Email may be the preferred marketing channel for most consumers – and with a claimed ROI of 38:1 it is top of the pops for brands, too – but marketers cannot simply rest on their laurels, they must constantly reappraise their efforts to ensure email programmes do not crash and burn.
That is the main finding of a new study – Email Marketing Performance 2017, produced by Return Path in partnership with Ascend2 – which is designed to help marketers understand how their bosses view the medium.
The report captures executive opinions on the state of email marketing performance, the most important strategic objectives for email marketing, and the most effective tactics for optimising an email marketing programmes.
The study shows that 85% of executives surveyed say email marketing performance is increasing. Report findings reinforce that email marketing is actually becoming more effective over time. More than half (58%) of executives say its performance is increasing significantly, while another 27%say it is increasing marginally.
Executives rank increased ROI as the most important objective for email marketing. Unsurprisingly, marketing leaders are focused on the bottom line. More than half (51%) stated that increasing ROI is their top objective for email marketing, followed by increasing conversions and increasing list growth (44% each).
Meanwhile message personalisation is ranked as the most effective email marketing tactic. Now more than ever, consumers want to be seen as individuals, which is what makes personalised content and messaging such an effective marketing tool, the report claims. Executives also listed social sharing (41%) and meaningful calls to action (38%) as successful marketing practices.
The report concludes: “Each year, the challenges marketers face become incrementally more sophisticated and complex. From constantly evolving spam filters to changing consumer expectations, marketers struggle to find solutions to address these issues. And in many cases, the tactics marketers are using are proving more difficult than they are effective.
“But in a mature industry like email marketing, the chances of finding a silver bullet that solves every marketing challenge are slim. Instead, real improvement comes through subtle changes to optimise each campaign, and incremental adjustments to the tactics marketers are already using.
“Most marketers already possess the tools they need to be successful – it’s simply a matter of using them in more effective, strategic ways.”
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