Email marketing is a Cinderella story. Long after distancing itself from its researcher-centric beginnings and befuddling Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail," email is rising from the ashes of spam and proving that it's not only a contender, but a hands-down winner. Forrester Research agrees, and its new forecast on the space predicts that "spending on email marketing in the U.S. will balloon to $2 billion by 2014 -- a nearly 11 percent compound annual growth rate."
Susan Kuchinskas's iMedia article, "5 major hurdles for email marketing," referred to email as an "endangered workhorse" and cited a number of "hurdles" that email marketers need to prepare to face as they try this medium. The article highlighted the perceived challenges of email as a marketing medium, but missed key research that could help marketers accurately assess the appropriate place for email in their current and future marketing budgets.
Deliverability is not getting worse
In fact, marketers who follow the basics of permission and understand the importance of their email reputation will have great success delivering email, often with deliverability rates near 100 percent.
Co-author Morgan Stewart is director of research and strategy at ExactTarget. This recent article shows how the overall volume of spam has ebbed and flowed over the past 12 months, but CAN-SPAM and other technologies have in fact reduced the amount of junk email most people receive.
But spam volume is the wrong statistic to look at when supporting or refuting the viability of the email channel. What's important is whether or not legitimate brands can get their message delivered. The evidence is a strong "yes they can!" The receiving ends of the email equation (ISPs) are now better equipped than ever to discern the difference between a brand's customer emails and spam.
Most ISPs, especially in the U.S., have embraced things like user "report-as-spam" buttons and sender authentication technologies that make it easier for them to discern the legitimate marketers from the spammers. Marketers who are careful about sending only to addresses that have opted in and following ISP guidelines should have success. Brands should ensure they are signed up with ISP whitelists and complaint feedback loops, then follow the common sense rules by quickly removing bounces and addresses of those that complain.
Also, and most importantly, serve the needs of the subscriber, honor their unique preferences for content, channel, and frequency, and deliver content that improves their lives.
Email isn't just for "old people"
The common sentiment that "email is for old people" is based on the misinterpretation of the personal communication habits of young consumers. An extensive study issued last year looked at the differences between preferences for personal versus marketing communications (see the 2008 Channel Preference Survey). While it's true that teens and young adults are more likely to text with their friends or families than they are to send email, this does not mean that they have the same preferences when communicating with companies.
This delineation is similar to one made by "old people." Consumers 35 and older are likely to prefer talking on the phone with their friends and family to all forms of written communication, including email. If we were to apply the same faulty logic to "old people" that we apply to millennials, we would all be buying stock in telemarketing companies.
If personal communication preferences are not the way to determine which channels should be used for marketing, then what is?
In the 2008 Channel Preference Survey, ExactTarget asked consumers which channel they would prefer companies use when sending them different types of communications. The majority of consumers -- 72 percent -- prefer permission-based promotional messages come through email.
Not surprisingly, teenagers were the only group that differed significantly. The surprise was in what they wanted instead of email. Only 1 percent preferred text messages. When it came to messages through social networks, the number was 1 percent again. Instead of these emerging channels, 32 percent of teenagers 15 to 17 years old want permission-based offers delivered through direct mail -- 8 percent more than people in the 35- to 54-year-old segment (most likely their parents' age).
Lastly, messaging preferences depend on the type of message being sent. Unfortunately, there are no simple answers. Communication preferences are a very personal matter. We see this when looking at things like travel alerts. Some people want email, some want text messages, while others want a phone call. Consumers want a choice! Giving subscribers control over which channels you use to communicate with them is, without question, the best way to go.
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