Marketers’ assumptions are harming business results as brands look to adapt to new consumer trends, according to new research from Deployteq and the Data & Marketing Association (DMA).
Deployteq, a leading self-service marketing automation provider, in partnership with the DMA and the DMA Email Council, polled over 2,000 consumers on their email habits as part of the Consumer Email Tracker 2023 annual study.
The majority of marketers assume that a consumer’s junk folder is no man’s land, but the research revealed that junk folders are getting checked by almost 30 per cent of people on a weekly basis. This coincides with an uptick in overall inbox usage with two-thirds of consumers monitoring their personal inbox on a daily basis.
Marketers typically also assume that email is not the best way to reach the consumer, but DMA research uncovered that email marketing is the go-to for communications between consumers and brands, with 32 per cent finding brand emails useful, over double the rate recorded in 2021, ahead of all other channels throughout the customer lifecycle.
It was discovered that consumers subscribe to an average of 10 brands for email marketing, with women subscribing to 10.6 “best friend” brands and men subscribing to 8.9 on average.
For those who are engaging with email marketing, 36 per cent said that the colour, design, fonts and headings make these emails easier to read and understand.
Pauline Buil, Marketing Director for Deployteq, said: “As marketers, we often make assumptions based on data points that we’ve heard in the past that we still believe to be true today – in many cases, this is holding businesses back. The Consumer Email tracker goes against many of these assumptions, for example, research shows that consumers read each email for an average of 11 seconds as opposed to the 3-5 seconds many assume. Data driven marketing is the key to campaign success and this new research with the DMA acts as a benchmark for email marketers to tailor their campaigns and drive maximum engagement by meeting consumer’s wants and needs.”
Simon Ward, CEO of Inspired Thinking Group, commented: “At a time when trends are constantly evolving, the way brands utilise the data at their disposal can truly make or break their marketing. World-class innovation and technology help to keep creative teams’ fingers on the pulse by harnessing and interpreting complex data, providing the deep insights that enhance campaign performance and drive engagement – with Deployteq proving itself a market leader in this space thanks to its incredibly easy-to-use tech suite.”
The news comes following Deployteq’s targeted expansion in the UK market to further strengthen its partnership base on the ground with major brands including Wickes, Virgin Media and Renault.
