Email Marketing: Too Much of a Good Thing
As one of the most effective advertising methods available, email is (or should be) a marketing must. Retailers can easily drive traffic and boost sales by sending out e-mail blasts, which are faster and more cost-effective than sending additional mailers to consumers. Julie M. Katz, a Forrester analyst, estimates that it costs about $2 for every thousand e-mails sent. The Direct Marketers Association estimates that marketers earn $45.06 in ROI for every dollar they spend on e-mail campaigns. That compared with $7.28 for catalogs and $15.55 for direct mail.
Lately though, among increased efforts to get consumers in-store and drive online traffic, email has become less about the consumer and more about the bottom line. Who cares if I have to alienate 90% of my consumer base by sending 7 emails a day as long as I make a sale to the other 10%?
A recent Internet Retailer survey of 174 Web retailers, including those that operate stores, found that almost half have increased the number of monthly e-mails they send compared to a year ago. Chad White, director of retail insights for the Email Experience Council, says the number of e-mails stores sent for the week ending Oct. 17 increased 8% compared to the same week a year earlier.
Forrester Research predicts that retailers and wholesalers will send 158 billion marketing e-mails this year. Moreover, that number is expected to increase 63 percent to 258 billion in 2013.
What is this email surge doing to consumer retention and long-term brand building?
According to Forrester, online consumers are annoyed with e-mail volume and are beginning to turn to social networking sites, texting and other communication channels. The big problem, according to Stephanie Miller, vice president of market development for consulting group Return Path Inc., is that less than 20 percent of retailers’ e-mails are targeted, although those capabilities exist and are easily accessible.
Dan de Grandpre, founder of dealnews.com, said that stores are blasting e-mails that offer discounts across many categories instead of just one item. Most of the e-mails come from apparel and furnishings chains, which have been hardest hit by the economic slowdown.
The solution?
Think like your consumers. Take advantage of all the email can offer, including customized, relevant information. Email is great to highlight promotions and introduce new products and events, but if that is all you are using email for, your consumers will catch on…and log off. Matching advertising to content benefits consumers. Sending an orange chicken recipe? In one click, let consumers buy the rice to serve their chicken with.
Rachel
Tags: Direct Mail, email marketing, Forrester Research, ROI
