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So why do I keep hearing about email marketing, does it really work?
Boring for some interesting for others, I’ve chosen to present some little facts about email marketing before I start on why it’s so effective.
- According to Research done by DMA, Email’s ROI in 2008 was $45.06 for every dollar spent.
- 44% of respondents in a consumer survey said that email from financial services companies make them feel more loyal towards the companies and their products – Epsilon (Oct 2008)
- Email is delivering sales at an average cost per order of less than $7, compared to $71.89 for banner ads, $26.75 for paid search and $17.47 for affiliate programs. – Shop.org, State of Retailing Online 2007 report (Sept. 2007)
- 67% of respondents prefer email as a communications channel over other online vehicles and 65 percent believe this will continue to be the case in five years. – Habeas (2008)
- 80% of Marketers Report Email Is Strongest Performing Media Buy Ahead of Search and Display. – Datran Media, “Marketing & Media Survey” (2008)
Ok so there’s stats, but why does it work?
Focused:
Email marketing allows you to customize your pitch according to the segment you are targeting. For example you’re a clothes retailer and want to sell more of a certain product to some selected customers whom you have had good interactions with in the past (ie they’ve a membership card/ made purchases in the last 2 months). You can select those customers in your database and send them a targeted email to them offering “special loyalty discount for our members” Therefore email marketing can help you communicate with various segments of your customers by customizing your pitch.
Cost Effective:
Compared with the very HIGH cost of other marketing channels, email marketing can save you a lot of money and effort, besides bringing you traffic and conversions. Before purchasing databases or lists of prospects, start collecting leads from your website in the form of email addresses. Lure visitors for free information or eNewsletters. Nothing spreads faster than word of mouth, make every customer or visitor to your website feel like a king, and if they feel well treated, they’ll pay you back in the form of referrals.
Immediate Results:
The results of email marketing are often immediate. As soon as the email is sent, you can start collecting the data for open rate and click throughs. Moreover, you start getting visits on your website or blog. To maximize results, your website needs to show some sticky and related content which can hold the visitors and convert them into goals.
Measurable:
In our view, an email campaign is a failure if it cannot be measured. Measuring a campaign is the most important aspect of any marketing effort. The good news is, email campaigns can be integrated with web analytics and data can be captured along with your regular web analytics reports.
ROI:
It’s very difficult to improve if you can’t measure ROI. As discussed above, email marketing is measurable and the ROI gives you direction about which area needs more focus and efforts. Conversion is the critical aspect of ROI. Content helps in the first step towards conversion i.e. creating interest. However, specific drivers push them towards conversion.
So in the end does it work? If done correctly it’s very effective.
Should you bother? Ofcourse!
