Heyyyyyy, I just know you’re positively priapic about trying out that sexy new marketing platform. You know the one, soooooo new for 2017 (and beyond!), so bleeding-edge it ought to come with a box of Band-Aids. Shimmering with platinum-plated potential.
You’re so ready, willing and forward-facing you’ll be ready to kick other tactics to the curb.
Direct mail? Phfft. Print ads? Gone, baby, gone. And the oldest hat of all in your digital marketing, closet, email..?
What’s that, you say? Could’ve sworn you muttered, Keep your flucking hands off my email.
Heyyyyyyy…it turns out, you’re far from alone.
Nine out of ten marketers in North America say they use email. Making it the most commonly-used channel, beating out digital display, owned content, search and more.
That’s according to a study by Winterberry Group and the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) from September, 2016. Want stats of a more recent vintage?
A May 2017 study from DMA and Demand Metric found everybody working in healthcare, pharma, and travel and hospitality depended on email marketing. 96% of nonprofits, 93% of media firms and 90% of B2B marketers use it, too. Marketers in retail said they used email the least…a mere (!) 81% of them.
Well, some might say, it’s holding its own. That’s nice.
More than holding its own
But email marketing is not just holding its own: it’s kicking inbox all over the place. A Q3 2016 survey from Emma, an email service provider (ESP), discovered that 58% of U.S. marketers planned to increase email marketing in 2017. More to the point, that was a higher level of intention than for any other channel.
How come? Let us count the ways…
- It delivers solid ROI, with 73% of in-house marketers claiming email marketing gave them strong 2017 ROI, according to a survey by Econsultancy and Adestra – the highest percentage in the survey, even higher than SEO, which held the top spot back in 2008, when we all figured email was about to hit the skids.
- It’s a familiar, reliable tool where there aren’t the kind of risks, investments or learning curves seen in other channels.
- It still offers tremendous flexibility and creativity for innovative marketers.
- With the advent of Big Data personalization and AI analytics, optimized lead generation and personalized engagement are everyday realities that just keep lifting results for email marketers.
And it pays. Lord, does it ever. A report this past June from OneSpot and The Relevancy Group found that U.S. marketing execs said email contributed 21% of their total revenues in Q2 2017, up 17% YOY.
So if you’re doing a dance with some glittery new martech temptress, remember: There’ll always be a newer, glammier tool in the storefront. Yet the people marketing it will probably be depending on an old warhorse to get you engaged and converted, won’t they?
Just look in your inbox for the evidence.