Even though it has been around four decades now, email as a communication tool is still growing strong.
There were 3.7 billion email users (or 48.6 percent of the global population) in 2017. That number is expected to grow to 56 percent by 2019, according to Hubspot. Gmail alone has about one billion users.
Statistics show that the average person checks their email about 70 times a day.
Thus, email remains an important communication channel for several reasons, one being its role in marketing campaigns. As many know, digital marketing has become a big game for many companies. With inbound marketing practices, businesses have discovered the importance of personalizing emails and how effective they can be. Statistics show that three-quarters of companies surveyed believe that emails provide a good or excellent Return on Investment (ROI). Moreover, 86 percent of professionals have indicated a preference for using email as their main business communication tool.
Email as a marketing tool
“There is no doubt that email is one of the best ways to keep the lines of communication open with past, present and potential customers,” Vancouver entrepreneur and email security expert, Thierry Levasseur said.
Many organizations have a streamlined email marketing strategy that sends out personalized, segmented emails to consumers who have either visited their website, made a purchase or engaged them in some way. Research shows that these email campaigns are one of the most successful ways companies communicate with consumers.
Its value for marketers lies in the presumption of opt-in privilege — if you have someone’s email, it is most likely they have given you permission to contact them. It is a sign that there has already been some trust built and a relationship started.
Social media vs email
Social media has been seen as a more modern way to communicate because of its flashy features and exciting options but, nothing seems to beat a good, old fashioned email.
As well, email is a more thoughtful mode of communication. If social media is the communication highway where the pressure is to move fast and the trends are changing rapidly, email is the country road where you can take more time over your words as there is no rush to respond.
Even more important, email has become our primary ID online — like our fingerprint, it is used to log in to different portals and sites.
“This is a critical concept to keep in mind – the fact that our email is now used as a login method to hundreds and thousands of websites, apps and other platforms online,” Thierry Levasseur added. “This, of course, also makes one other element all the more important: the security of one’s email account. Email is not going away anytime sooner – in fact, our email – and its security – is more important than ever.”
