Email marketing has been around for decades.
In a digital world now dominated by social media, paid advertising, artificial intelligence and constantly changing algorithms, it is understandable that some businesses question whether email is still worth their time.
The simple answer is yes.
Email marketing remains one of the most valuable channels available to businesses, but only when it is approached properly. Sending the occasional generic newsletter to an old database is unlikely to transform your results. A considered email marketing strategy, built around useful content, audience segmentation and measurable commercial objectives, can be incredibly effective.
The question is not really whether email marketing still works.
The question is whether your business is using it effectively.
Why Is Email Marketing Still Relevant?
One of the biggest advantages of email marketing is that it allows you to communicate directly with people who have already shown an interest in your business.
They may have:
- Purchased from you previously
- Requested a quotation
- Made an enquiry
- Downloaded a resource
- Attended an event
- Signed up to receive offers or advice
This makes an email database significantly different from an audience reached through paid advertising.
When advertising through Google, Meta or another digital platform, you are effectively paying to access someone else’s audience. Costs can rise, targeting options can change and algorithms determine how often your message is seen.
Your email database is a direct connection between your business and its customers.
Provided that the data has been collected and managed correctly, you can continue building those relationships without paying for every impression or click.
For businesses that want to reduce their reliance on third party platforms, this makes professional email marketing an increasingly important part of the wider marketing mix.
What Is the Return on Email Marketing?
Email marketing continues to be associated with a particularly strong return on investment because the cost of reaching an existing database is relatively low.
The DMA’s email benchmarking research continues to position email as an effective commercial channel, particularly when customer data is used to support wider acquisition, retention and brand building activity.
However, impressive industry averages do not mean every email campaign will automatically produce a return.
The true value of email marketing depends on several factors:
- The quality of the database
- How the data was originally collected
- The relevance of the message
- How frequently emails are sent
- The design and usability of each campaign
- The strength of the offer
- The effectiveness of the landing page
- Whether conversions and revenue are being tracked
A large database is not necessarily a valuable database.
A business with 2,000 engaged subscribers can generate considerably better results than one with 20,000 poorly targeted or outdated contacts.
This is why email marketing should not simply be measured by the number of people receiving a campaign. Businesses need to understand what recipients do after opening it.
Email Marketing Is About More Than Open Rates
Open rates have traditionally been one of the most commonly reported email marketing metrics.
Although they can still provide some useful context, they should no longer be treated as the definitive measure of campaign performance. Privacy features within email applications can automatically register an email as opened, even when the recipient has not actively read it.
This means a campaign showing a strong open rate is not necessarily generating meaningful engagement.
More useful measures can include:
- Click through rate
- Website sessions generated
- Enquiries
- Purchases or bookings
- Revenue attributed to email
- Unsubscribe rate
- Conversion rate
- Revenue per recipient
- Growth of engaged audience segments
Mailchimp itself uses data from hundreds of millions of emails to create benchmarks based on factors such as industry and audience characteristics, rather than expecting every organisation to achieve the same results.
At Staunton Rook, we believe email performance should be considered alongside the wider customer journey.
An email might not generate an immediate online purchase, but it may remind an existing customer about the business, introduce a new service or influence an enquiry several days later.
Good marketing reporting and analysis helps connect email activity with these wider commercial outcomes.
Why Do Some Businesses Get Poor Results From Email Marketing?
Email marketing often underperforms because it is treated as a last minute activity.
Someone decides that the business has not sent an email recently, so a few updates are collected, placed into a template and distributed to the entire database.
The content may be accurate, but that does not necessarily make it interesting or relevant to the recipient.
Customers are unlikely to engage with an email simply because a business wants to send one.
Every campaign needs to answer a more important question:
Why should the recipient care?
A successful email might help someone solve a problem, discover a useful service, access a relevant offer or make a better decision.
A weak email often focuses entirely on the sender.
A strong email focuses on the reader.
Segmentation Makes Email Marketing More Effective
One of the most common email marketing mistakes is sending the same content to everyone.
A previous customer should not necessarily receive the same message as a new prospect. Someone interested in one service may have little interest in another.
Segmentation allows a business to organise its database using information such as:
- Previous purchases
- Location
- Interests
- Customer type
- Enquiry history
- Website behaviour
- Engagement with earlier campaigns
This creates opportunities to send more relevant messages.
A hotel, for example, might communicate differently with previous leisure guests, wedding enquiries, spa customers and people interested in dining offers.
A professional services business might separate existing clients, active prospects, previous enquiries and professional contacts.
Segmentation does not require every email to be completely unique. Even relatively simple changes to the subject line, offer or featured content can make a campaign feel far more relevant.
Automation Has Changed What Email Marketing Can Do
Modern email marketing is not limited to monthly newsletters.
Automation allows businesses to send messages in response to particular actions or stages in the customer journey.
