Email boosts customer acquisition

Email marketing is contributing to a rise in customer acquisition rates, according to the latest research.The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) National Email Benchmarking Survey (Site registration required) found that customer acquisition rates from email campaigns has risen from six per cent to eight per cent during the first quarter of 2006.

The survey also reveals that during this period the volume of email marketing campaigns has increased by 30 per cent year-on-year and 13 per cent compared with the final quarter of 2005.

However, despite these increasing volumes, response rates including click-through rates have remained static, as have retention figures, which still stand at around ten per cent.

For the first time, the survey also gained feedback on the effectiveness of payment to guarantee delivery. Over 65 per cent of Email Service Providers (ESPs) said that they believed their clients would consider some form of payment to ensure that email campaigns get delivered.

However, the report also indicates that only a handful of customers see deliverability as a real problem, with three quarters of companies gaining delivery rates of over 91 per cent.

Commenting on the research, Richard Gibson, chair of the Email Marketing Council Benchmarking Hub, said: “The considerable rise in acquisition response rates demonstrates increasing sophistication among clients in terms of their targeting and messaging.”

“The report shows that marketers are continuing to invest in email as a channel and are also taking steps to improve via their provider list hygiene. This demonstrates the growing understanding of the impact that this can have on deliverability and on their brand.”