Social media and blogs have rapidly become the weapon of choice for many marketers, so much so that you could be forgiven for thinking that email marketing has had its day.

As popularity grows for the use of social media as a marketing tool for business, we ask the question – is there still a place for email in today’s ever-changing online marketing environment? Does it still work? And why?

If the stats are anything to go by then the answer is quite simple. Businesses engage in email marketing because it works…

Email Marketing stats at a glance:

• 40% Of B2B marketers rated the leads generated by email marketing as high quality
• 54% of emails sent by businesses are marketing messages
• 91% of consumers check their email daily
• 74% of consumers prefer to receive commercial communications via email
• 60% of marketers believe email marketing produces positive ROI
• Email marketing spend grows 10% year over year

E-Marketing still works for a variety of different reasons…

It can be targeted
It is data driven
It can be tailored and customised to the individual
It drives direct sales
It supports sales through other channels
It builds loyalty and trust with consumers

The key to any successful email marketing campaign is delivering the right message to the right people, at the right time. A well targeted email offer or promotion will generate immediate action, this may be in the form of a direct sale, business enquiry, download or registration. A more informative email such as a newsletter or article may be used to direct people to other channels, build awareness of the company brand and strengthen relationships. The added benefit of email marketing as an effective tool for business is that with every email sent out a huge amount of actionable data is generated which can be used to improve and refine future campaigns.

There is really no denying that email marketing does work and remains an effective method of engaging with your audience. However, as with any form of marketing it will only work if managed properly, to deliver results you must get the basics right. This means capturing a list of people who want to hear from you, delivering the right message for your audience, and ensuring the emails reach those on that list.

Intravenous offer a comprehensive e-shot service that includes bespoke email design/development, contact database confidentiality, managed send, and extensive statistics/reporting package.