Does Email Marketing Work?

by lisa ~ February 26, 2009

Yes, it does, according to a new survey by Epsilon. The marketing services firm says that customers who’ve signed up for emails are happy to receive them. The key here is that the study focuses on so-called permission-based e-mail, not unsolicited email.

Epsilon said its national consumer survey “yielded the following results:

• 56% of recipients of permission-based email from retail companies said they are more likely to make purchases from the sending retailers;
• 52% said they have a more favorable opinion of the retail companies that send them email because of the communications they receive;
• 48% feel more loyal toward the retailers and their products as a result of receiving permission-based emails.”

It’s difficult to determine the impact of email marketing but this research “…demonstrates the offline implications and branding ‘halo’ effect of email marketing,” said an Epsilon executive in the related press release.

Email marketing is a low-cost way for companies of all sizes - not only big e-tailers like Amazon - to build relationships with their customers. If you have a Web presence, offer your site’s visitors the chance to receive new product information via email. Even if you only have a brick-and-mortar presence, maintain an email list of customers and send them coupons occasionally.

To read the full survey, “Confessions of an Online Shopper: An Inside Look at Email Marketing for the Retail Industry,” click here: http://www.epsilon.com/pdf/Epsilon_Branding_Study_Retail_022009.pdf

Lisa Tibbitts (Lisa.Tibbitts@Me.com) is a New York-based corporate communications professional with extensive experience in financial services. Follow her on http://twitter.com/LisaTibbitts.