Email Marketing
Term from the CRM Lexicon
Definition
Email marketing is a form of direct marketing where companies send targeted emails to a defined group of recipients to promote products, services, or content and strengthen relationships with customers. It is one of the most effective and cost-efficient digital marketing tools and a central component of modern CRM strategies.
Goals
The main goal of email marketing is to promote customer loyalty, increase sales, and enhance brand awareness. Through personalized content and targeted communication, high open and click-through rates can be achieved. Companies can thus communicate directly with their target audience and analyze their behavior to continuously optimize campaigns.
- New customer acquisition
- Customer retention
- Sales increase
- Brand building
History
Email was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson as part of the ARPANET project. With the introduction of the @ symbol, he made it possible for the first time to send messages between different computers – a milestone in digital communication.
In the 1980s and 1990s, email evolved into a global communication tool through standards like SMTP and services like Hotmail or Gmail. Features such as attachments, filters, and HTML formatting made it versatile.
Today, email is an indispensable part of everyday life. It serves not only for private communication but is also a central tool in marketing, customer service, and business process management – often integrated into modern CRM systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Function
| Definition of the recipient list | Companies create a list of people who have consented to receive emails. | |
| Creation of email campaigns | Emails are created that are tailored to the respective target group and can serve various purposes. | |
| Sending | The emails are sent to the defined recipients via email marketing software. | |
| Analysis and optimization | The results are evaluated to measure the effectiveness of the campaigns and optimize future strategies. |
Examples
- Newsletters: Regular information about new content or the company.
- Promotional emails: Information on discount campaigns or new products to create purchase incentives.
- Welcome emails: Greeting new subscribers and introducing the company.
- Shopping cart emails: Reminders about items customers have left in their shopping cart.
- Feedback emails: Requesting feedback or conducting surveys.