Truths About Email Marketing in Vietnam: Dead or Transforming?

There has been a persistent rumor in the Digital Marketing community for many years. It is the question whether Email Marketing it has died in the Vietnamese market or not. Many people think that with the explosion of social media, email has become obsolete.

However, reality proves the complete opposite. Email not only hasn't died, but it's becoming the most powerful communication channel. This is the only tool that allows businesses to fully own customer data.

According to the latest statistics, the rate of users checking work email in Vietnam is still steadily increasing. Especially in the office and B2B sectors, email is the breath of the business.

If you ignore this channel, you're leaving a huge revenue on the negotiation table. Don't let wrong prejudices limit your growth potential. Let's analyze this issue in more depth.

Experts at DPS.MEDIA the opinion that the “death” of email only happens to those who do it wrong. Those who still maintain indiscriminate spam thinking will surely fail.

On the contrary, businesses that apply structured strategies Email Marketing are reaping brilliant success. They achieve ROI (return on investment) that no advertising channel can match.

1. Current State of Email Marketing in Vietnam: Telling Numbers

Rate of regular Email Marketing users

Vietnam is one of the countries with the fastest digital transformation speed in the region. The number of new email accounts created daily is a gigantic figure. Almost everyone needs email to register for services, social networks, and work.

Vietnamese people's email usage habits have changed significantly. Previously, email was only for pure work. Today, it's the channel for receiving promotions, bills, and important notifications.

Checking the inbox every morning has become a habit for millions of people. This is a golden opportunity for brands to appear first in customers' eyes in the day.

We cannot deny the dominance of chat platforms like Zalo or Messenger. However, the legitimacy and professionalism of email are irreplaceable.

Comparison of Email Marketing Effectiveness with Other Channels

To understand clearly the position of Email Marketing, we need to put it on the comparison scale. Below is a detailed comparison table based on real data:

Trend of Email usage on mobile devices

A key factor that keeps Email Marketing thriving is the prevalence of smartphones. Over 70% emails are opened on mobile devices in Vietnam. This completely changes the way we design content.

Customers can read email anytime, anywhere, from coffee shops to buses. This convenience keeps your message connected. However, it also poses challenges in interface optimization.

If your email doesn't display well on mobile, you'll lose customers immediately. This is a common technical error that many Vietnamese SMEs are still making.

Why B2B Cannot Live Without Email?

In the B2B sector (Business to Business), email is king. No director closes billion-dollar contracts via quick chat messages. All exchanges, quotes, contracts require the formality of email.

System Email Marketing helps nurture long-term partnerships. It allows you to send in-depth documents, case studies, and market updates. This is the most sustainable way to build trust.

B2B businesses use email to maintain presence in customers' minds. When they have needs, your brand will be the first name that comes up.

Harmful Misconceptions About the Vietnamese Market

Many people think Vietnamese are lazy to read email. In fact, they only lazy read worthless emails. Quality newsletters still have an open rate over 30%.

Another misconception is that email is only for office workers. In fact, Gen Z today uses email very proficiently for study and international shopping purposes.

List of reasons why Vietnamese users open emails:

• Receive exclusive discount codes from favorite brands.
• Update on e-commerce order status.
• Receive study materials, ebooks or industry reports.
• Important notifications from banks, e-wallets.
• Invitations to events or online webinars.
• Weekly market news digest newsletter.

2. Core Benefits of Email Marketing for SMEs

Terrifying ROI: Low Investment, High Profit

No channel delivers returns as high as Email Marketing. According to many studies, every 1 USD spent on email can bring 36-40 USD in revenue. This is the dream number for every manager.

The reason for this ROI level is extremely low operating costs. You don't have to pay for each impression or each mouse click. You already own the customer list and have the right to send messages for free.

This is especially important in the context of rising advertising costs. Facebook and Google continuously increase bids, squeezing the profits of small businesses.

Own Data: Priceless Asset of the Business

When you build a fanpage, you're “building a house on someone else's land”. If tomorrow Facebook changes the algorithm or blocks the account, you lose everything. But with an email list, it's an asset you own.

Customer data is pure gold in the digital age. Email Marketing allows you to store, categorize and exploit this data forever. No one can take away your customer list.

Owning data helps value the business higher. Investors always appreciate companies with well-managed loyal customer files.

