Email Challenges TV as Marketing Tool EMarketer, reporting on research conducted by IPT in August and September 2004 says that consumers are showing a more favorable opinion of e-mail
marketing compared to TV advertising. When asked to pick the most effective marketing communication channel, 32% of consumers say e-mail, not far behind the 39% that choose television. The report
claims, "e-mail is fast encroaching on TV's territory as the king of promotion."
Probing consumers to find out what makes them most likely to respond to e-mail messages, the study found that
Discounts or money-off offers top the list, followed closely by a general interest in the product.
Most Influential Aspect of Marketing email in UK, 2004 (% of respondents)
Discounts 27% General product interest 24% Prize drawing 20% Brand familiarity 20% Attractive images 5% Humor 4%
Source: IPT October, 2004
The report finds that 92% of industry professionals currently include e-mail in their marketing budgets, and 51% of them intend to increase their spending next year.
But, says the report,
marketers still use e-mail marketing predominantly for customer retention, while its potential for up selling, customer acquisition and brand awareness is being under utilized. Just 41% of marketers
measure open and click-through rates to gauge the effectiveness of their campaigns. Furthermore, 63% of the executives surveyed are still unclear on the implications of recent privacy laws and
regulations.
You can find out more here.