Last week, Stephanie Miller of ReturnPath, wrote an excellent article in Email Insider that describes the huge gap that exists between the pretenders and contenders when it comes to effective email marketing.

Stephanie's article is a chilling but accurate assessment of how most companies are mis-managing the email subscriber experience.  Instead of providing relevant information that aids the subscriber’s decision-making process, most companies send “one-size-fits-all” email that is neither personal, relevant or timely.

Despite the compelling evidence from The DMA that in 2008, email’s ROI will surpass $45 for every dollar invested, I am amazed that the majority of companies are still behind the curve when it comes to using email to help prospects make an informed purchase decision.

As more of us go online to research products, the role of email has evolved from a “push” tactic to a “pull” tactic to carefully guide us through the evaluation and consideration process. According to a study conducted by Enquiro Search Solutions in 2007, 85% of business buyers go online during the purchasing process, and 83% found the vendor from which they eventually purchased online. What email has proven it can do – better than any other one-to-one tactic – is move the prospect through the purchase process by delivering information that is tailored to the buyer’s needs.

Clearly, we must do more to teach companies what to do and how to do it right. Fortunately, as we have seen first-hand on ExactTarget eMarketing Essentials city tour, we have plenty of great examples of companies that are using traditional and mobile email to drive sales and build tremendous customer loyalty. Savvy B-to-C marketers like Papa John’s, Cold Stone Creamery and Lindal Cedar Homes are doing it. So are B-to-B marketers like Ariba, Websense and Thomson Reuters.

When it comes to email, the thing that separates the “contenders” from the “pretenders” is that smart marketers use email as the “connective tissue” to keep customers engaged and drive purchase. In fact, ExactTarget’s recently released 2008 Channel Preference Survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they had made a purchase because of a marketing message received through e-mail.

One thing is clear in “The Age of Engagement.” The key to effective email is to personalize it to the needs and interests of the subscriber. If it’s not, email will be viewed by the subscriber as spam and deleted. Brands that continue to treat subscribers with this kind of indifference will find it difficult – if not impossible – to compete.