New DMA Report Finds E-Mail Marketing Comes Of Age
NEW YORK, April 3, 2002 – As marketers slashed their traditional advertising budgets in 2001, a new report from the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) found that an increasing number of businesses turned to e-mail marketing as a cost effective way to retain customers and boost sales.
According to The DMA’s State of the E-Commerce Industry Report 2001-2002, two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents reported increased sales in 2001 as a result of e-mail marketing promotions, with the average increase being 52.4 percent. Medium-sized companies reported the best results (59.8 percent), compared to small (42.6 percent) and large-sized companies (47.1 percent).
"E-mail marketing, facilitated by new technologies and driven by the challenging economy, is now reaching a stage of maturation and playing a greater role in direct marketing," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. "Increasingly, e-mail marketing campaigns are being used as an important retention tool, in many cases offsetting more costly traditional channels."
The report revealed that with an investment of only 13 percent of their total 2001 marketing budget, respondents indicated e-mail promotions not only improved customer retention, but also generated 15 percent of total net interactive sales.
More than six-in-ten (63 percent) respondents found e-mail marketing to be the most effective promotional method to retain customers. However, only 37 percent indicated that e-mail is an effective customer acquisition tool.
The report identified e-mail marketing as a cost saving medium for the following reasons:
- Smaller companies reported they allocated the highest percentage of their marketing budget to e-mail marketing (21.4 percent) compared to medium-sized (6.2 percent) and large-sized companies (13.7 percent).
- Smaller companies also reported that the largest percentage of their 2001 net interactive sales were derived from e-mail based promotions (21.4 percent on average), compared to medium-sized companies (7.0 percent), and larger companies (13.4 percent).
- The two most frequently used e-mail based promotions reported by respondents were: text (80 percent) and HTML (66 percent). Results showed that the use of text and HTML increased in conjunction with a company’s size.
- Direct click-throughs were cited as being used by more medium-sized companies (70 percent) and large-sized companies (68 percent), while unique links were used most often by medium-sized companies to measure effectiveness.
- Two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents indicated they rely on direct click-throughs, unique links (54 percent), and embedded HTML code (40 percent) to track the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns.
- Nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated they have the ability to manage their e-mail technology in-house.
The DMA’s State of the E-Commerce Industry Report 2001-2002 was conducted by The DMA in cooperation with the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM) during the fourth quarter of 2001. The report provides a realistic outlook on how economic changes have affected the interactive playing field, and previews some of the challenges that may lie ahead. Nearly 700 companies involved in direct and interactive marketing contributed to the report.
The full report, available April 11, is priced at $495 for DMA members ($995 for non-members). It can now be ordered through The DMA Book Distribution Center by calling 301.604.0187 or by visititing The DMA’s Web site at www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/bookstore.
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.Media Contact: Christina Duffney
212.790.1532
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