These could include:
- A welcome email after someone subscribes
- A series of emails following an enquiry
- An abandoned basket reminder
- A post purchase follow up
- A review request
- A reminder that a subscription or service is due for renewal
- A reengagement campaign for inactive customers
- An offer based on a previous purchase
Automated campaigns can be particularly effective because they are triggered by behaviour rather than a fixed marketing calendar.
The recipient receives information when it is most relevant to them.
Once properly planned and implemented, automation can also reduce the amount of manual work required from internal teams. It allows the business to maintain consistent communication without someone having to build and send every individual message.
Does Email Marketing Work for Business to Business Companies?
Email marketing is sometimes associated primarily with retailers, hospitality businesses and ecommerce websites.
However, it can be equally valuable for business to business organisations.
The buying process in professional sectors is often longer and involves several decision makers. A potential customer might not be ready to request a quotation immediately after discovering a company.
Email can help the business remain visible during that decision making process.
Useful business to business email content might include:
- Industry guidance
- Case studies
- Project updates
- Regulatory information
- New services
- Technical advice
- Event invitations
- Company insights
- Frequently asked questions
Rather than pushing for an immediate sale in every campaign, this content demonstrates expertise and builds familiarity.
When the recipient is eventually ready to make a decision, the business is more likely to be remembered and considered.
Does Email Marketing Help Customer Retention?
Many businesses invest heavily in attracting new customers but spend comparatively little communicating with the customers they already have.
This can be a costly mistake.
Existing customers already know the business and have previously trusted it enough to make a purchase or place an enquiry. Email marketing provides a practical way to continue that relationship.
Campaigns can introduce related products, encourage repeat visits, communicate important updates and remind customers why they chose the business originally.
This is especially valuable for companies where customers may only need the service periodically.
Without regular communication, even satisfied customers can forget the company’s name or choose a competitor when their next requirement arises.
Email marketing keeps the relationship active.
Our email marketing case study demonstrates how a structured programme can support engagement, direct bookings and repeat visits rather than relying solely on individual promotional campaigns.
How Often Should a Business Send Marketing Emails?
There is no universal answer.
The right frequency depends on the business, the audience and the type of content being sent.
A retailer with regular product launches may communicate weekly. A professional services firm might achieve better results with a carefully planned monthly campaign. Some automated emails may be sent immediately after a specific action.
The most important consideration is whether each email provides value.
Sending too frequently without anything worthwhile to say can lead to fatigue and unsubscribes. Sending too rarely can mean customers forget why they joined the database in the first place.
Consistency is normally more important than volume.
A realistic email marketing calendar helps ensure campaigns are properly planned, designed and connected to wider business activity.
Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Email Marketing Strategy?
Artificial intelligence has made it easier to produce email copy quickly.
Unfortunately, it has also made it easier to produce large volumes of generic content.
Customers are increasingly exposed to messages that feel automated, repetitive and disconnected from their actual needs. Filling an inbox with more content does not necessarily create better marketing.
AI can support email marketing by helping with research, initial drafts, content variations and data analysis. It cannot replace a genuine understanding of the audience, the business and the commercial objective behind each campaign.
The businesses that benefit most from AI will not simply use it to send more emails.
They will use it carefully to support better targeting, stronger ideas and more efficient delivery, while retaining human judgement and a recognisable brand voice.
What Does a Good Email Marketing Strategy Include?
Effective email marketing usually begins long before an email template is designed.
A proper strategy should consider:
- What the business wants to achieve
- Who the audience is
- Why someone should subscribe
- How new subscribers will be acquired
- How contacts should be segmented
- What content will be useful
- How campaigns will support wider marketing activity
- What happens after someone clicks
- How performance will be measured
- How the database will be maintained
Email should also connect with the rest of the customer experience.
There is little value in creating a beautifully designed campaign if the recipient arrives on a confusing, slow or irrelevant web page.
The email, website content, offer and enquiry process must work together.
This is why email is often most effective when included within a wider strategic marketing plan rather than managed as an isolated channel.
So, Is Email Marketing Still Worth Doing?
Yes, but simply sending emails is not enough.
Email marketing is still worth doing because it gives businesses a direct, measurable and relatively cost effective way to communicate with people who have already expressed an interest.
It can generate sales, nurture enquiries, strengthen customer relationships and improve retention.
However, results depend on the quality of the strategy behind it.
The strongest email marketing programmes combine useful content, professional design, meaningful segmentation, careful automation and reliable reporting.
They do not treat every subscriber in the same way and they do not judge success using open rates alone.
Most importantly, they give recipients a genuine reason to keep reading.
At Staunton Rook, we plan, design, build and manage email marketing campaigns as part of a joined up approach to business growth.
Discover more about our email marketing services or contact our marketing team to discuss how email could support your wider marketing strategy.
