Email tracking report 2011

Consumers are the ultimate judges of how well the email marketing industry is performing. That’s why the annual DMA / fast.MAP Email Tracking Study provides such valuable insight for marketers: it tells us what consumers really think of the marketing emails they receive, the content they prefer, what captures their attention and what turns them off.

This year, the study will make particularly welcome reading for email marketers. The results reveal that consumer approval ratings of email marketing have surged over the past 12 months. The number of consumers reporting that 50% or more of the marketing emails they receive are of interest to them has increased over the past year from one in 10 (9%) in 2010, to one in three (30%) in 2011. Just one in four (24%) of consumers now say that only less than 10% of the marketing emails they receive are of relevance to them – down from two-thirds (64%) of consumers in 2010.

The study also reveals that consumers are signing up to receive regular emails in ever-greater numbers, with 50% of consumers reporting that they now receive 20 or more emails from brands they trust every week. It’s particularly satisfying to see that brands are applying the lessons they’ve learned on how best to build trust with their customers. Trust is built on more than consumer confidence in brands protecting their personal data; it’s based on the confidence they have that their favoured brands understand their tastes and interests and will email them with relevant offers, promotions and product information. The techniques that underpin relevancy, such as sophisticated segmentation and well targeted content, have been finely honed by the industry and can be credited for the massive rise we’ve seen in consumer approval ratings of email marketing. In troubled economic times, this will be a positive sales message for businesses across the land.

email_tracking_study_2011.pdf