• CMO, Tuesday, November 15, 2005 2:15 PM

Three years ago many marketers abandoned their e-mail marketing efforts after it became apparent that customers were not reading messages. Consumers seemed to consider e-mail marketing little more than annoying spam, chucking messages almost as soon as they arrived. Opt-in rates plummeted and marketers abandoned the strategy. But not Hewlett-Packard. By refining its technique, expanding its subscription list, increasing the breadth and depth of its content offerings, and raising the level of personalization, the company began to crack the puzzle that had mystified so many others. Since it started personalized e-marketing in 2002, its call center savings have quadrupled and average revenue per customer has more than tripled. "The fact that HP focused on continuing to build very effective personalized e-mail marketing is to their credit, because many of us do in fact opt-in to a few relationships with suppliers," says Patricia Seybold, president of The Patricia Seybold Group. "And whether or not we do is completely dependent on whether we trust the supplier."

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