Jim Nail, principal analyst at Forrester Research, looked to stir things up at Bigfoot Interactive's Profile E-Mail Summit yesterday.

He told the estimated 200 attendees, mostly clients of e-mail marketing firm Bigfoot, that it was time to change the rules of e-mail marketing as consumer resistance further constricted the growth of online databases.

"As it's practiced, e-mail marketing is reaching a plateau," Nail said.

Citing Forrester Research, he said 78 percent of online customers subscribe to at least one marketing e-mail, unchanged from 2003. The same data showed 86 percent of non-subscribers -- people who have never subscribed to an e-mail marketing program -- say they are unlikely to subscribe. And 45 percent of subscribers are uninterested in subscribing to more e-mail.

So, can marketers do something differently to add value to their e-mail? Also, can they move from mass marketing e-mails to targeted relevance?

Nail: Current E-Mail Practices Hitting Plateau Posted by: DTB at 8:03 AM  |  Permalink