Data Media And Research

Email has historically been used for marketing purposes almost in isolation, with one person or team (agency or in-house) responsible for above the line marketing and someone else responsible for email.

This has started, and needs to continue, to move forward so that email marketing plays a crucial part within the marketing strategy as a whole. Marketing will always have the most effective impact if all methods are working together, the goals are clear and the message consistent regardless of the channels used.

It is often the case that the value of email is derived from the immediate outcome of the send i.e. how many people open and click, or how many people make a purchase directly via a link in the email. However the additional value of people going directly to the website, telephoning the company in question or walking into a store, is often attributed to other mediums.

Key points to consider when adding value to email and comparing to other marketing methods:

• Email marketing can take place in several forms including emails sent to an existing client base, emails sent to a prospect list collected specifically for the purpose of marketing the company and emails sent to 3rd party lists which have been rented in order to generate new customers. The first two can be used to maximise consumer potential as these people have specifically indicated that they are already interested in what the company has to offer and the third to promote products and services to consumers who may not be aware of the company at all. In both cases it is essential to ensure the aim and message are correct, and that what is being monitored relates to the company's key business goals.
• All methods of marketing need to be taken into consideration when looking at results. Generally if a newspaper ad and an email campaign are run in conjunction then both the direct response and response via email clicks will be higher in total than if the two campaigns are run separately. If a telephone campaign takes place immediately after an email marketing campaign (to the same people) then the responses to the telephone campaign will generally be higher than if the telephone campaign is done in isolation. It is therefore beneficial to work different advertising mediums together and highlights the fact that the impact of email marketing needs to be assessed by looking at more than just the immediate response.