Nearly half of all email marketing budgets will remain the same this year with no signs the recession is easing, a new report reveals.
Nearly 90% of marketers surveyed said they still feel the affects of the recession and 75% said the recession has hurt their business.
A leading email marketing services provider surveyed 300 email marketers in November and found 36% of them didn't think the recession would end anytime soon, although only a fifth thought the economy wouldn't improve before the fourth quarter of 2010.
Four out of ten marketers reported that their email budgets in 2010 would increase but 47% said their budgets would stay the same.
Over half of respondents said increasing customer loyalty was a top priority and 51% want to drive incremental revenue with their email program.
The biggest challenge for 37% of marketers in 2010 will be ‘inbox clutter' with Forrester Research estimating consumers will receive more than 9,000 email marketing messages a year by 2014.
Out of the respondents surveyed, 20% said they will struggle with timely and relevant content in 2010. To ensure emails are welcomed, 27% of marketers surveyed plan to incorporate behavioural marketing for the first time and and 26% will use surveys to gather customer data.
Overall, more than 84% plan to include social media into their email programs in the coming year, and 38% will add SMS
Author: Sara Kimberley
Source: Brand Republic
Date: 06-Jan-10, 16:30
We say:
Email should always be a considered part of any direct marketing campaign. However, it should be done properly, focusing on delivering relevant and timely messages that have value. People receive too much spam as it is and this report suggest that things will only get worse. Consequently, we would advise taking a more personal approach, that makes customers feel valued and not just a number.