Is email marketing still an effective resource of ROI? Is it still a good tool for marketers?
Emailcenter’s latest whitepaper, The Journey of Email Marketing, attempts to answers these questions with an analysis of data aggregated from billions of emails over the past four years.
Here’s what we learned after combing through the research.
1. Email Marketing Isn’t an Old Dinosaur
With the rise of newer and more eye-catching digital marketing channels, it’s understandable that some believe email marketing is fading. However, after examining the research, we discovered that email is becoming even more important. You don’t have to just trust us—many sources confirm that email is a vital component of the marketing strategy.
In fact, a recent study found email to be nearly 40X more effective in acquiring customers than Facebook or Twitter. Not only that, another study found that email marketing outperforms Google Adwords and Facebook paid advertising.
2. Users Actually Prefer Email
A survey by Marketo found that 77% of consumers like to get permission-based email marketing more than any other form of online marketing. Surprised? Keep in mind that email spam has decreased over time, while spam on other online platforms (like social media) has increased, and there are few options for filtering it.
3. Email Marketing Is Cost Effective
The same study also found that email marketing generates nearly double the ROI of other channels. Each $1 spent on email marketing brought in $40.56 ROI. With CMOs experiencing increased pressure to map investments to revenue, this kind of return speaks volumes to CEOs and board members.
4. Subject Line Length Is Not the Make-or-Break Factor
The data suggests there’s no one-size-fits-all rule for email subject length. Turns out, open rates for emails with subject line lengths ranging between 2 and 9 words saw a consistent year-over-year improvement, meaning the subject length is simply not that important. To really make an impact, email marketing is now more focused on audience segmentation and relevant content.
5. Email Automation Triggered by Behavior Is a Must
With marketing automation software, behavior-based emails have created enormous potential for personalized messaging and content distribution. Once marketers identify certain valuable actions or demographic cues, they can send segments relevant messages to gently nudge the prospect to convert at the right moment. Research suggests open rates of behavior-based email campaigns can go as high as 70%. Despite this, only 1/3 of companies are using trigger-based emails. This is a great opportunity to get ahead of competitors.
6. Mobile Is the Future
Constantly connected to mobile devices, people now consume emails anytime and everywhere. Email opens on mobile have shot up from just 14.8% in 2011 to 47.4% in 2014. And other data shows that clicks on mobile devices generate an ROI of $7.14, while desktop clicks are worth just $3.26.
Prioritizing mobile optimization is a must, otherwise, you’re missing important opportunities to reach your target audience at their convenience. For example, data suggests mobile devices have made a huge difference to open rates in the morning and evening due to commuters, who previously were unable to read emails on the go.
So What Can We Take Away from This?
Email marketing continues to be an essential component of a digital marketing strategy. The data highlights this fact: Users prefer to receive information via email over other channels.
Mobile device usage is growing and will continue to do so; therefore, it’s essential that emails are responsive and optimized for smaller screens. To ignore this segment of your audience is to potentially lose half of your opportunities to reach a user.
Each audience is unique and will respond differently to emails. Marketing technology needs to be used to see what works and what doesn’t to enable marketers to eliminate ineffective expenses and push email campaigns to the next level.