DISCUSSION
Email marketing drives sales results and sometimes drives customers away
Written by Tom Ryan
Source: JCrew
While one might think flooded in-boxes overwhelm consumers, surveys continue to show email marketing can be highly effective for brands and retailers.
Litmus' “2020 State of Email, Fall Edition” found that 78 percent of marketing executives indicate email marketing is vital to the overall success of their company, up from 71 percent last year.
Favorable findings have been found in past surveys of marketers including a Litmus survey from 2019, which found email marketing delivering a whopping 4,200 percent return on investment or $42 for every $1.00 spent.
As for consumers, a Pathwire survey of 2,000 consumers in the U.S. and four European countries exploring email engagement taken last December found 78.5 percent want to hear from brands at least once a week; 51.9 percent want to hear from brands more than once a week.
Asked why they sign up for emails from brands, the top answers were to regularly receive special offers, cited by 56.4 percent; to get a one-off discount, 52.5 percent; to hear the latest updates (launches, news), 38.8 percent; and to get personalized recommendations, 20.1 percent.
Nonetheless, retailers are still scolded for excessive emails. The Pathwire survey finds 19 percent of Americans receive more than 50 emails a day. A host of consulting and software services offer help on subject line, call-to-action, send time/day, personalization and other tactics to break through the clutter.
In a recent article in The Atlantic, “What Are Stores Even Thinking With All These Emails?,” academician Ian Bogost wrote that more than half of consumers in North America say they receive too much promotional email. He relates how algorithms guided by online behavior surgically decide whether an email heads to an inbox or is junked.
“When a marketing email is effective, it feels great to receive,” wrote Mr. Bogost. “But getting it right requires an unlikely alignment of the stars: your shifting desires, the mailbox providers’ changing data and algorithms, the email-sending companies’ ability to cut through that murk on behalf of brands, and the brands’ ability to target you with relevant messages at the optimal moment.”
- 2020 State Of Email Report Reveals The Critical Need For Email Is Rising, As 78% Say Email Is Important To The Overall Success Of Their Company – Litmus/Business Wire
- 2020 State of Email Report, Fall Edition – Litmus
- Pathwire Study Reveals Ways B2C Brands Are Missing Opportunities to Connect With Customers – Pathwire/Business Wire
- The path to email engagement in 2021 – Pathwire
- Email Marketing ROI: What leads to better returns? – Litmus
- What Are Stores Even Thinking With All These Emails? – The Atlantic