Emerce100 2026: mailmeisters #1 in marketing automation

Mailmeisters is #1 in marketing automation and ranks among the best e-business companies in the Netherlands

The Emerce100 2026 has been announced and mailmeisters has been named number 1 in marketing automation. On top of that, we rank among the highest-rated e-business companies in the Netherlands. It is a recognition we are proud of, precisely because it is based entirely on ratings from professionals in the digital sector. Within the marketing automation category, mailmeisters achieved the highest score in the survey.

In a market where many agencies offer similar services, it is becoming ever more important to be able to rely on partners who prove their value in practice. This recognition gives a good picture of how clients and partners experience working with us.

But more importantly: it shows how email marketing, marketing automation and personalisation have grown into one of the most important growth engines in e-commerce.

The Emerce100 as a benchmark for quality in the digital sector

For years, the Emerce100 has been one of the best-known overviews of the top e-business companies in the Netherlands. Unlike many awards, it is not about a jury or a pitch, but about how companies are actually rated by the market.

Decision-makers, marketers and industry professionals give their opinion on the agencies and platforms they work with themselves. The result is a list that is less susceptible to marketing stories and says more about day-to-day practice.

For companies looking for a reliable partner in e-commerce, technology or marketing, the Emerce100 has therefore become an important point of reference. It offers direction in a landscape where there is a lot on offer and the differences are not always immediately visible.

At the same time, it is not the finish line. A listing in the Emerce100 says something about how you are perceived today, but it also immediately raises the bar for the future.

Why the difference is being made now

The digital sector has matured in recent years. Where growth used to be driven mainly by more traffic and bigger budgets, the focus is now increasingly on efficiency, relevance and making the most of existing customers.

You can see this reflected in the companies in the Emerce100 too. The organisations that are rated highly stand out less for one-off campaigns and more for their ability to add value structurally.

In e-commerce, for example, this means the emphasis is shifting from acquisition to retention. Attracting new customers remains important, but real growth increasingly lies in making better use of existing relationships.

That is where email marketing and marketing automation come firmly into the picture.

Where email used to be seen mainly as a channel for newsletters and promotions, it has now become an essential part of the entire customer journey. From first introduction to repeat purchase and loyalty.

Companies that set this up well no longer build one-off campaigns, but systems that continuously contribute to revenue and customer value.

From campaigns to systems

One of the biggest changes in recent years is the shift from campaign-driven marketing to retention marketing.

Many organisations are used to thinking in campaigns. A promotion is devised, a mailing is created and a moment is chosen to send it. That works, but it often depends on timing and capacity.

Retention marketing is about something else. Instead of sending campaigns manually, customer journeys are set up that respond automatically to behaviour. Think of flows around welcome moments, abandoned baskets, repeat purchases or customer activity.

The big advantage is that these flows are always “on”. They do not wait for a marketing calendar, but respond to what a customer is doing at that moment.

This makes communication more relevant and more consistent. Not just at peak moments, but throughout the year.

For many e-commerce companies, this is one of the most important steps towards scalable growth.

The role of data and personalisation

Automation alone does not get you there. The real impact comes when automation is combined with data and personalisation.

Customers increasingly expect communication to match their interests, behaviour and previous purchases. Generic messages are more easily ignored, while relevant content stands out and converts.

This means companies need to handle data more intelligently. Not just collecting it, but above all translating it into concrete applications.

Which products has someone viewed? How often has someone bought? Which stage of the customer journey is someone in? Based on signals like these, you can tailor your communication without it having to become complex.

Personalisation does not always have to be big. Small adjustments, such as relevant product recommendations or timing based on behaviour, often already make a big difference.

Within the Emerce100, you can see that companies that invest in this properly perform structurally better. Not because they do more, but because they do it smarter.

Why this often remains difficult in practice

Although the benefits of marketing automation and personalisation are clear, execution remains a challenge in practice for many companies.

There are several reasons for this.

First, there is often fragmentation. Data sits in different systems, making it hard to get a complete picture of the customer. Without that overview, personalisation quickly becomes limited.

In addition, there is regularly a lack of time and focus. Marketing teams are busy with day-to-day campaigns and do not have enough room to build flows and automations structurally.

Knowledge plays a role too. Tools such as Klaviyo, Copernica or Deployteq offer a great many possibilities, but require a well-thought-out setup. Without a clear strategy, many features go unused.

As a result, companies stay stuck in one-off campaigns, while the biggest gains lie in the underlying structure.

Marketing automation as a growth engine for e-commerce

In our work with clients, the emphasis is therefore not on one-off promotions, but on building a solid foundation.

That starts with insight. We look at data, customer behaviour and existing campaigns to determine where the biggest opportunities lie. Often they are not in yet another newsletter, but in optimising existing flows or adding logical steps to the customer journey.

We then set up marketing automation so that it fits the way the organisation actually works. No complex systems that are hard to maintain, but scalable solutions that keep working.

Personalisation is built up step by step. Not everything at once, but in phases, so that every improvement is immediately measurable.

What we often see is that this approach in particular brings calm and clarity. Instead of constantly coming up with new campaigns, you get a system that contributes to results on an ongoing basis.

What clients get out of it

For clients, this ultimately translates into concrete results.

Conversions improve because communication better matches what someone needs at that moment. Customers feel better understood, which contributes to trust and repeat purchases.

There is also more predictability. Because flows are continuously active, part of the revenue becomes less dependent on one-off campaigns or seasonal peaks.

You see the effect in the long term too. Through consistent and relevant communication, customer value grows while the pressure on acquisition decreases.

Our view on the years ahead

For us, the Emerce100 2026 confirms that the direction we have been following for years is the right one.

We will keep investing in further developing marketing automation, using data intelligently and applying AI where it genuinely adds value. Not as an end in itself, but as a means to make communication more relevant and effective.

At the same time, the foundation stays the same. Understanding what a customer needs and responding with the right message at the right moment.

Technology changes fast, but that principle still stands.

Curious where your biggest opportunities lie?

For many organisations, the biggest growth lies not in doing more, but in doing it smarter. In making better use of existing customers, optimising processes and deploying data at the right moments.

Would you like insight into where the biggest opportunities lie for your organisation in email marketing and marketing automation? Then we would be happy to show you concretely where your biggest opportunities lie and how to make the most of them straight away.