A pair of recent studies has unearthed differing viewpoints and expectations between marketers and consumers when it comes to email, how it is used, and the information it delivers, as reported in MarketingCharts.

The first, a joint effort between Adobe and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), targeted over 260 email marketers culled from the DMA roster. When asked to identify strategies that could improve their email marketing campaigns, almost 75 percent said that upgraded technology that delivers a complete 360-view of how customers and brands interact is at the top of their lists, followed closely by technology that would enable them to test new email campaigns (68 percent). Technology that enables real-time, cross-channel insights (64 percent), and having a CMO that valued the integration of email with other channels (60 percent) rounded out the top five responses.

However, later results from the same study show that the manner in which email campaigns are deployed and utilized still needs some work. Fifty-four percent said email messages were coordinated with offline channels, but only 45 percent said they integrated data from other platforms into their email strategies. Even fewer, only 36 percent, identified email as the primary vehicle for cross-channel marketing strategies.

This data is in sharp contrast to a MarketSherpa study that found consumers prefer email as the principal method of brand communication. This survey, conducted in January 2015, questioned more than 2,000 consumers age 18 and older. In it, more than 70 percent said they wanted the companies with which they do business to communicate with them through email, easily outdistancing postal services (48 percent) and print media (31 percent). This poll also showed that:

  • Ninety percent liked receiving emails from preferred brands
  • Almost 70 percent said they made a purchase because of emails
  • Fifty percent of those who have abandoned shopping carts responded positively to email reminders
  • Almost 30 percent said they would welcome more emails, and 30 percent said they prefer shorter emails
  • Less than 20 percent indicated they wanted fewer emails
  • Only 1 percent indicated they would like longer emails

This disconnect between the two camps implies that there is still plenty of room for improvements when it comes to email marketing methodology and that efforts in this area will yield tangible, positive results.

Reference:

MarketingCharts. “Marketers Top Strategies for Impacting Email Efforts,” February 9, 2015.