With 66 percent of Americans using the internet, and email far and away the most popular online activity, things should only be looking up for email marketers. And yes, more companies are using email to reach their customers than ever before.
But the future isn't looking rosy. There are specific threats that are undermining email's usefulness, both as a marketing channel and even as a consumer communication tool. Commercial email is at a crossroads and needs to correct its course in order to once again realize its unique potential.
Threat #1: Illegitimate Email Marketers
Obviously, the biggest threat to email is spam. In its latest Internet Threat Report, Symantec estimates that 75 percent of email volume is spam. 75 percent! All jokes about Viagara and Nigerian bank accounts aside, spam is a huge problem that threatens to choke the system and prevent email marketers from getting their messages through.
And while recent steps like the CAN-SPAM Act -- criminalizing some of the worst aspects of email marketing -- are helpful, they won't make spam go away any time soon.
Threat #2: "Clueless" Email Marketers
Another threat comes in the form of marketers who observe the minimum legal requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act, but fail to recognize some basic best practices. They're the ones who send an unending stream of irrelevant offers (I am one of the many men who've been pitched bikinis and handbags, among other things) and repeat themselves over and over again.
While they aren't breaking any laws, these marketers are making consumers skeptical of their inbox. Where consumers once used to look forward to opening email, many now view it as a chore.
Threat #3: Phishing
Financial scams have become more serious over the past few years, with hackers and even organized crime rings becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to gain consumer credit card numbers and bank account information. Some scam emails and websites are so well produced that even experienced internet users have trouble distinguishing them from the real thing.
Phishing has added an extra wariness to email as a communication channel, coming at a time when more financial institutions are trying to move their printed communications to the Internet.
Threat #4: Internet Security Technology
Spam and phishing have not only made consumers more jaded about email, it has also made them less likely to even receive it. Corporate IT departments and major ISPs have been forced to take severe measures in dealing with illegitimate email. Technologies from companies like Symantec, Sophos, and Network Associates filter through incoming mail and divert or delete messages that follow an invalid format or contain questionable text.
While this has undeniably made the lives of the users of these networks easier, it has also created the problem of "false positives" -- emails that users want to receive that are getting accidentally deleted.
A Doomed Future?
In the context of these growing problems with email, consumers and business email users alike have been increasingly looking for alternate ways to consume online content, such as RSS and text messaging.
But the stakes are too high for commercial email to fail. Businesses have simply invested too much in email development and production over the past decade to walk away from it. Furthermore, many consumers and businesses have become reliant upon transactional email such as purchase confirmations and billing alerts. We need this to work.
With that in mind, here are a few ideas on how we can set things straight again with email.
Support Legislation
CAN-SPAM was an important step: it laid out basic parameters for commercial email, and assigned penalties to those senders who didn't abide by them. This has allowed for some recent high-profile convictions of spammers, but CAN-SPAM only goes so far. As marketers, we need to keep the spam issue central to legislators, and have them address some of the fundamental problems of CAN-SPAM while avoiding a patchwork of laws at the state level that confuse the issue.
Support Industry Consortiums
There are several technology industry groups that have developed standards for sending legitimate commercial email, and identifying those companies who abide by these standards. TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit enabling trust based on privacy for personal information on the internet. Their new email privacy seal enables accredited companies to publicly boast that they are responsible email marketers. SPF and Sender ID are technical protocols developed by industry working groups designed to help stop illegitimate mail. Neither of these measures will improve consumer confidence and interest in email unless more of us join these groups, resolve technology barriers and work toward common solutions.
Take Email Deployment Seriously
Unless your company is highly experienced in sending email and delivers millions per month, it's important to work with an email service provider (ESP) to develop and deploy your email programs. In addition to creative, analytic, campaign management, and other services that will help you plan and create more professional programs, they will help you get your messages through. Specifically:
- Formatting: this can be the difference between your messages getting blocked by Spam filters or making it through. ESPs have tools to ensure your messages are formatted properly and that certain phrases or words are avoided.
- Whitelisting: ESPs invest time and resources with the major ISPs like AOL, MSN and Yahoo! to ensure they are recognized as legitimate senders of commercial email. Without getting into details, this is a complicated process that is best handled by the professionals.
- SPF/Sender ID: While these standards have been set, there are some technical steps that must be taken by marketers in order to comply. An ESP can help you execute them in a timely and organized fashion.
Focus on the Value Exchange
Increased relevance is the secret to effective online marketing. When developing your commercial email programs, understand who your audience is and why they would want to hear from you.
If you are a retailer, ask the right questions about your online shoppers and their families to understand their needs: if there are no children in the household, you shouldn't send them "Back to School" promotion. Also consider a long-term, "nurture" approach rather than simply sending promotional offers. Newsletters offering news clips and thought leadership related to specific industries (for B2B campaigns) or lifestyles (for B2C) can build a positive relationship between you and your customers, and make them more inclined to buy from you in the future.
Segmentation Studies
You can also create greater relevance in marketing programs with segmentation studies. By helping clients build and analyze customer profiles, you're able to help uncover attitudinal and behavior insights that allow planning for the most impactful messages and offers to key customer groups. You can also pre-plan email contact stream that are triggered by customer action or market event. Consistently, interaction rates (open, click-through, pass-along, and purchase) get higher as more segment-specific planning is applied to programs.
Malcom Faulds is director of eMarketing at PreVision, a multi-channel relationship marketing agency helping brands drive high-performing acquisition, upgrade and retention programs through the deepest possible behavioral insights. PreVision is a Valassis company. Find out more at www.previsionmarketing.com.
