Don't get left behind in your customers' inbox

The report states that 78% of respondents project a continued increase in email quantities. This follows an upward trend from 2002, where email first started taking ground as a viable marketing tool.

Having become accustomed to this new form of marketing, the DMA reports that emailers have adopted different list techniques to improve front-end response, such as subject line testing (41%), personalisation (40%), and prior mail history analysis (34%).

With people being bombarded by ever growing levels of email, it is becoming increasingly important to target messages to the specific interests of individual customers.

Says Ashley Ellington, divisional director, Softline Enterprise, "The greatest capability of email marketing technology is segmentation and personalisation, which is ironically the mostly under-utilised tool. It is vital to be aware of the technology available, which will make a difference between a successful email campaign and getting left behind in the inbox."

Ellington's views are supported by the recently published 2006 "10 must do's" by Emaillab. Top of the list is increasing the relevance of messages, primarily through greater and smarter use of personalisation and segmentation techniques. According to EmailLabs, in 2006, those that don't align the right resources and technology to take their programmes to the next level will find their competitors leaving them behind in the inbox of their customers and subscribers.