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Fulfilling the Promise of E-mail Marketing
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The Promise of E-mail MarketingThere is no doubt that e-mail marketing can be an extremely cost-effective market-h
ing tool and when used properly can significantly improve a company's bottom line. It can be used in every element of the marketing process, from building the brand, to driving website and store traffic, to marketing special offers and providing customer service or technical support.
E-mail can deliver a number of benefits as part an overall marketing strategy:W
. E-mail marketing is less expensive than direct mail. The cost per communication can be as low as 1/10 that of direct mail.. I t provides the means of customizing each message so that the information, promotion or product can be individually personalized or customized.. It offers marketers instant measurement and response. You can track the results of a campaign in real time, providing instant feedback on its success. This allows marketers to respond to developments as they happen, make changes to the campaign while it is still in progress, and to complete the feedback loop quickly and effectively.. It can deliver frequency at levels set by the marketer. Daily, weekly or even monthly e-mails can help to keep a brand top of mind.. E-mail provides massive reach - up to 93 percent of Internet users. . E-mail offers a low-cost method of conducting research among customers or prospects, and allows researchers to capture results much more quickly and efficiently than traditional methods.. E -mail has been used to successfully build relationships with a customer base - turning "casual interest" or "no interest" targets into prospects, prospects into customers, and newly acquired customers into repeat customers. One value of e-mail marketing is it has the potential to create an on-going, interactive dialogue with customers that helps them feel emotionally connected to a brand.Fulfilling the Promise of E-mail Marketing
Given these advantages over other communica- The issue has reached such heights that the gov-tions methods, it's no wonder that many market- ernment got involved to police e-mail marketing. ers turned to e-mail as the medium of choice for The result was the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which communicating with their customer base and target established requirements and basic parameters for prospects. E-mail was perceived as a low-cost, highly commercial e-mail, outlined consumer rights and efficient way to communicate immediately with assigned penalties to those senders who do not massive audiences - or small groups. An ideal abide by them. While the CAN-SPAM act has medium for companies of virtually any size to helped, it has been most effective in giving gener-promote products and services, gather market data ally conscientious U.S.-based companies useful or maintain a dialogue with all of their audiences. guidelines. It has had a limited effect on companies E-mail marketing quickly became a mainstay of outside U.S. jurisdiction, or on companies who are many companies' communications programs. dedicated to working around the guidelines in ways that make it difficult to identify and prosecute them.
Obstacles with E-mail Marketing ISPs and software companies have joined in the fray, The initial results of e-mail marketing campaigns and created new tools, filters, authentication systems were staggering. Response rates soared past the and custom applications to combat SPAM, with some best numbers delivered by more traditional media. limited success. While these responses have helped ROI analyses indicated that the combination of to reduce SPAM coming into the in-box, e-mail low production and delivery costs combined with filters and blockers provide headaches for e-market-higher-than-anticipated response made e-mail one ers and consumers since they cause e-mail delivery of the most profitable marketing vehicles available. issues for legitimate e-mail of all types, including permission-based marketing messages. But as more companies realized the power of e-mail marketing, the market dynamics shifted. More and A more insidious - and potentially more danger-more companies offered e-mail services - some ous - problem with e-mail is the growing number more legitimate than others. E-mail marketing of scams, security breaches and hacking problems became subject ... [download for more]
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