• by Masha Geller , May 3, 2002

Ok, I’ve simmered long enough. On Tuesday, email marketing firm e-Dialog released the results of a very interesting piece of what they called 'research,' titled “2002 Email Marketing Benchmarking Study.”

In the press release, e-Dialog said the study revealed that marketers are “currently experiencing both significant rewards and frustration at this still-early stage of email marketing.” As DUH! statements go, the one above wins the pot.

The release goes on to say that “while appreciation for the medium has risen, so has the need to tackle the challenges that will unlock email's potential most effectively. Despite these challenges, those who have taken the plunge into email marketing have become believers.” -- Another winner.

But wait, it does get better! According to the results, 32% of respondents ranked email as their number one most effective marketing vehicle; 82% ranked it in their top three. Also, 48% of those surveyed consider email to be a mainstream marketing vehicle for their company, and 55% of respondents have increased the percentage of their marketing budget they will spend on email in 2002 vs. 2001, while only 5% have decreased it. In comparison, 16% have increased their traditional direct mail budget allocation, while 33% have decreased it.

Now for the self-serving part.

e-Dialog also discovered that "for many of these marketers, particularly those trying it in-house, implementing an email campaign has meant facing an unexpectedly steep learning curve and an array of technical, logistical and quality issues."

A subtle hint? Nah, couldn’t be! For the record, I have nothing against tooting your own horn once in a while, but there must be a better way of doing so than e-Dialog's. So, to all you companies out there wanting to get noticed, a plea: Please don’t insult the intelligence of your colleagues in the business by trying to feed us such transparent research, even the kind with fancy titles. Case studies of real success work much better.