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Keywords
Electronic mail, Brand loyalty, Marketing strategy, Consumer behaviour
Abstract
The study examines the effects of e-mail marketing on brand loyalty and also reveals the kinds of e-mail content valued by consumers. Data were gathered from 890 consumers, who were users of a multinational cosmetics brand and had received regular permission-based e-mail messages from the marketer. Results reveal that regular e-mail marketing has positive effects on brand loyalty. E-mail-activated consumers visited retail stores. Consumers exposed to e-mail marketing recommended the brand to their friends. Loyal customers appreciated regular communication and various other information content from the brand more than mere offers. These results encourage marketers to keep in frequent contact with customers via e-mail with the aim of enhancing brand loyalty.
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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
E-mail offers a promising tool to enhance brand loyalty as it helps marketers keep in touch with their customers on a regular basis at low cost. The benefits of an active marketer are described in considerable detail in the customer relationship management (CRM) literature, which suggests that marketers could enhance customer loyalty by being active and in regular contact with their customers (see, e.g. O'Brien and Jones, 1995; Brondmo, 2000; Peppers and Rogers Group, 2001; Hansotia, 2002). Brand literature likewise shows how active brand communication helps build and strengthen brand loyalty. Despite the potential of frequent e-mail marketing for building and maintaining customer loyalty, it has only recently started to gain importance in corporate marketing and CRM strategies[1]. This is also noted by Reichheld and Schefter (2000), who discuss how marketers should concentrate attention on retaining rather than attracting customers on the internet. There is, however, little empirical evidence on how e-mail really works to retain customers.
This paper presents results from a real life case in which a leading cosmetics brand company had sent permission-based e-mails to their customers on a regular basis for over a year. We explore how regular non-personalized e-mailings (newsletters) affect brand loyalty, how consumers appreciate this form of e-mail marketing, and what...