Channel Talk - E-mail in the World of Integrated Marketing Today

Consumers and E-mail in General
You may chuckle when you read this next line, but all of this is not meant to discourage you from moving to the e-mail channel, by any means. This is a very effective channel when used right, and studies show that it is indeed growing.

Forrester states that e-mail adoption and use by consumers and businesses alike remain strong, with 153 million online adults regularly using email by 2014¹.

Based on some additional statistics we read on a Habeas study (2008)⁷:

• 67 percent of respondents prefer to use email to communicate with businesses.
• 65 percent believe this will continue to be the case in five years.
• More than 88 percent of respondents said they would like organizations to give them more choices over the content and frequency of the emails they receive, including options on advertisements, special offers, articles, newsletters, white papers, and other specific content options.

What we do like to share with our clients when people are pushing e-mail as the “channel of choice” is the increase in considerations during development phases to ensure that your message is read and gets the response you are looking for.

E-mail with Redirect-to-Direct Mail
This is not a brand-new idea, but one that is worth mentioning. Based on our experience, e-mail does best when integrated within a multichannel marketing campaign.

E-mail alone, however, has the potential for missing some key opportunities to recapture those who do not open their inboxes or receive the e-mail. As inboxes start to fill up due to the significant volumes, it is important to incorporate a solution to recapture that audience.

• We have found that e-mail with a redirect-to-direct mail has continued to be very successful for our clients.
• There are some programs that have recaptured a significant number of people who do not respond to their e-mail. Without the redirect option, using the e-mail channel alone could have lost key opportunities.
• One of our more recent ongoing retention programs was able to recoup the cost of the program within the first two weeks of launch. This was based on the use of strategic creative, targeted data, customized content, segmentation, and a multichannel effort.

Many of the studies and people that we speak with support the fact that e-mail is a viable channel, and the e-adoption trend is increasing and will continue to rise.

As it does with the increase in new channels, the consideration in the strategic development and planning phases will increase as well. As we learn more, we will share our findings with you.

What we believe will not change are the classic marketing principles when trying to get people to convert any behavior:

• Create awareness and provide education
• Communicate value to customers and deliver on that promise
• Consider incentives that are based on what customers want and have asked for
• Measure and tweak
• Test the timing, sequencing, messaging, and creative

What will continue to move the needle are data-driven communications, truly listening to what consumers want, and applying segmentation and behavioral targeting, no matter what the channel may be.

We know this sounds very simple, but what sometimes gets overlooked in the rush to get something out the door is design creative that has the end consumer (a human being) in mind. This is how you will be able to truly connect; make sure it resonates; and make them feel something. If you don’t, you will get ignored.

It’s not just about capturing some preference at a stage within the relationship. It is about understanding and responding to their changing preferences. We need to change with them—however and whenever they do. We, too, are consumers. We need what we should be providing—flexibility, responsiveness, and delivery on the promise someone has made. Because when we get that, we trust and allow people into a relationship with us.

Remember that saying, “It’s not personal, it’s business”? Well, guess what, it is too personal—more now than ever before.

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¹ Daniels, David. “US Email Marketing Forecast 2009 to 2014,” Research Study, Forrester, June 16 2009.
 
² Drew, Abbie. “Your Email Has 5 Seconds,”  October 20, 2008.
http://www.demc.com/artman/publish/article_230.shtml

³ Tsai, Jessica. Email: What’s Inside?” CRM Magazine, January 2009.
http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/Email-What%E2%80%99s-Inside-52156.aspx

⁴ nielsenwire. “Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year over Year,” nielsenwire, January 22, 2010.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebook-twitter-global-time-spent-on-social-media-sites-up-82-year-over-year/print/

⁵ Choney, Suzanne. “Mobile giving to help Haiti exceeds $30 million,” MSNBC,  January 21, 2010.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34850532/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/

⁶ Strom, Stephanie. “Charitable Giving Declines, a New Report Finds,” The New York Times, June 9, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/us/10charity.html?_r=1

⁷ Business Wire, “Habeas Study Confirms Strong, Ongoing Demand for Email in Direct Marketing, Mobile and Web 2.0 Applications,” Business Wire, May 21, 2008.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080521005393&newsLang=en