Big Companies are Getting E-mail Now

What always amazes me is how much money non-profits spend in direct mail marketing, when the evidence shows that e-mail works better, costs less, and is easier to do. I don't fully understand why making a significant investment in e-mail marketing is something so few managers are willing to do. In my conversations, there always seems to be a reluctance to break away from the tried-and-true. So it is for those of you among my readers that I direct this post.

Apparently the word about e-mail marketing has gotten out to America's biggest corporations. Last week, a report was released by Direct Partners. It was a study of responses from 30,000 surveys sent in April, to senior executives at companies with 2007 revenues exceeding $100 million. 28 percent of respondents said that e-mail works most effectively for them, with 24 percent reporting that direct mail does the best job.

Here's the entire article, which is worth a read.

Of all people, I am the last to admonish non-profits to "act more like a business" -  but in this case, corporate America seems to be "getting it" a lot faster than we are.

Comments

[Charlotte]

Ah, but what they don't ask is "How much are willing to spend on your email program?" I bet the budget for email vs. direct mail doesn't mirror those percentages.

More and more, I think leaders understand that email works, but there's still the perception that it should be *free.* Like my Gmail account is free. Like many things online are. Even if it is more efficient, you have to invest resources -- time, mostly, and some money -- to do it well, and I still think there's reluctance to spend even close to as much on email as we do on direct mail.