Deep Personalization Capability

Mass advertising shoots one message to everyone. Email allows you to call each customer by name, wish them happy birthday, and suggest products based on purchase history.

This personalization creates strong emotional connections. Customers feel cared for and understood. This is the key to turning strangers into loyal customers.

Example: You can send emails reminding customers to repurchase consumer products exactly 30 days later. This shows sophistication and understanding of customer needs.

Automation of Customer Care Processes

System Email Marketing modern operates 24/7 even when you're sleeping. Automated email chains (Automation flows) save thousands of man-hours each year.

From welcoming new customers, post-sale care, to recovering abandoned carts. Everything is programmed once and runs forever. This is a great technology lever for SMEs.

According to experience from DPS.MEDIA, applying automation helps increase average revenue by 20-30% right in the first month of implementation.

Real Examples of Effectiveness

Consider the case of a local fashion brand in Ho Chi Minh City. Before using email, they relied entirely on Facebook Ads. When Facebook scanned the account, revenue dropped 80%.

After building a list of 10,000 emails, they launched the “Dark Friday” campaign. With just one send button, they got 500 orders in 2 hours without spending a dime on ads.

Unmissable benefits of Email Marketing:

• Maintain loyalty of existing customers (Retention).
• Increase customer lifetime value (Customer Lifetime Value).
• Most effective content marketing distribution channel.
• Easy to measure effectiveness through specific metrics.
• Increase sustainable website traffic (Traffic).
• Support closing sales for B2B sales team.

3. Modern Email Marketing Strategy: Not Just Sending Emails

Customer Segmentation is the Key

Sending the same content to everyone is the fastest way to the Spam folder. Strategy Email Marketing Modernity requires meticulous classification. You need to break down the list based on behavior, preferences, and demographics.

New customer groups need introductory, familiarizing content. VIP customer groups need special offers and appreciation. Segmentation ensures content is always relevant to the recipient.

Relevance is the deciding factor for email open rates. When customers see a subject line directly related to their issues, they will click immediately.

Automation Marketing: Secret Weapon

Automation is not just about sending bulk emails. It is sending the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Complex automation scenarios can track user behavior on the website.

For example, if a customer views the pricing page but doesn't buy, the system will send an email addressing pricing concerns. If a customer views product A, the system will suggest accessories for product A.

Below is a table of popular Automation scenarios:

Interactive Content

Static emails with all text have become boring. The new trend is interactive emails. Users can rate, select product colors, or play mini-games right in their inbox.

AMP for Email technology is opening a new era. Customers can book appointments or fill out survey forms without leaving the email. This minimizes friction in the customer journey.

Increasing interactivity helps retain readers longer. It also sends positive signals to Google and Microsoft spam filters.

Personalization with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is changing the way we work Email Marketing. AI tools can write engaging titles, optimize sending times for individuals, and predict the next products customers want to buy.

Using AI helps marketers save time creating content. At the same time, customer targeting accuracy is elevated to a new level.

Essential elements in a modern strategy:

• Clean Data filtered regularly.
• Responsive design compatible with all mobile devices.
• Content focused on reader value (Value-first).
• Clear, prominent call to action (CTA).
• Omnichannel integration with Social and Website.
• Compliance with data protection and privacy laws.

4. Why Your Email Marketing Campaign Fails?

Spam: Number One Enemy of Email

The biggest mistake of Vietnamese businesses is the “sniper” mindset. Buying a floating email list online and sending in bulk. This is the fastest way to get your domain blacklisted.

Sending emails without permission (Permission Marketing) is unethical and illegal. Moreover, these people don't know who you are, they will report spam immediately.

Google's filters are getting smarter. Just a spam complaint rate exceeding 0.11%, your entire email will go to spam forever.

Poor Content, Only Knows Selling

No one likes a friend who only calls to borrow money. Similarly, no one likes receiving emails full of sales ads. Customers need useful, entertaining, or educational information.

The 80/20 principle should be applied: 80% value-sharing content, 20% sales content. If you reverse this ratio, unsubscribe rates will skyrocket.

Boring, copy-paste content with spelling errors are major deductions. It shows lack of professionalism and disrespect to the recipient.

Unattractive Subject Lines (Clickbait or Boring)

The subject line decides 80% of the campaign's success Email Marketing. A bland subject line will be skipped. A clickbait subject line will disappoint customers and lose trust.

