Research also shows a worrying percentage of consumers online won't share any personal information with retailers in exchange for better targeted offers

January 14, 2013

NEW YORK - New research shows that poor email marketing correspondence can negatively affect consumer sentiment toward a company or brand. According to an online YouGov survey commissioned by Emailvision, the leader in relationship marketing and customer intelligence, a massive 75 percent of respondents reported they would resent a brand after being bombarded by emails, while 71 percent cited being sent unsolicited messages as a reason to become resentful.

Consumers online also reported listing their name incorrectly (50 percent) and getting gender wrong (40 percent) in correspondence as key factors that would make them resentful towards their once favored brands. Incredibly, the same survey revealed that an unexpected 40 percent stated that they would not share any of the personal details listed with a brand in exchange for better targeted offers; emphasizing the need to provide value through personalized communications. With respondents 55 and over, this figure rose to 49 percent.

Emailvision's survey questioned what personal information consumers online would be willing to share in exchange for better targeted offers. A mere 28 percent of adults online indicated they would be willing to share their name. 37 percent of consumers online indicated they would be willing to share their age and 38 percent would be willing to share their gender with a brand. This lack of sharing demonstrates that consumers online don't yet see the value of exposing their information to brands.

"When a customer purchases from your in-store business, they give you money in exchange for a product or service. When a visitor interacts with your online business, they are giving you their data in exchange for a relevant experience with your brand. If a business doesn't choose to make use of this data correctly, they are missing out on important knowledge that could positively or negatively impact business for years to come," commented Emailvision Director Neil Hamilton. "It's imperative that a customer never becomes 'just a number' even in a database of millions. Technology enables all businesses to treat their customers to a personalized experience across multiple sales channels."

There survey did reveal a small percentage willing to overshare, as 8 percent of consumers online will go as far as to disclose their underwear size in exchange for better targeted offers from a brand.

"With an abundance of choice, consumers are more demanding and they expect brands to engage them correctly. If someone is not providing them with the right offers, value and relationship… they will quickly switch to another brand," commented Tim Watson, an email marketing consultant at Zettasphere. "The key to success for marketers is not in the content; it's in the intelligence and actionable information that comes from customer data. Think of it this way… when picking the perfect present for a close friend, it's your knowledge (data) about the person that's the starting point in the search for the ideal gift. After you consider the person and their preferences, then your search for the actual gift (content) begins within the range of ideal gifts already identified by data."

About Emailvision

The smartest relationship marketing is powered by Emailvision. With more than 13 years of research and development, Emailvision is delivering pioneering marketing software with built-in customer intelligence. Every month Emailvision's marketing cloud platform delivers 600,000 campaigns on behalf of 3,300 clients worldwide. In 2012 Emailvision was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing privately-held software companies.

PR_Emailvision_Survey Reveals Bombarding Consumers with Marketing Results in Brand Resentment_Jan 2013_US.pdf
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