Email still a powerhouse in internet marketing

Email as promotional activity has exploded in recent years, and most forecasters believe that its growth is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. A recent survey by Strongmail showed that email marketing was the top area of business budget growth for marketers, with 65% of marketers surveyed planning to increase their spending on dmail marketing. Why this continued growth from what has been termed the ‘granddaddy’ of internet mediums? After all, email started many years ago and focus tends to be on new media like social and mobile.

Email offers marketers a fast, flexible and highly controllable format. Email is essentially direct mail on steroids because the customer is contacted directly and different offers and methods of engagement can be tested to find the most effective means of communication.

Interestingly, email has proven to be a more powerful retention tool than an acquisition too and according to the same StrongMail 2011 marketing Trends Report mentioned above, increasing subscriber engagement tops the list of important email marketing initiatives. The Direct Marketing Association reports that about 73% of businesses are focused on Customer Retention with their email program, versus, 27% who are focused on customer acquisition. However, as the Pew 2009 Spam report notes, many users are having less problems with email and are becoming more sophisticated in dealing with spam; 71% use filters offered by their email service or employers to block spam.

So don't rule out email as a powerful retention and engagement tool; email will be around for a long time to come.