We know that email is the channel the majority of marketers build their campaign on. And we know that both marketers and their customers prefer email as the channel to communicate through. So why do marketers send messages to their customer they know are irrelevant to them?
According to the DMA’s latest Marketer email tracker 2017 report infographic, sponsored by dotmailer, email is in good shape, but if we neglect it then we risk damaging the channel. With content increasingly significant for marketers, email appears to be entering a new phase where relevance becomes not just important but essential to marketers in order to achieve brand and campaign objectives.
Marketers need relevant and interesting content to feed their campaigns. The increasing complexity of email means ROI is increasingly difficult to calculate, but those who can calculate their returns say they are increasing year-on-year. To continue this growth marketers do need to make sure their work remains relevant to their customers and we expect ‘content’ to continue to grow in importance and significance for marketers in order to make them more relevant.
Rachel Aldighieri, MD of the DMA, explains: “Email has never been so important to marketers and has fast-become the channel round which others can be built to create a truly integrated multi-channel marketing programme. Although with this growth in email, we’re already starting to see issues with the access to good content and the knock-on effect this has on relevance. Trust is the key to any long-term relationship and if marketers want to continue to see the impressive returns on their email spend, they will need to heed consumer concerns and take care to give them what they want.”
Skip Fidura, Client Services Director at dotmailer and Chair of the DMA’s Responsible Marketing Committee, adds: “This year’s insight into the view of consumers and marketers on email paints a worrying picture. While both love the channel, consumers continue to say they get too many and irrelevant emails from brands. More worrying still is that 42% of marketers agree. The warning signs are there. Over half of consumers have considered deleting their email account to control the flow of marketing emails they receive. As email marketers, we have a responsibility to our customers, to ourselves and to our businesses to keep our channel not just viable but thriving long into the future.”
Jenna Tiffany, Founder & Strategy Director at Let’sTalk Strategy and DMA Email Council Benchmarking hub member, added: “Email remains the bedrock of digital marketing. As such, it’s no surprise to see marketers are starting to assess their actions with more scrutiny in the light of the incoming GDPR rules. However, for me the key takeaway from this report is that three quarters of marketers believe there should rules in place to ensure they do not over communicate with consumers. This highlights more than ever that marketers are beginning to think more about the customer and starting to be conscious of their preferences.”
Check out the DMA’s infographic below:
