With the pace of marketing change these days, it is easy to get overwhelmed and seek refuge in what you know works. For many marketers, email is their trusted medium of refuge. Email does, after all, produce the highest direct marketing ROI per dollar spent—$45.65—according to the DMA’s latest survey.
But online marketers who rest on their laurels—or industry statistics, for that matter—are likely to find themselves quickly displaced by more nimble, insightful competitors. Like it or not, even email marketing is a medium defined by change—changing subscriber preferences, changing consumer interests, and changing ISP requirements. The net effect is that to be effective, email marketers must maintain a Constant Improvement Mentality (CIM) to achieve lofty returns on investment.
So what is a CIM? It’s that internal voice that keeps your eyes peeled for ways to improve your email marketing performance. It is that voracious appetite for testing to determine what works based not on personal assumptions, but rather real consumer data. It is that steady drumbeat that leads you to challenge your champion design in hopes of finding even the slightest modification that will improve ROI.
Admittedly, a CIM can be both a blessing and a curse. Some might call you a pessimist or conclude that you are never satisfied with anything. Let them talk, because we know the truth. The path to a higher email marketing ROI will be paved by those with a healthy CIM.
