In most people’s eyes, email is a direct response medium. But in our view it is much more than that! Yes the open and click statistics are an essential measure of whether or not your message is getting through and is seen as relevant by your market, but if you only consider these results, I believe that you are not considering the whole picture. We have always advocated that email is most effective when used as part of a joined-up marketing approach. In this context even the unopened emails can have a valuable marketing impact, ‘The Nudge Effect’. This is the indirect impact that the email will have even on those who do not realise it. Even if it is not opened the mere fact that they are receiving emails from you on a regular basis, and seeing your company name and subject line in their inbox, will remind them that you exist. And hopefully (if your subject lines are effective) keep your offer in mind should they need you. You can read more about the Nudge effect here. We will be looking in more detail at the branding impact of marketing emails (over and above the direct responses) in future posts.
