Self-sufficiency of e-mail as a marketing tool

Abstract

Through their development modern digital communication channels modify newly established patterns and very quickly influence changes in marketing practice. Starting from the questions of whether marketing messages sent to consumers via e-mail are useful or can they be used as a standalone tool, this paper presents a preliminary study conducted on a sample of 192 respondents. The study aims at collecting guidelines for a larger study on the impact of modern digital communication channels on consumer behavior, i.e. on the necessary adaptations in marketing practices that are already based on digital technologies. The paper specifically focuses on electronic marketing messages and newsletters as frequently used modern marketing tools. The research was conducted through a specially designed questionnaire and it has determined that e-mail as a standalone marketing tool is not effective and should be used in combination with some other tools. It has not been found that email positively influences the purchase decision nor is the newsletter as a marketing tool completely positively accepted by the respondents