After researching into email marketing I used this triangulation worksheet to condense some of the points found into a triangulated section of the essay. Multiple for and against points were gathered so that there is an ongoing argument with the main focus - is email marketing beneficial to companies?
Triangulation:
In terms of marketing, the main benefit that technology has brought to companies is the ability to advertise to a much larger target audience. According to Eric Brantner, an online blogger, ‘46% of the world’s population is now online — 3.4 billion people’ (REF). Brantner’s graph highlights how there are over 3 billion users online today. This is a huge target audience for companies – one that was non-existent before the digital age. Without the Internet, companies would have previously had to advertise themselves through the use of printed media, such as newspapers, magazines, flyers, billboards etc. Whilst these methods of advertising were successful, it was much more difficult to find out about specific statistics and demographics. Meredith Davis strongly supports this point, highlighting that ‘it quickly became apparent that interactive media held the potential for bigger and better things’ (2012, p209).
Alongside the ability to create websites and use data, one aspect that has not been discussed is the effect that emails have had on the way companies market themselves. Before the digital age, companies had to notify their customers through the use of flyers, newpapers, paper ads, billboards and word-of-mouth. With email marketing, companies can now immediately contact their current customers, and also reach out to new potential customers, through the use of collected data. Renown email marketing company GetResponse emphasise that ‘regular email marketing to existing customers generates a 15 – 50% increase in total online business’ (p3). Fariborzi and Zahedifard support this point that email marketing has been hugely beneficial, as they explain that companies can ‘easily find the number of E-mails sent, number of E-mails that have been opened and that those who have opened up, the number of people who are not registered, and click rate’ (2012). Emails can be personalized to customers and are immediate to send out. In this sense, the advancements in technology have given companies a much more efficient, direct option to get in touch with their customer base.
Despite the clear positive impacts of email marketing, there are some identifiable disadvantages. The main negative associated with email marketing is spam, and the over-frequent saturation of emails sent to consumers. Companies that send out too many emails, or emails that are resultantly filtered, end up in spam folders – which are mostly deleted and never read by consumers. Abusing certain spam regulations can also result in legal trouble, which would impact a company’s reputation hugely (Forneris, 2011)
Whilst Fariborzi and Zahedifard earlier supported the use of email marketing, they do agree that email marketing can have a negative impact on companies. They explain that ‘when an E-mail gets through to the consumer, there is so much E-mail that needs to be looked at sometimes it is difficult for the individual to distinguish between solicited and unsolicited E-mail, as well as have time to read through’ (2012). In this aspect, the use of technology can have a negative impact on the success of companies, as traditional marketing methods were less frequent and more engaging as a result. It is therefore very clear that a fine balance must be made when using email marketing, so that a positive reaction is received by the consumer.
Despite advancements in technology affecting company marketing, the way in which companies brand themselves has stayed fairly consistent. Today, whilst logos and branding campaigns are almost entirely digital, the overall image of brands has not changed dramatically since the days of purely traditional media. To highlight this, the history of Coca Cola identities has been analysed as an exampled. As seen, the logo created in the 1900s is still used to this day. This is essentially because a consistent brand image is imperative to a successful company. Rama Moahana Rao makes a crucial point that ‘the key to creating a brand is the ability of a service company to choose attributes such as name or logo that identify the service and distinguish it from others’ (2011). As indicated by the development of the Coca Cola identity, consistency is key when keeping a brand trustworthy to consumers. Technology has had an impact on the way in which companies brand themselves; however, it has had much more of an impact on the strategies taken through company marketing.
Alongside the ability to create websites and use data, one aspect that has not been discussed is the effect that emails have had on the way companies market themselves. Before the digital age, companies had to notify their customers through the use of flyers, newpapers, paper ads, billboards and word-of-mouth. With email marketing, companies can now immediately contact their current customers, and also reach out to new potential customers, through the use of collected data. Renown email marketing company GetResponse emphasise that ‘regular email marketing to existing customers generates a 15 – 50% increase in total online business’ (p3). Fariborzi and Zahedifard support this point that email marketing has been hugely beneficial, as they explain that companies can ‘easily find the number of E-mails sent, number of E-mails that have been opened and that those who have opened up, the number of people who are not registered, and click rate’ (2012). Emails can be personalized to customers and are immediate to send out. In this sense, the advancements in technology have given companies a much more efficient, direct option to get in touch with their customer base.
Despite the clear positive impacts of email marketing, there are some identifiable disadvantages. The main negative associated with email marketing is spam, and the over-frequent saturation of emails sent to consumers. Companies that send out too many emails, or emails that are resultantly filtered, end up in spam folders – which are mostly deleted and never read by consumers. Abusing certain spam regulations can also result in legal trouble, which would impact a company’s reputation hugely (Forneris, 2011)
Whilst Fariborzi and Zahedifard earlier supported the use of email marketing, they do agree that email marketing can have a negative impact on companies. They explain that ‘when an E-mail gets through to the consumer, there is so much E-mail that needs to be looked at sometimes it is difficult for the individual to distinguish between solicited and unsolicited E-mail, as well as have time to read through’ (2012). In this aspect, the use of technology can have a negative impact on the success of companies, as traditional marketing methods were less frequent and more engaging as a result. It is therefore very clear that a fine balance must be made when using email marketing, so that a positive reaction is received by the consumer.
Despite advancements in technology affecting company marketing, the way in which companies brand themselves has stayed fairly consistent. Today, whilst logos and branding campaigns are almost entirely digital, the overall image of brands has not changed dramatically since the days of purely traditional media. To highlight this, the history of Coca Cola identities has been analysed as an exampled. As seen, the logo created in the 1900s is still used to this day. This is essentially because a consistent brand image is imperative to a successful company. Rama Moahana Rao makes a crucial point that ‘the key to creating a brand is the ability of a service company to choose attributes such as name or logo that identify the service and distinguish it from others’ (2011). As indicated by the development of the Coca Cola identity, consistency is key when keeping a brand trustworthy to consumers. Technology has had an impact on the way in which companies brand themselves; however, it has had much more of an impact on the strategies taken through company marketing.
No comments:
Post a Comment