Marketers' Misconceptions: Part 2 - "90% of Marketers Don't Think Spamming is a Big Problem"

This is the second in a series of blogs based on research conducted by IDG Connect - and made available exclusively through Base One - into a fascinating area: the discrepancy between how marketers and prospective buyers view email communications. The findings, published this January, examine different perceptions of the drivers for engagement, intensity and open rates. Part two addresses the thorny issue of spamming…

It is annoying to be inundated with emails. We all know that familiar tick of irritation as we delete yet another message without opening it. Surely there is little doubt that over-zealous communication cheapens any brand and makes us less likely to open future communiqués? Yet surprisingly many marketers don’t seem to be making the connection…

When buyers were asked: “What are the biggest mistakes marketers make in sending product/ service emails”, they responded that it was more about the quantity they received than the quality. Whilst doesn’t mean they don’t mind irrelevant emails, their biggest problem with marketing emails was that they received them too often from the same supplier (a reason quoted by 26% of buyers).

However, when asked the same question, only 10% of marketers rated sending emails too frequently as their biggest mistake, with nearly a third of marketers (32%) thinking that their biggest mistake was sending emails on irrelevant topics. So 90% have got it wrong…

In addition to this only 6% of prospective buyers stated that emails which ‘promote rather than educate’ are a problem; while a quarter of marketers saw this is the biggest mistake they make.

We can’t assume from this research that buyers enjoy receiving promotional emails. But their reaction to this invaluable marketing tool is clearly out of kilter with what most marketers think. A sensible conclusion would be that promotional emails are seen as acceptable - as long as marketers don’t send too many of them.

It is our responsibility to produce quality, not quantity.

In case you missed it, see Marketers’ Misconceptions Part 1 here