40% of email marketers to increase budgets next year

While over a third of marketers don't believe the recession will end anytime soon, four of out 10 intend increasing their email marketing budgets next year, with increased customer loyalty their main goal.

by Helen Leggatt

The cost-effectiveness of email marketing, coupled with its ability to increase customer loyalty and increase revenues, had led many marketers to increase their email budgets for 2010. Around 40% will increase their budgets and slightly more (47%) will keep their budgets at the same levels as this year.

"When consumers' purse strings tighten, savvy marketers remain respectful but attentive, so their brands are top of mind when their customers are once again ready to buy," said Bill Nussey, CEO of Silverpop. "Today's marketers are mindful of the important role relationship building plays in a successful marketing strategy, and they understand the unique ability of email to engage customers."

Top marketing goals from email were increasing customer loyalty (52%) and to drive incremental revenue (51%). To help facilitate this, a large number (84%) plan to integrate social media into their email campaigns and 38% will add in SMS.

"Linking email to popular social networks can be a very successful strategy," said Nussey. "If the messages are timely and relevant, recipients will share them with their networks, and the opportunity for additional exposure increases exponentially. And as customers become more mobile, their marketing must reach them in more timely ways and through channels such as SMS."

Earlier this year, data published by Smith-Harmon suggested email marketers are missing out on prime opportunities to make their emails go social, or at least have them shared with a few friends.

Their report, "FTAF v. SWYN: The State of Email Sharing", found that almost half of email marketers send neither a "forward to a friend" (FTAF) nor a "share with your network" (SWYN) link in their email communications with consumers. That's a lot of email marketers missing out on a lot of extra exposure for their emails. Perhaps next year will see a marked change in attitude towards the integration of email and social media.

Tags: email, email marketers, email marketing, marketing budgets, Silverpop, Smith-Harmon, social media