If you're using email as a channel to acquire new customers, you're apparently in the minority. A recent survey from marketing automation provider Pardot reveals that email is most effective today as a "nurturing" platform rather than as a means to add new prospects into the marketing funnel.
"Instead of using email, most marketers are using a variety of other lead generation tactics to get that initial prospect information into their systems," explains Adam Blitzer, co-founder and COO of Pardot. "Email marketing is then used to move new leads through the sales process or to re-engage dormant leads."
Make no mistake, email still plays a rather substantial role in the enterprise. More than 60 percent of B2B marketers are using email for "drip nurturing" and of those, 65 percent are using targeting messaging, by chaning which emails are sent based on how prospects respond.
"The fact that email is being used more for drip nurturing than lead generation isn't that surprising," said Blitzer. "We're moving into an age that places more emphasis on communicating through various channels. While companies are still using email, they're also using landing pages, forms, social media, paid search ads, and more to generate leads."
