Small firms ’see email marketing success’

Small businesses increasingly rely on email marketing to get the best results, a new study has revealed.

Research sponsored by IT services provider Campaigner indicates 46 per cent of small firms surveyed rely on email marketing to help them find new customers, keep their existing ones and expand their businesses, while those that use such tools expect to have an edge over those that do not.

The survey was carried out by Hurwitz and Associates and gathered data from 259 companies and found that email marketing is playing a central role in the success of small firms.

Partner at the group Laurie McCabe commented: "The survey points to a major adoption trend in small business email marketing – 46 per cent currently use email marketing and 36 per cent plan to use it next year."

He went on to say that as the recovery from the recession gets underway, businesses that already have email marketing programs in place will be better positioned to take advantage of new opportunities to increase sales and revenues.

Vice-president of marketing at Campaigner Steve Adams added: "The survey results show that email marketing is now a mainstream tool for small businesses to stay connected to customers with informational e-newsletters as well as sales and promotional offers to drive sales."

The research also indicated that despite the positive findings regarding email marketing, small firms see spam as a major barrier to its success.

Companies also stated that when they are shopping for a solution, they want a user friendly product and plenty of customer support to help them with their selection.

The latest research carried out by Experian Marketing Services suggests that the sending of online coupons via email marketing secures a higher transaction-to-click rating than those sent with no such offer.

Some 78 per cent of companies that made use of coupons also found that they experienced higher revenue per email by sending coupons.