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 Wired-Up chats to Tom Wass, CEO and President International of Tequila Worldwide, about E-mail Marketing. |
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Tom's message to e-mail marketers everywhere is simple: e-mail is a godsend for marketers - cheap, efficient, targetable and excellent at one-to-one communication - but stop, look, listen and think before you act. Wired-Up: Where is e-mail marketing right now? TW: The e-mail marketing world has moved on. E-mail marketing today is not a baby but a toddler - but will it turn out to be a thug or a genius? How the industry behaves now will shape the future of the market. Wired-Up: What issues came out of the recent Marketing Week e-mail conference that you chaired? TW: The main issue was "Opt-in or Opt-out" e-mail. On which basis should companies gather data? This is a debate that is ongoing not only between companies but between industry organisations. Another issue was that of selling data. There is a feeling that companies that gather client data should not be allowed to sell it on to just anyone. Wired-Up: Does e-mail marketing face any looming problems? TW: The same mistakes that happened with direct marketing are occurring with e-mail marketing. Bad copywriting and companies that chuck out e-mail in great volumes are seriously annoying potential customers. The industry needs sensible self-regulation. Wired-Up: What cost savings can companies expect with e-mail marketing? TW: Currently direct marketing costs around 25-30 pence per item, compared to less than 5 pence per e-mail item, but the important issue is making e-mail effective. I would rather spend 15 pence on an e-mail item if there was more chance of a sale. Wired-Up: Finally, what does the future hold for e-mail marketing? TW: If we all behave responsibly then e-mail can be very powerful to create real-time dialogue with customers and generate good, reliable CRM. If we don't, we will end up with a dead discipline where customers delete companies' e-mails without a second thought. A
bit about Tom: |
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