Convergence Should Be More Than a Buzzword for Email Marketers

Convergence is an overused term in the business community. Similar to "paradigm," when the word "convergence" is uttered in a meeting, there are bound to some people rolling their eyes at the speaker. At the risk of eliciting a similar response from those reading this column, I think it is time to focus more on convergence in the email channel.

One of the greatest challenges facing email marketing today is the way that large organizations manage the communication medium. Too frequently, the email team is isolated from the broader marketing organization or, worse yet, seen as an execution resource rather than strategic member of the customer relationship team. The concept of convergence is critical for email programs to remain viable and to continue to drive an incredibly high return on investment from the channel and subscribers.