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E-mail
Message Volume
in the U.S., 1999-2003
In Billions
Source: eMarketer, 2000
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Trends In Internet-Based
Marketing
Researched and
written by Ray Wyman, Jr.
This business report was compiled December 2000 for an Internet
marketing company.
The Internet provides advertisers with a unique ability to target specific
groups, receive direct feedback, and mine valuable consumer data for
future campaigns. It is no surprise, then, that Internet marketing expenditures
are projected to rise from $603 million in 1998 to $5.3 billion by 2003.
EZCoupons, developed by CCI, is a low-cost way for your business to
expand into Internet-based 'direct-to-consumer' marketing in three ways:
Coupons, E-mail marketing, and Opt-in marketing.
Coupons have long been a way that brick and mortar retailers have promoted
products and services. They have now migrated to the Internet. Distribution
of total coupons, both offline and online, in 1999 was $263 billion,
up 1.2% from 1998. According to a May 2000 survey by The NPD Group,
Inc. the number of online coupon users grew from 23% of all Internet
users to 27% in one year. Electronic coupons are also growing in importance
among all coupon users. Online coupon usage accounted for 10% of total
coupon use in March 2000, double the figure of six months earlier.
E-mail is the dominant Internet vehicle for communication. The advantages
of using e-mail are enormous; it has very low cost, global reach, ease
of use and is immediate. People are spending more time using e-mail
as their communication tool of choice, both at work and at home. In
the U.S., there are 97 million active e-mail users, defined as those
aged 14+ who send or receive five or more e-mail messages a week. This
group represents 44% of the total population over the age of 14 and
is expected to grow to 140 million by 2003. The primary reason web users
give for going online is e-mail: so say 92% of respondents according
to Jupiter Research and 89% according to Forrester Research.
Not since the development of television has a single medium revolutionized
the opportunities for marketing. According to various reporting sources,
U.S. e-mail marketing expenditures in 2000 surpassed the $1 billion
mark predicted in eMarketer's 2000's "e-mail Marketing Report".
The report also states that overall U.S. e-mail marketing expenditures
are expected to increase over 400% to $4.5 billion by 2003. Spending
on e-mail advertising, which accounts for approximately 46% of total
spending on e-mail marketing, will increase over the same period from
$496 million to over $2 billion. Furthermore, Jupiter Communications
predicts that 'direct-to-consumer' e-mail sales will reach $7.3 billion
in 2005 - their estimate assumes a direct mail industry that is generating
as much as $56 billion in the same year.
Opt-in E-mail Marketing is a technique that uses "permission marketing"
as a means for generating highly qualified audiences. Most commercial
e-mail is unsolicited and is not targeted to the recipient's needs or
interests. Known as 'spam', the electronic equivalent of junk mail,
this method has grown increasingly ineffective due to growing resentment
towards unsolicited messages. Public outcry in the U.S. will likely
result in tightened privacy laws, such as what has already transpired
in Europe. Nevertheless, spam is already doomed, as returns have become
increasingly poor, primarily because the offerings are often not relevant.
Of course, not all e-mail is commercial e-mail. As noted above, personal
communications will continue to outpace business e-mailings. However,
permission e-mail is on the upswing and will grow much faster than regular
e-mail.
Option In e-mail, or "Opt-in", has emerged as an attractive
alternative to sending unsolicited e-mail and is the marketing tool
of choice for merchants, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
Consumers give companies permission to send them e-mail messages in
return for something ? for example, a coupon, valuable information,
a free product or service, or a chance to win a prize. The more communication
there is the more understanding there can be between customers and companies.
For companies, permission marketing is the key that turns strangers
into friends and friends into loyal customers.
Opt-in e-mail is targeted, effective, relatively low in cost, and able
to reach a growing market of e-mail users. The volume of e-mail is projected
to triple from 61 billion messages in 2000 to 240 billion in 2003 and,
according to eMarketer, opt-in e-mail will grow far faster than total
e-mail.. -HP
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