In an age where everyone is scrambling to figure out what new social media to latch on to, how to exploit it for marketing purposes, and how to measure the ROI…its pretty clear that email marketing is still the most solid foundation for outbound marketing.  We’ve come a long way in being able to measure it, test it and to report up the executive ranks on its impact/influence on revenue.   Now is not the time to ignore the new innovations in email marketing or to put all our eggs in the social media basket.  We need all of it.

Even without social media, we need innovative taglines in a short 120 character space that everyone can use.  Everyone’s attention span is almost zero and you have limited time to get across why someone needs your service/product, versus just wanting it.  How do you convey your value proposition to customers, prospects and even family member who have no idea what you do?  You need to use your sales force and employees as voices for the company.  This combined with a solid email marketing program and social media program can be a marketers most powerful outbound campaign ever.  Consistency is key and you have to use every possible media and human outlet possible to get that message across.

I’m super excited to be talking about this during a panel session at the OMS in San Diego in February. Email Marketing is not enough, but its not something that needs to be ignored, much like many companies did with direct mail in the 90s.  An integrated strategy is key!!