The recession has driven down budgets and made CMOs even more responsible for their bottom line. It is no surprise that e-mail is flourishing in this environment, because it is relatively cheap and measurable. Forrester predicts that e-mail marketing spend will grow to $2 billion in 2014, with retention e-mail, e-mail client services and ad-sponsored acquisition newsletters all potential growth areas.
This week, e-mail service provider Responsys has followed predictions and reported growth across its global operations with a 60% revenue growth in Europe in 2009, as well as a new office opening in Sydney, which has opened to help expand Responsys’ client base in the Australia and New Zealand region. “E-mail is becoming a power channel for any business that has some sort of online presence,” said Scott Olrich, CMO at Responsys. “Not only is it an effective channel, it is an efficient channel.”
New client wins for Responsys in the US include the Build-A-Bear Workshop, Chico’s FAS, LaTienda.com, PayPal, the Sears Holdings Corporation and Title Nine Sports. And, Responsys Asia recently added Fox International Channels Asia, Jeanswest, SmartSalary and TEQUILA to its client roster.
Olrich said that the growth of e-mail has focused on conversion and retention. Responsys has been focused on automating services and lifecycle marketing including developing welcome messaging, and implementing triggered messaging, shopping cart abandonment and transactional messaging. In addition, Olrich said that e-mail is at the center of emerging interactive channels including mobile and social media. “The whole interactive marketing space is gaining a lot of momentum and the e-mail marketers themselves sit at a pretty powerful place at the table,” added Olrich.
As business continues to grow, so has the amount of e-mail. Responsys increased message volume 51% in the first seven months of 2009, after building out its infrastructure this growth. Forrester predicts that e-mail marketing messages sent to the primary inbox will grow to average more than 9,000 annually in 2014, with retention email making up the largest share.
Responsys is not alone in its growth. Other e-mail service providers including Constant Contact and ExactTarget have reported growth. Constant Contact saw a 49% increase in revenue in Q209 and ExactTarget reported a 50% increase in revenue in 2008. Both firms attributed the growth to new client wins and e-mail’s efficiency.
