The expression bringing home the bacon’ has been linked to success in earning a livelihood for at least three centuries. How can something less than 40 years old—the first email marketing campaign launched on May 3, 1978—ensure your business hits positive revenue targets? What makes email marketing such an important strategy?

It Taps Mobile Markets

In an article published by Inc., Peter Roesler shares why email marketing works, even in a world where spam has soured the email experience for users. He tells us how effective email is if you are targeting an increasingly mobile market. When 184.2 million Americans own smartphones[1] and 52% of them access their emails from their smartphones[2], email marketing is a wise investment.

Tablet users are also accessing their emails on the go. Roesler quotes a Forrester Research study that found 42% of retail email messages are opened on smartphones and 17% are viewed on tablets.

Your customers are mobile, and email is a very cost effective way to reach them. When you use email, you don’t have to develop apps for Android or iPhone and iPad. You just send your message.

Email is also more user friendly than SMS for mobile phone users. Emails are usually built into the data plan, while texting often incurs a fee.

Your Customers Want it.

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Customers often welcome email marketing. For example, if you have an online presence, 28% of your customers are looking for messages from you. They want to stay informed about new products, sales and more. If you set up a rewards program, 59% of the mothers who shop with you want to sign up and receive email updates.[2]

Add coupon-based emails to your mix, and it propels more buyers to purchase both online and in-store. Deloitte found 65% of the consumers it surveyed used email-based grocery coupons to make buying decisions. Nielsen found 27% of US online shoppers used company-based email deals.[2]

When you use email to offer what customers want, it increases sales.

Email Marketing Leverages Other Marketing Strategies.

If you use strategies such as personalizing product recommendations, using customer names and personalized welcome messages, and/or shopping cart reminders as part of your online presence, then email marketing complements this for little additional cost. Amazon is expert at this.

Credit CardsA customer logs into the account. Amazon records what the customer searched for. When the search doesn’t conclude in a sale, Amazon sends a personalized email showing products related to that search. When a customer put an item into the cart, yet doesn’t complete the purchase, this precipitates follow-up emails encouraging a purchase decision or promoting a sale price.

The messages are written in a such a way that they are easy to personalize, yet don’t have a canned’ feel. The most important component for success is automation. There’s software for that.

It Keeps Costs Down.

When you keep your outgoing expenses down, you have more bacon to carry home. Yes, there are costs associated with writing a great email campaign, however, when you amortize those costs per email, you spend pennies rather than dollars for every sale the campaign delivers. TV, radio and direct mail cost far more.

If you still aren’t convinced, consider these facts:

  • Two out of three consumers made their buying decision based on an email they received.[3]
  • Five out of six adults who are online prefer email to direct mail.[4]
  • 93% of your potential customers have opted in so they receive at least one permission-based email daily.

So how does email marketing help you bring in the bacon? It places your message exactly where your customers are most willing to receive it, and when you align the message with what the customer needs and wants, email leads to buying decisions. 

If you're currently emailing, or want to start, download our eBook: 9 Reasons Why People Are Ignoring Your Emails below. This eBook will help you get back on track with email success and help jump start those looking to get in the email game.


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[1] www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-the-us/

[2] http://www.inc.com/peter-roesler/top-5-reasons-why-email-marketing-is-still-works.html

[3] http://www.webmarketingpros.com/blog/10-stats-email-marketing-is-still-worthwhile/

[4] http://www.merkleinc.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2011/merkle-publishes-view-digital-inbox-whitepaper#.VkDoWMpeJGY