In 1978, Gary Thuerk, a marketing manager at Digital Equipment Corp., sent an email promoting DEC machines to 400 users via the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the network that became the basis for the Internet. What would have then been a complete novelty for recipients resulted in $13 million worth of sales for DEC machines — and a few complaints — and email marketing was born.
Of course, the tactic didn’t really hit its stride until the introduction of the Internet in the early 1990s, and even then it was seen as a novelty. Fast forward 25 years and, with the emergence of social media, mobile apps, gaming and other channels, email marketing seems almost quaint.
Despite all of the changes since Thuerk blasted the first email marketing piece into inboxes, it remains one of the best ways to reach consumers, including B2B buyers. In a recent survey by MarketingSherpa, Nine out of 10 (91 percent) of U.S. adults said they like to receive promotional emails from companies they already do business with. Its closest competitor was postal mail at 48 percent.
“One of the reasons email remains so useful is that it adapts with technology,” says Peter Roesler, President of Web Marketing Pros, an online marketing consultant. “Any new technology is introduced with the ability to read email. This means that email marketing will remain relevant for as long as people continue to use email. In many cases, the changes in technology just give email marketers new ways to reach consumers.”
