Forrester recently released a report called “E-Mail Marketing Comes of Age,” which reveals especially why online retailers love the medium so much.
Although the average click-through rate for e-mailings has remainded the same since 2003 at an average of 5 percent, those receiving them are by far the best customers of the company sending them.
“47% of consumers who think e-mail is a great way to find out about new products or promotions are willing to pay a premium for products that save them time and hassles,” says Forrester analyst Shar VanBoskirk.
As an example, those who make purchases of products that are advertised in e-mails will spend a whopping 138 percent more than the usual one who doesn't read the contents. And over 50 percent of consumers that open and read marketing messages are apt to buy other items on impulse.
Another finding of the study was that about 60 percent of those that forward e-mail ads are women.
E-mail has also become ubiquitous as 97 percent of consumers now receive it while 94 percent of marketers use it for promotions.
I find that email marketing has honestly become one of the most efficient ways to reach a large target market. While most consumers simply delete mass marketing emails without even opening them (I would be lying if I said I didn't do the same), the loss is negligible. The sheer number of emails sent in one campaign have a tendency to create a safety net - so that not all work was lost. If one spends two hours facilitating the implementation of an email marketing campaign, and 4 people respond out of ten thousand, it seems to me that the result is just as valuable as spending the same two hours selling multiple clients over the phone. Also, immediate reponse is not required when it comes to email marketing. As stated above:
"over 50 percent of consumers that open and read marketing messages are apt to buy other items on impulse"
Well that is a significant finding, but thats 50%. What about the other forty-something percent who are not apt to impulse purchases? They should not be considered a lost target. Email marketing provides room for thought and consideration about purchases.
Overall, I would say that email marketing is going to be growing considerably in the future - though it seems that most ("94 percent of marketers use it for promotions") have already found its value.
Posted by: Laura | April 2, 2007 2:33 PM | Permalink to Comment