Why you shouldn’t underestimate email marketing: statistics

A growing misconception

If you think that email marketing isn’t valuable to your business, you may want to think again.

Compared to other marketing channels like your website, social media, and print advertising, email marketing can be leaps and bounds more effective in driving sales.

The e-commerce software firm Monetate found that 4.24% of visitors from email marketing buy something compared to only 2.49% of visitors from search engines and .59% from social media.

In ExactTarget’s 2012 Channel Preference Survey, email was found to be the number one way people share content with their friends and family members.
And, according to the survey, an overwhelming majority of people said they want emails from companies they have an interest in.

Proof that email marketing should be a focus

The studies by Monetate and ExactTarget suggest that we need to focus on email as a way to connect with prospects and clients. Email marketing is relatively easy and inexpensive, especially when it’s contrasted with channels like print and online advertising. In fact, by 2016, a projected $2.5 billion dollars will be spent on email marketing.

It’s been shown that people read and check email very frequently, probably look forward to your emails, and are comparatively likely to convert into clients as a result of email.

You can pay for a dedicated email marketing service or, even better, get on-board with a CRM that has email marketing capabilities built-in. This will let you choose from a variety of email templates and marketing campaigns, send out personalized mass emails, and track and measure your results.

Make sure not to neglect other types of marketing because they are still important and relevant. At the end of the day, you should conduct an audit of all the services you’re paying for and your marketing efforts and then determine which ones are the best investments based on results.

But remember, don’t forget email!

Further reading

For information on email marketing best practices, check out other articles in AGBeat:

• Quiz: email marketing best practices
• Top 5 email marketing mistakes you can correct right now
• 3 ways to increase the chances your email marketing gets read