E-mail marketing has long been a key business driver for both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar brands alike. Beyond sales, e-mail database growth has been one of the most studied metrics in all of digital marketing. Yet according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, e-mail is continuing to lose ground amongst Generation Y’s youngest members (loosely defined as those born 1980 – 2000). Whereas 89% of teens claimed to use e-mail in 2004, only 73% of teens today say they do. Where e-mail is losing, social media, instant messaging, and texting are quickly gaining. So what place should e-mail marketing have in a brand’s marketing portfolio?
I’m not an e-mail naysayer, e-mail can serve a company very well when done effectively, yet often times brands get hooked on e-mail much like a junkie to a drug. After all, e-mail gives a quick high (in the form of immediate sales for e-commerce brands) and tends to be overused and abused, often times at the expense of long-term brand health.
Brands need to better understand e-mail’s role within the greater digital landscape. It’s no longer the only way to communicate with customers, and business managers should strive to do a better job of diversifying their portfolio of outbound messaging. One brand that’s been getting a lot of buzz recently is Ben & Jerry’s UK, which sent an e-mail to its database notifying them that they were moving away from sharing brand news via e-mail.
This strategy makes sense for Ben & Jerry’s, as Socialnomics author, Erik Qualman assesses on his blog. Speculation for this shift centers on:
- Loyalists indicating they were tired of e-mails from B & J
- B & J needing to focus internal resources and reduce costs
- B & J wanting all loyalists less digitally fragmented
- Gen Y & Z find e-mail passé
- B & J was already having social media success
- Allowing the loyalists tell the story via social media rather than corporate dictating the message
I certainly wouldn’t suggest that completely abandoning e-mail communication is the right thing, but luxury brands can take inspiration from Ben & Jerry’s and use this as a time to evaluate their current messaging channels.
Here are a few places where a business can begin in optimizing its current e-mail marketing strategy:
- When planning what message you want to share, also consider what channel is the best way to say it. Does that event in Beverly Hills really need to be shared with your entire e-mail database? Would a Facebook event page and geo-targeted e-mail make more sense?
- Give users the option to only receive e-mails on topics they are interested in, like Gilt Groupe does, and recommend they connect on social media properties if they prefer.
The bottom line: E-mail is but one tool in the toolbox, and a potentially declining one at that. For brands, this may mean it’s time to pick up a new tool or, minimally, to sharpen the one you’ve got!
Photo Credits: British Penny Black Stamp, Zimbio.com
Edited by: Gina Conforti
