There is more good news on the email front. eMarketer published an article that summarized a study that was commissioned by Epsilon Interactive. The research was focused on consumers perception of email. The results shine with most consumers saying that they welcome targeted and relevant email.

Some great points discovered within the study:

“60% of respondents to the 2006 survey said that the e-mails they receive from companies with which they do business have become more targeted and relevant, compared with 57% of respondents who said this in 2005.”

“most of the respondents, 78%, said that they do not use their work e-mail addresses to receive marketing offers.”

The results are encouraging to marketers. This should keep marketers focused on segmenting their databases based on a variety of metrics and behavioral conditions, additionally careful consideration should be given to the message that is being sent to each particular segment - think targeting and relevance based on what you know about your database already.

An emerging trend in email marketing will be an even more vertically focused approach. There will always be similarities among industries, but just as more targeted campaigns are having more success than general campaigns, so too will industry specific strategies.

There is understandably a big focus on email marketing strategy around retail, but this is not the only industry that specific strategies can yield better results. And even within the online retail space, specific product/service companies will benefit a great deal from custom strategies.

It’s easy to fall in line and follow suit with what’s most popular, but each industry has it’s own unique customer base, buying habits, consumer issues, etc. which dictate a unique approach.

Our own experience is proving this true. Both our existing and new clients are beginning to look for more effective strategies than in the past. It’s the natural evolution of email marketing…and they are asking for new ways to reach and convert customers, not just the popular methods.

And as with everything online, the key will be in the testing to find out what works best!