E-mail marketing campaigns are faster, cheaper and more effective
than direct mail campaigns and will ultimately supersede them,
according to a study from market research company Gartner.
The most effective form of e-mail marketing is permission-based,
which gets a reader response of between 6% and 8%, Gartner reported
yesterday. Non permission-based e-mail marketing, commonly known as
spam, receives a response rate of 1%, about the same as direct
postal mail campaigns, Gartner said.
But e-mail marketing campaigns can be put together in seven to ten
business days, compared with four to six weeks to complete a direct
mail campaign. Replies arrive in three days compared to an average
of three to six weeks for a postal mail campaign. E-mail campaigns
are 100 times cheaper, with the cost ranging from $5 to $7 per
1,000 addresses while direct mail costs range from $500 (£352) to
$700 per 1,000 addresses, Gartner said.
E-mail will account for 50% of mail received by US households by
2005, up from 35% today, threatening the $196.8bn (£138.4bn) direct
mail market, Gartner said.