Writing subject lines is an art. It needs to spark curiosity but must be honest with the content inside. Don't promise what you can't deliver.

Use emotional trigger keywords but avoid words closely scrutinized by spam filters. For example: “Free 100%”, “Make money fast”, “Unique opportunity”.

Ignoring Measurement and Optimization

Send and pray is the amateur's strategy. Emailing must be data-driven. You need to know how many open, how many click, and where they click.

Many businesses don't install tracking code, don't know how much revenue email traffic brings. This makes optimization meaningless.

List of spam-trigger keywords:

Not Optimized for Mobile (Mobile First)

As mentioned, users mainly view emails on their phones. If your email has too small fonts, broken images, or buttons that are too small, they will delete it immediately.

Email design needs to be simple, compact, single column to be easy to read on small screens. Don't try to stuff in too many complex designs.

From real-world experience, plain text formatted emails sometimes work better than flashy HTML emails because they create a friendly feeling like a message from a friend.

5. Expert Solutions: Standardized Process at DPS.MEDIA

Build Clean Email List (List Building)

The first and most important step is to collect data correctly. Place registration forms on your website, blog, and landing page. Offer gifts (Lead Magnet) like Ebooks, Vouchers to encourage them to leave their email.

Quality is more important than quantity. A list of 1,000 truly interested people is worth more than 100,000 spam emails. Regularly filter out dead emails (Hard bounce) to protect your domain reputation.

Use Double Opt-in mechanism (2-step confirmation) to ensure registrants are real people and they really want to receive newsletters.

Art of Writing Content (Copywriting) at Peak

Writing email is like 1-1 conversation. Use natural, sincere language. Use “I” and “you” to create connection. Avoid stiff, distant corporate language.

A standard email structure needs: Curiosity-inducing subject line, Empathetic opening, Main content solving the problem, and Decisive Call to Action (CTA).

Team DPS.MEDIA always focuses on the art of storytelling in emails. Success stories, failure lessons always attract readers more than empty advertisements.

A/B Testing: Science of Optimization

There is no one-size-fits-all formula. You must continuously experiment. A/B testing allows you to send 2 different versions to a small group to see which one performs better.

You can test subject lines, test sending times, test CTA button colors, or test long/short content. Only real data gives you accurate answers.

Continuous optimization based on test results will gradually increase open rates and conversion rates over time. This is a never-ending improvement process.

In-Depth Metrics Analysis

To evaluate the health of the campaign Email Marketing, you need to closely monitor KPI metrics. Don't just look at open rates, look at the revenue generated.

Understanding the meaning of the numbers helps you adjust your strategy in time. If open rate is low, the problem is in the subject line. If click rate is low, the problem is in the content or offer.

DPS.MEDIA experts recommend using advanced tracking tools to paint a full picture of customer experience journey.

List of elements to A/B Test regularly:

• Email subject line (Length, style, icon).
• Sender name (Personal name vs Brand name).
• Sending time (Morning vs Afternoon, Early week vs End of week).
• Position and color of Call-to-Action button.
• Email layout (Many images vs Much text).
• Greeting at the beginning and signature at the end.

Conclusion

So, Email Marketing Will it die in the Vietnamese market? The definite answer is NO. It only dies for those who are lazy, lack creativity, and hold outdated spam mindsets.

For businesses that know how to leverage it, this is still the most sustainable profit channel. It is the foundation for building deep relationships with customers, something social media cannot achieve.

To succeed in 2026, you need to change your mindset. Focus on data, personalization, and automation. Don't see email as a spam tool, see it as a bridge of knowledge and emotion.

If you're struggling not knowing where to start, or your current campaign isn't effective, don't hesitate to seek professional consultation.

Things you need to do right today:

• Review and clean your business's current email list.
• Set up an automated welcome email series (Welcome Series) immediately.
• Sign up for a reputable and professional Email Marketing platform.
• Plan valuable content delivery for the next 3 months.
• Contact DPS.MEDIA for comprehensive solution consultation.

The market is always changing according to the 2025 statistics report, but the core principles of sincerity and value do not change. Start writing your first email today with the mindset of serving customers in the best way.

Remember that in business, whoever owns the data holds their own destiny. Don't depend on any other platform, build your own empire on a Email Marketing solid foundation.