E-Mail Marketing: How to Improve ROI

This report examines the new developments in e-mail marketing and compares the effectiveness of this still-evolving marketing tool with other direct marketing channels.

E-mail is effective, there is no arguing with that. The channel works amazing well for marketers who know how to use it. Even 45% of consumers in a recent survey said it was a "great way" for companies to stay in touch with their customers. Return on investment for e-mail marketing tops all other channels except for telemarketing. Dimensional and direct mail may generate higher revenues per contact, and sometimes better response rates, but their costs are substantially higher, too. And among the four media with lower costs per contact than e-mail, response rates are abysmal.

Bottom line: when properly used, e-mail can balance low costs and high response rates better than other marketing media. But the challenge is to maximize its effectiveness through improved content, targeting and tracking.

Key questions this report addresses:
* Can e-mail be used for customer acquisition, or is it merely a retention tool?
* Are spam and phishing killing e-mail marketing?
* How do permission-based in-house lists and better-targeted e-mails go hand in hand?
* Is there a best content, best day, best time and best frequency for marketing e-mails?
* Which elements should marketers test in their e-mail campaigns?
* How can e-mail metrics be used to increase effectiveness?
* And many more.