DMA News November 2010

The UK's email marketers are failing to use the tools necessary to measure the volume of sales generated by email marketing, new research DMA has revealed. According to the findings of the DMA Email Marketing Council's fourth annual National Client Email Report, just 46 per cent of client email marketers state that they track their customers' journeys from opening emails to making purchases. While this in part reflects the growing trend for 'value' or 'content'-driven emails rather than direct promotions, as well as the recognition of the convoluted route many consumers take towards making a purchase, many organisations simply are not using the necessary tools for tracking a subscriber's movement from an open through to a purchase. In spite of these challenges that still face email marketing, companies are continuing to up their investment in the channel. Nearly 90 per cent of the companies polled for the survey reported that they regard email marketing as being important to their business. More than half stated that they expect to increase their email marketing budget over the next 12 months, with 48 per cent saying they will be doing so by cutting back on expenditure on direct mail. Commenting on the findings, Richard Gibson, chair of the Email Marketing Council, says that email is now a crucial tool for brands to engage with consumers on many different levels, to build relationships and to provide genuine value, as well as to drive sales. The fourth annual National Client Email Report can be downloaded from www.dma.org.uk/research

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