According to the recent 2011 Email Marketing Insight Report by software provider Newsweaver in conjunction with the Marketing Institute of Ireland, “Email remains an essential part of the marketing mix”. It was also revealed that three quarters (84%) of Irish marketers describe email as either “important” or “very important” to their overall marketing strategy.
“We are delighted to once again to collaborate with the Marketing Institute on this report and see that email remains still a “very important” or “important” part of the marketing strategy,” said Andrew O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Newsweaver. He continued “We are also encouraged to see Irish marketer’s use of email has become more advanced, evidenced by the increase in outsourced solutions to create, deploy and measure results of email campaigns”.
In order to “maintain customer relationships, build brand awareness and increase website traffic”, marketers engage in ezine marketing. The report, which is in its third year, highlights the increase (10%) since 2009 in the number using email newsletter software to drive online sales. O’Shaughnessy believes that “this reflects a growing sophistication in the market.”
A large proportion of marketers (30%) still use programmes such as Outlook instead of specialist email-marketing systems to run their email marketing campaigns. However, that figure is down in comparison to recent years. O’Shaughnessy feels that “Whilst desktop solutions meet the basic needs of an email campaign, they don’t allow for tracking, segmentation or personalisation; missing the real power of email.” The report also found that Irish marketers are still only using minimum personalisation with 40% personalising by name only and 31% do not personalise their newsletter marketing tools at all.
For the first time, the report looked at the use of social media in email campaigns by Irish marketers. It was found that 51% were utilising it while 49% omitted social media from their email campaigns. O’Shaughnessy says “social media is an exciting development; many are unsure how to market their products and services in these new channels. Many look at campaigns as either email or social when the real power is social and email working together.”
A positive finding from the report was that the majority (88%) said their expenditure would either “increase” or “stay the same.” A drop in the number of marketers who said their budgets would decrease was also reported. This suggests that despite the downturn in the economy, marketers are confident in email marketing. Tom Trainor, Chief Executive of The Marketing Institute of Ireland said “This report will give Irish Marketers valuable information about the techniques, trends and attitudes towards email marketing in Ireland and will hopefully give readers the inspiration to invigorate their own email marketing strategy.”
Other interesting findings from the report include:
- 16% increase in the level of importance B2C place on email marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.
- 48% of marketers feel their organisation’s expenditure on email will not change in the next 12 months.
- Links to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the most popular way of utilising social media in email marketing.
- The biggest challenge remains the same as previous years. “Inbox overload” and “spam” are seen as the biggest culprits followed closely by “deliverability” and “unwillingness of people to opt in to new email lists”.
- In both B2B and B2C there is an increase in the number of organisations using outsourced solutions.
- Most of the B2C respondents had open rates in the 10-30% rate, while B2B respondents showed open rates of 31-51+ %.
This year, Newsweaver will host an interactive webinar presented by Newsweaver lead consultant Denise Cox in order to support the research. This will take the form of a 30-minute webinar where Denise will review how Irish marketers are using email in 2011 and offer tips on how to improve their email marketing efforts. To register for the webinar or if you would like to request a copy of the report please contact Áine Dunleavy on email [email protected]
About Newsweaver
Newsweaver is an email newsletter software provider which enables organisations to create, deliver and track email campaigns. Our technology is used by our customers to create email campaigns that provide them with higher levels of engagement with their audiences more than any other system in the industry today. Deeper customer insight is the key benefit experienced by our customers. This results in increased customer loyalty and higher levels of revenue. www.newsweaver.com
About The Marketing Institute of Ireland
The Marketing Institute of Ireland is the professional body for marketing people throughout Ireland offering membership, qualifications and training. Established in 1962, the mission of the Institute is to develop business in Ireland by raising its marketing capability, upholding professional standards, and improving the skills of marketing people so they deliver exceptional business results for the companies that employ them. www.mii.ie
Notes to editor:
To schedule an interview, obtain a copy of the report or request any further details or images please contact:
Áine Dunleavy, Marketing Executive, Newsweaver
Tel: +353 21 2427290. Email: [email protected]
Marie Moynihan, Marketing Manager, Newsweaver
Tel: +353 21 2427277. Email: [email protected]
Niamh Walsh, The Marketing Institute of Ireland,
Tel: 01 216 0159. Email: [email protected] or
Marie Therese Campbell, The Marketing Institute of Ireland,
Tel: 01 216 0150. Email: [email protected]
