Despite the rise of social media, email marketing remains an important weapon in companies' marketing armoury.
The rise of social media has had a significant impact on business-to-consumer correspondence, and the way companies promote their goods and services.
Many firms are focusing on Twitter and Facebook as they bid to engage with consumers, hoping to attract their interest, earn their trust and retain their custom.
This has led some commentators to claim that longer-established online marketing channels such as email are on the way out - being simply too inflexible to meet the needs of modern consumers.
But many others disagree, and a recent survey adds weight to the claim that email marketing is alive and well, despite the rise of online networking.
In a benchmark study conducted by Marketing Sherpa, 67 per cent of business respondents said they plan to increase email advertising budgets in 2013.
The simple reason for this, according to Business 2 Community's Matthew Johnson, is that "the channel works".
He highlighted a number of email marketing strengths, noting that it prompts direct sales, is driven by data, builds relationships through engagement, and supports other marketing platforms.
"Email marketing works because it gives you the opportunity to easily and efficiently personalise campaigns to target different segments of your audience," Mr Johnson stated.
He pointed out that millions of people still use email - in fact around three times as many are registered on Facebook and Twitter combined.
As such, companies should be considering how email solutions such as Outlook can help them reach out to customers, and help drive revenue.
Posted by Jenny Arthur
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