Marketers Hurdling Challenges To E-mail Marketing.

e-Dialog released its 2002 E-Mail Marketing Benchmarking Study, a 22-page report based on survey responses from three hundred marketers across a broad range of industries.

The study reveals marketers experiencing both significant rewards and frustration at this still-early stage of e-mail marketing. While appreciation for the medium has risen, so has the need to tackle the challenges that will unlock e-mail’s potential most effectively. Despite these challenges, those who have taken the plunge into e-mail marketing have become believers.

Among the key findings:

32% of respondents ranked e-mail as their number one most effective marketing vehicle. 82% ranked it in their top three.

48% of those surveyed consider e-mail to be a mainstream marketing vehicle for their company.

55% of respondents have increased the percentage of their marketing budget they will spend on e-mail in 2002 vs. 2001, while only 5% have decreased it. In comparison, 16% have increased their traditional direct mail budget allocation, while
33% have decreased it.

Of all the marketing budget categories, only e-mail’s average percentage of budget rose from 2001 to 2002.

For many of these marketers, particularly those trying it in-house, implementing an e-mail campaign has meant facing an unexpectedly steep learning curve and an array of technical, logistical and quality issues.

54% of marketers surveyed increased their use of e-mail marketing as a result of the down economy.

“Marketers continue to increase their investments in e-mail marketing because it can be such an effective medium when done right,” said John Rizzi, president and chief executive officer of e-Dialog. “We have seen the marketing budgets of our clients steadily shifting toward e-mail, and this study further substantiates that trend.”

For more information at http://www.e-dialog.com