You’ve accepted position as head of marketing. You had a vision and background that aligned with where the organization is heading. You already are planning to assess your internal resources, meet with critical stakeholders and go through the initial 90 days drill.

Many marketers are turning to email as a core component of their marketing mix. Email has so many benefits and is a cost-efficient channel to provide timely and tailored messages. Capturing email addresses and growing an email opt-in list are top goals for many marketers.

Direct mail is probably one of the most misunderstood channels. There are a number of contributors that determine direct mail success and failure. The reality is that creative isn’t one of the primary drivers. There are a number of factors that are likely to impact response more than creative.

As a member of one of the top direct marketing agencies, I believe there are a number of attributes that define the top direct marketing agencies. It seems that direct marketing is often misunderstood. Many people equate direct marketing with direct mail. Direct marketing is actually a set of tools and techniques that use targeted communications to drive response and action.

Email is one of the most widely utilized channels by marketers. According to a study that J&C conducted, close to 90% of marketers stated that they are using email. Interestingly, slightly more than 50% report that breaking through cluttered inboxes is their number-one challenge regarding email effectiveness. So while the use of email is increasing, marketers seem to recognize that driving email engagement is getting more and more challenging. Close to 50% of email marketers also state that generating click-through is a strong second challenge.

One of the core principles of direct marketing is provide a reason to act NOW. Many marketers are not fully leveraging offers or incentives, which are a proven technique to increase response. Utilizing offers that are time-sensitive and provide reasons to act now can drive response and deliver marketing channel effectiveness.

MarketingProfs recently released findings from its business-to-consumer content marketing study. Content marketing continues to grow in terms of popularity. Similar to business-to-business content marketing trends, 90% of B2C marketers are using content marketing. Interestingly, most B2C marketers are also planning on increasing their content marketing activity. About 60% of B2C marketing survey respondents are planning to increase content marketing spend over the next 12 months.

Email is an effective and cost-efficient mechanism to communicate with prospects and customers. The cost per contact with email can be a fraction of the cost versus other targeted channels such as direct mail. Purchasing email lists, however, has a number of drawbacks. Typically, purchased email lists don’t work. Email marketing is most effective where the user has a perceived relationship with the company. People simply view unsolicited emails as spam. There is significant fear about opening and clicking on emails that aren’t from a company or brand people perceive having a relationship with, or have actually provided their email address.

Email is the top channel being utilized by marketers today.¹ Yet many marketers aren’t worried about optimizing their email effectiveness. They often have a “close enough is good enough” attitude toward email: that getting something out is better than working on perfecting email programs, and that determining critical success factors as well as areas for improvement isn’t a priority.

Email has provided a cost-effective and expeditious vehicle to communicate with customers. The cost per contact may be the driving force behind the temptation to use email as a mass communications vehicle. It appears there is a complete abandonment of response principles that can increase the effectiveness of emails.