Given limited budgets and accelerated time-to-market schedules, B2B marketers have embraced email as a quick and
cost-effective solution for increasing leads and building customer relationships. Unfortunately, more concerned with
reducing costs, these marketers often focus on email as a replacement for some otherwise proven components of
their marketing communications programs. This trend is not surprising, especially as marketers become inundated
with news and reports about the effectiveness of email marketing versus other on- and off-line media. But in many
instances, this confidence in email marketing is based on a list of external case studies or published statistics which,
when taken out of context, may set unrealistic expectations for evaluating the success of their own email programs.

Nonetheless, absent of any true ROI model and often armed with
no more than a list of best practices and the tools to deliver
multiple email messages simultaneously, B2B marketers have
launched an onslaught of communications against their customers
and prospects. In fact, according to Jupiter Research, by 2007, the
average online user will be exposed to 830 marketing impressions
online per day, nearly doubling from an average of 447 impressions
in 2000. ("Marketing & Branding Forecast: Online Advertising &
E-mail Marketing Through 2007").

In an effort to keep up with the number of emails published by their
competitors, many B2B marketers incorrectly assume that the
volume of emails sent will equate to the success of their online
communications program. Realistically though, email marketing
programs that are based on \u201cpushing\u201d content to a list of
customers and prospects as quickly and as frequently as possible,
without focusing on the message, are destined for failure.

One key downfall of many email marketing campaigns lies in the attention they are given at the corporate level.
Unfortunately, many B2B organizations do not yet realize the potential of this technology in the management of their
most valuable assets \u2014 their brands. Often,they do not invest enough of their budget or talent in managing and
analyzing email campaigns comprehensively. In fact, it has been our experience that the responsibility of managing
content for the company's email newsletter \u2014 which has become an important vehicle-of-choice for developing an
ongoing dialogue with prospects and customers \u2014 is often identified as an administrative function, and not as a
function of brand management.

Oftentimes, we see that one of the biggest hurdles to producing the email newsletter becomes obtaining enough
information to develop relevant content in a timely enough fashion. Because organizations perceive email as being
\u201cquick-and-easy\u201d, many marketers set unrealistic deadlines for themselves. And in several of the cases we've seen,
because there is a lack of understanding regarding the true potential of email communications, internal support is
difficult to find. Without appropriate support, many email communications strategies do not meet expectations.

Confidence in email marketing
is often based on a list of
external case studies or
published statistics which,
when taken out of context,
may set unrealistic
expectations for evaluating the
success of email programs.\u201d

And, failing to achieve immediate success with their email programs (even given as loosely as the term \u201csuccess\u201d
may be defined by the organization), we have seen that many B2B marketers begin to focus too narrowly on improving
the things that are easiest to measure \u2014 click-through rates, opens, etc. These metrics, used successfully by many
B2B marketers, usually lead to program modifications that rely on the tried-and-true troika of Direct Marketing: list,
offer, and creative. Although these are certainly important factors in the success of any email marketing program, the
ease with which these factors can be measured often causes managers of the campaigns to lose sight of a much
larger picture.

What marketers need to remember is that, in addition to being a sometimes-effective direct response medium, email
can be an extremely effective tool for analyzing and refining messaging strategies overall. When viewed strictly as a
communications vehicle, it should be understood that email has strengths and weaknesses, as with any other medium.
But when viewed as an enabling technology for integrated marketing communications as a whole, it has few rivals.

Remember, the greatest benefit of email marketing is its unmatched ability
to measure and analyze the way in which customers interact with your brand.
Its unique reporting mechanisms enable a very sophisticated analysis of
consumer behavior - are women more likely than men to respond to a
certain message? is someone on the East Coast more like than a
Midwesterner to relate to a particular image?

By architecting a strategy for understanding these interactions \u2014 positive,
negative or indifferent \u2014 marketers can identify opportunities to build brand
value and increase message effectiveness. Viewing email as an enabling
technology, rather than just another communications vehicle, helps B2B

Many email marketers have the ability to continually refine their customer and prospect information, to gain an increasingly detailed view of their target universe, and to parcel that universe in numerous ways, in an effort to increase the effectiveness of their future email strategies against various audiences. And, whatever messaging strategies are implemented to improve the email communications should be considered and implemented, as appropriate,for other vehicles.

\u201c...when viewed as an
enabling technology for
integrated marketing
communications as a
whole, email has few rivals.\u201d