Email marketing usage by SMBs
Some recent research on the marketing practices of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) indicates that email marketing is one of the top 3 marketing tactics they employ, and is set to grow strongly in 2011.
Of the 751 respondents to the survey (conducted by Zoomerang and GrowBiz Media) around 48% of business used email marketing in 2010. This places it equal third with print advertising, behind only direct mail and website in terms of widespread use.
Cost-effective marketing via email
With SMBs often operating on small marketing budgets (55% have less than $1k, a further 20% between $1k and $10k), it seems that the affordability and measurability of email marketing is hard to go past. In fact, 15% of businesses intend to increase their spend on email marketing in 2011, and only 3% intend to decrease it.
Software Shortlist’s own research into email service providers gives further evidence for its cost-effectiveness. In fact, the very best email marketing solutions for SMBs are among the most affordable, with the three products that were awarded 5 stars by our independent reviewers having an average cost of only $31 per month.
Reviews can be useful in understanding the pros and the cons of particular solutions, but remember it’s important you dig deeper and make a considered decision about which software is best for the specific requirements of your business.
Looking to get started with email marketing in 2011?
If you’re a small to mid-sized business looking to start email marketing in 2011 (or upgrade your existing email marketing efforts), there are many low cost yet powerful online email marketing solutions that can make it easy to get started. To get familiar with your *many* options, see this email marketing software directory.
To narrow this long list of software down to a shortlist quickly, you may like to consider the following free options from Software Shortlist:
- Download our independent reviews of 20 email marketing solutions
- Submit your requirements and let us match you up with relevant providers
- Use our online comparison service (available via our homepage)
