Here is why Email Marketing still matters

Back in the young ages of the internet, email was “the thing”. Everyone loved it; everyone felt super hip using it, and it was the latest tech in communication.

However, as the years went by, new trendier tools were introduced, and email slowly lost its buzz. Not just that, scam emails and loads of unwanted junk emails also took their toll on email marketing's reputation. Because of this, more and more businesses are wondering if it is still worth their while to invest in this tool. If you are one of them, read below for the top 7 reason why you need to keep using email marketing.

1. Large number of users

By the end of 2014 there were 4.1 billion active email accounts, this number is expected to grow to a whopping  5.2 billion accounts by 2018. These numbers top Facebook and Twitter users stats combined; what does this tell us? We’d be fools to assume that email is dead and ignore this tool. Email marketing can help marketers reach a significant number of people, and even those who might not be crazy about social media will most likely have at least one active email account. 

2. Easy reach of mobile customers

Email Marketing is a great way to reach mobile customers. An increasing number of people stay connected through their mobile and iPad, and most of them will have their email account set up on their mobile device. At this point, you might be wondering “well then, why don’t I invest in SMS marketing?” Let’s not forget that mobile does not only include phones, in addition, emails offer far more space for content, design, engagement and personalisation. That being said, it is vital to make sure that all of your content is optimized for mobile view; otherwise, all of your email marketing efforts will go up in smoke.

3. Professional channel

While it’s true that there are so many more modern and creative ways for brands to communicate with their audiences, email still remains the most professional method. Social media communications are great to create awareness and build brand reputation, but when it comes to building relationships through personalized communications, email is still the way to go. We are not implying that all social media should be ignored altogether, rather that social media and marketing should be integrated equally into your marketing strategy; which brings us to our next point...

4. High engagement

Emails provide high interactivity. Emails allow you redirect your audience to your website, blog, social media pages, or any other platform you want them to see, and you can address multiple platforms in one go. They can also add products to their shopping cart directly, updated their subscriptions, access personal accounts and so much more just with a click of a button. Not just that, if you provide them with great content, they can forward the email to their friends, giving you an instant boost for reach. 

5. Great customisation 

Email marketing is a highly versatile tool that gives you room to get very creative with customisation. This customisation is excellent not only when trying to generate more conversions, but also for maintaining relationships with existing customers, whether by wishing them for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. This is an excellent way to humanise your brand and make the customer feel important. 

6. Advanced analytics

This one is a huge plus point for email marketing, you can instantly measure ROI. Email marketing tools nowadays offer an impressive level of analytics for you to get a clear picture of the effectiveness of your campaign. Depending on the platform that you are using, you can view anything from who opened you email, which links they followed, which part of the email they focused on the most and who unsubscribed. Some tools even allow you to profile an appropriate demographic for your next campaign, making email marketing that much more effective. 

7. Cost-effective

Email marketing is perhaps one of the cheapest marketing tools out there, allowing you to reach a large audience at a nominal cost. Direct marketing can incur a lot of cost considering the creation of the material and the logistics. Similarly, telemarketing has a great cost involved as well as a time-consuming process. This makes email marketing the to go option for small business owners who don't have big marketing budgets. Additionally, having a low budget doesn't necessary mean that your email marketing campaign’s success will be limited as it can be designed around your needs on your budget. 

So there you have it, a few valid reasons why you shouldn’t scrap email marketing off you marketing tools list yet. Email may be an old tool, but with the right design, content, and execution, it will do wonders for your brand without driving up expenses. If you are thinking of getting on the email marketing wagon, read here for a few tips to keep out of the spam folder. 

Created: July 15th, 2016