UK email marketing sector grows 15 per cent in 2010

The UK market for email marketing platforms and services has grown by an estimated 15% year-on-year, reaching a total value of some 336 million in 2010, according to a research report from Econsultancy.

The report, entitled 'Email Marketing Platforms Buyer's Guide 2010', found that email marketing continues to flourish because it is not only cost-effective but also more accountable and measurable than many other marketing channels and techniques, and because it typically provides a high return on investment (ROI) at a relatively low cost.

According to Econsultancy research manager, Aliya Zaidi, "Marketers have become more strategic in their approach to email marketing, with the channel being used to foster long term relationships with customers, rather than just for short term quick wins. Email marketers are moving away from email as an acquisition tool and instead focusing on customer retention and customer lifetime value (CLV)."

Another trend that the report noted is an increased understanding among marketers of the need to integrate email with other types of data. Within a multichannel world, email is clearly becoming a more strategic tool for building customer relationships.
Surprisingly, the study found that the rise of social media, in particular the increasing popularity of social networking, has not had a negative impact on the email marketing sector.

In fact, Zaidi added: "The evidence suggests that social media and email activity complement each other. The ability to distribute and share content is built into email, and this supports social media activity. Many email service providers are now offering services and technology related to social media."

The buyer's guide followed the company's earlier Email Marketing Industry Census 2010, which found that companies are spending an average of 17% of their digital marketing budgets on email marketing, compared to only 14% in 2009.

The new research found that the proportion of UK companies spending at least 10,000 a year on email marketing now stands at 51%, while 11% of companies surveyed are spending at least 100,000 a year on email marketing.

Econsultancy's market value estimate includes revenue earned by email service providers (ESPs), money spent on agency services (in addition to ESP revenues), and the cost of internal staff resources relating specifically to email marketing.

Apart from basic broadcast of email, services relating to marketing offered by email service providers and agencies include: measurement and analytics, personalisation, segmentation, automated campaigns, campaign optimisation, email data provision, strategy and planning, design and copywriting, dynamic content solutions and behavioural response marketing.

According to the report, the key market trends for 2010 include:
• Email becomes more strategic as market matures;
 
• Social media provides fresh opportunities for growth;
 
• Multichannel data integration is key to personalisation;
 
• Increased demand for training and education;
 
• Greater relevance & engagement will reduce inbox clutter.

Meantime the Multichannel Customer Experience Report, published by Econsultancy in association with Foviance, examines the extent to which organisations have a strategy and framework for providing a joined-up customer experience, and how successful they are in attaining a single customer view.

The document highlights how an increasing number of online and offline customer touch points are making it more difficult for organisations to ensure a consistent cross-channel customer experience.

Report highlights include:
• Almost half of company respondents (49%) say a joined-up multichannel customer experience is very important to their organisation, and a further 41% say it is quite important.
• More than two thirds of companies (68%) recognise a strong link between long-term business performance and customer experience.
• 69% of organisations say they are just beginning to develop a customer experience strategy. 
• Nearly one in 10 companies (9%) surveyed say there is no strategy for improving the customer experience. 
• More than a third of companies surveyed (38%) say that ownership of the multichannel customer experience lies with a mixture of different departments