Email marketing still vital, says new report

Ben & Jerry’s have caused a stir by announcing their intention to abandon email marketing and communicate with UK customers exclusively through social media.

However, according to a new report from Econsultancy, the ice cream maker could be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

How We Shop in 2010: Habits and Motivations of Consumers suggests that, far from being obsolete, email marketing is the way 61% of consumers prefer to receive details of promotions and deals. 36% of respondents said receiving an email prompted them to make an online purchase, and 27% said the same about offline purchases.

So what about social media? It seems the age of the consumer is the deciding factor. According to the report, consumers between the ages of 18 and 26 are receptive to communication and customer service through social media, but consumers over the age of 38 are unlikely to use social networks for product information. However, a “small but significant” part of that same group (18-38) did state a preference to receive sales information through social media sites.

Econsultancy’s US Research Director, Stefan Tornquist concluded that social networks have a way to go before they replace email marketing entirely: “Email continues to be the desired channel for many types of commercial communication,” he said. “Social networking and its effect on the nature of brand is the hottest topic in digital marketing, and deservedly so. It’s still worthwhile for marketers to remember that social network adoption is far from maturity.”