• Trial conversion rate: % of trials converted via email
• Churn prevented: Revenue saved through dunning and retention

This is where SaaS email measurement should focus. Sequenzy tracks revenue attribution natively, connecting email to MRR impact.

Key Metrics by Sequence Type

Onboarding Sequences

Primary metrics:

• Activation rate: % completing key onboarding milestones
• Time to activation: How quickly users reach value
• Drop-off points: Where users stop engaging

Trial Conversion Sequences

Primary metrics:

• Trial-to-paid conversion: Ultimate success metric
• Conversion by email: Which emails drive conversions
• Conversion timing: When in trial users convert
• MRR from conversions: Revenue attributed to trial sequences

Dunning Sequences

Primary metrics:

• Recovery rate: % of failed payments recovered
• Recovery by attempt: Which email in sequence recovers most
• MRR saved: Revenue retained through dunning
• Time to recovery: How quickly payments are updated

Retention Sequences

Primary metrics:

• Save rate: % of at-risk users retained
• Reactivation rate: % of churned users who return
• MRR retained: Revenue saved through retention efforts

The Open Rate Problem

Open rates are increasingly unreliable:

• Apple Mail Privacy Protection: Pre-fetches images, inflating opens
• Corporate firewalls: Can block tracking pixels
• Plain text email: Can't track opens without images

Don't abandon open rates entirely, but don't make major decisions based on them alone. Click rates and conversion rates are more reliable indicators of email effectiveness.

Benchmarks for SaaS Email

Typical ranges for SaaS lifecycle email:

Delivery

• Delivery rate: 97-99%
• Bounce rate: 1-3%
• Spam complaint rate: under 0.1%

Engagement

• Open rate: 25-45% (varies by sequence type)
• Click rate: 3-10%
• Unsubscribe rate: under 0.5%

Business Outcomes

• Trial conversion: 5-15% (varies widely by product)
• Payment recovery: 30-50% of failed payments
• Churn prevention: 5-15% save rate

Your benchmarks depend on your product, pricing, and audience. Compare against your own historical performance rather than industry averages.

Setting Up Measurement

Revenue Attribution

Connect email to revenue by:

• Tracking conversions within attribution windows
• Connecting email platform to billing system
• Recording which sequence/email preceded conversion

Sequenzy handles this automatically with native Stripe integration, attributing MRR to specific sequences and emails.

Cohort Analysis

Compare performance across:

• Time periods (week over week, month over month)
• Segments (by plan, company size, acquisition source)
• A/B test variants

Funnel Visualization

Track the full journey:

• Sent → Delivered → Opened → Clicked → Converted
• Identify where users drop off
• Optimize the weakest points

Using Metrics to Improve

Metrics should drive action:

Low delivery rate

Check authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, and sending reputation.

Low open rate

Test subject lines, sender names, and send timing. Consider if your emails are too frequent.

Low click rate

Improve email content, CTA clarity, and relevance. Are you sending to the right segment?

Low conversion rate

Examine landing page, offer, and targeting. The email got them there; what happens next?

Platform Capabilities

Choose platforms with robust analytics:

Sequenzy: Native revenue attribution, MRR tracking, sequence performance dashboards. Built for SaaS metrics that matter.

Customer.io: Good analytics with conversion tracking. Requires more setup for revenue attribution.

Loops: Clean analytics interface. Growing attribution capabilities.

Start Measuring What Matters

Move beyond open rates to metrics that connect email to business outcomes. Revenue attribution transforms email from a cost center to a measurable growth channel.