E-mail preferred choice for product notifications

A UK survey by Smartfocus has revealed that 71 per cent of consumers prefer marketing contact by e-mail, while telemarketing is their most disliked form of contact.

The survey found that 71 per cent of respondents selected e-mail as their preferred choice for new product offers and notifications, outpacing social media (21 per cent), SMS (five per cent), direct mail (three per cent) and telemarketing (0 per cent).

When asked about their least preferred way to learn about a new consumer product, 55 per cent of all respondents cited traditional telemarketing.

A further 22 per cent expressed distaste for SMS communication, followed by direct mail (15 per cent), e-mail (five per cent) and then social media (three per cent).

The survey also asked whether e-mail had prompted individuals to a buying action, with 69 per cent revealing that they had been prompted by e-mail to purchase products or services.

When asked what type of products they had bought through e-mail campaigns, the most popular response was clothing or accessories (38 per cent), followed by personal electronics (31 per cent) and by deals at restaurants, bars and coffee shops (27 per cent).

Tim Watson, operations director at Smartfocus, said: 'E-mail has developed into a mature primary source of information for both consumers and marketers.

'Three-quarters of survey respondents said that they received more than 50 e-mails a day; there's so much communication via e-mail that marketers simply cannot ignore it.

'If companies want to communicate effectively with customers, they need to do so using the channels that customers use and interact with the most.

'E-mail provides marketers with the best returns in terms of measurable open, click and conversion, but its reach and importance also goes far beyond sales to deliver invaluable product information and branding awareness.

'In our work developing reactivation strategies for our clients, we have been able to demonstrate how some seemingly inactive e-mail recipients are still engaging with e-mails even when they are not clicking or opening them.

'They are often even purchasing via different channels.

'E-mail plays an important role in keeping brands, products and key messages top of mind.

'It reinforces messaging outside of the inbox and continues to influence thought and behaviour through other digital channels as well as offline.

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