The future is bright(ish)

eMarketer just released their latest email marketing report. I haven't read it (it costs $695 a copy.)

The article accompanying the release makes some predictions on future spending in the sector.

Their experts predict growth, but unspectacular growth...and likely not as much as in other areas of online marketing.

A main reason given for the rather mediocre growth curve is the perception of email as a low-cost medium.

I find it intriguing to base a prediction on existing perceptions, since by definition these can change.

So what do you think? Have eMarketer got it right?

More statistics | Tags: email marketing spending, email advertising spending

Permalink | September 24, 2007 | 2 comment(s)
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2 Comments:

<gutreaction>

I see a few possible reasons.

The first is the one given - email is seen by some as inexpensive (dare I say "cheap"). So, a significant increase in spending can make one feel like s/he is overpaying (all the horn-tooting about a 5725% ROI aside).

Second, I think some people see email as complicated. And it's really no surprise why - ask an email marketing expert what issues and tactics the medium entails, and you'll hear about deliverability, rendering, clickstreams and all sorts of other things that, while they may seem to justify our existence (i.e. "who else can help businesses with all this?"), can seem technical and simply too much to have to deal with compared to other mediums. In that sense, email marketers are our own worst enemy.

Other possible factors? Maybe the fact that search, for example, has the name-recognition of Google, but email marketing really doesn't have any equivalent that might get the interest of decision-makers who aren't already intimately familiar with email marketing.

</gutreaction>
By Justin Premick, on 25 September, 2007

Interesting, interesting! I say that because there's a lot of crossover between your thoughts, Justin, and something I just wrote today on getting email accepted as a wider business tool. Thanks!
By Mark Brownlow - Email Marketing Reports, on 25 September, 2007

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