Sixty-nine percent of direct marketers that conduct transactions at their Web sites are making a profit on these transactions, up from 49% in 1999, according to research released yesterday by the Direct Marketing Association at the 12th National Direct Marketing to Business Conference in Miami.
The study also revealed that:
* 96% of DMA members companies have Web sites, compared to 90% last year.
* 61.8% have e-mail marketing capability (with an additional 23.2% indicating that they are considering e-mail marketing in the next 12 months.
* 57.4% have had a Web site for three years or more.
More than four out of five marketers (82.1%) are using their Web sites for marketing and information purposes, compared with 88% in 1999. Sixty percent are using for lead generation, virtually unchanged from 1999, and just under 55% use it for sales and e-commerce, up from 51%.
The DMA asked about several Web site uses not tracked in 1999. Just over half (51.3%) said they use their sites for public relations and image, 43.4% use them for advertising, and 38.8% provide customer service through them.
More than two out of five (42.2%) of DMA members can conduct electronic online transactions vs. 43% in 1999. Of these, 65.8% conduct more than 99 transactions per month, and 39.6% indicated that the average dollar size for transactions was $99 or higher.
Slightly more than 68% of DMA members post privacy policies on their Web site. Of those, 75% are accessible on the home page, and 32.8% are available wherever personal information is collected. Just under eighty-four percent are using a secure server.
E-Mail marketing has grown apace with Web marketing. Among DMA members, 76.5% have an in-house e-mail list. Of those that do, 90.9% maintain it in-house. Just under 22% of them rent permission-based e-mail lists from e-mail list providers. Members’ indicated that 15.9% of their online budgets will be used for e-mail marketing this year.
The results are from the DMA’s Sixth Marketing Industry Interactive Media Survey, formally known as the Electronic Media Survey. In January, mailings were sent to 7,012 DMA members and non-members, of which 393 completed the survey.
Network
