Email big brother is coming

According the Deloitte, 2009 may be the year email volumes decline among business users. Not because of a change in behavior by employees, but as a result of actions taken by employers to reduce costs and manage productivity. In some cases, the prediction is filters will be placed on the amount of emails received or sent, storage capacity limited or even "email free" days established.

If this scenario does come to pass, what will be the impact on your email campaigns to business clients or prospects?Maybe none as it will take time and effort to impose this type of discipline.

But it does suggest there may some potential threats, particularly for marketing related email communication. If employees are restricted to how much time they can spend reading emails, the quality of your email newsletter will need to be superior to your competition. Not only in terms of quality of graphics, ease of navigation and overall appearance, but also in terms of content relevance. If it doesn't provide content that helps the reader do their job better or keep them current, it is likely they won't have time to read all the newsletters they get.

There also is going to be increased difficulty in subscribers actually receiving your newsletter. And it may not be their decision. This trend - if it does materialize - speaks to the need to integrate alternative communication channels for customers to send or receive your message. Direct mail, increased use of voice communication, use of text messaging along with email can play a bigger role in communicating your message. The great thing is they all can be work together and the results totally measureable.