Following a vote last month by the European Parliament to tighten the rules on unsolicited commercial e-mail, the Direct Marketing Association has released the results of a survey that measures e-mail marketing activity in the UK.
The results of the survey, based on 402 respondents, include the following findings:
- 16% of respondents are using e-mail marketing more than direct mail.
- Over 86% of respondents plan to increase their e-mail marketing budget within 2 years.
- 60% of respondents are currently running e-mail marketing campaigns. Of those not currently running campaigns, 85% plan to do so within 2 years.
- Customer based e-mail campaigns are achieving a response rate of 10% - 15%.
- E-mail is being used for: servicing information requests (60%), targeting new business (58%), customer newsletters (53%), account management (44%), providing account information to customers (35%), taking orders on-line (29%), and billing (11%).
- 67% of respondents viewed e-mail as a secure medium for communicating sensitive or commercial information.
Questions of use of e-mail in the office were answered as follows:
- Over 60% read personal e-mail at work.
- One in three respondents have sent an embarrassing e-mail to the wrong person.
- One in six respondents have fired or threatened an employee with disciplinary action because of an inappropriate e-mail sent at work.