Many marketers believe that using email to generate new business leads can improve the performance of other campaign strategies, new research has revealed.

According to Datran Media's third annual survey of over 3,000 top marketers, 82.4 per cent believe email boosts the performance of other channels.

The research also discovered that increasing cost effectiveness, maximising return on investment and creating more "bang-for-the-buck" leads are the top priorities for marketers over the coming months.

Furthermore, the generation and retention of leads were also considered to be vital for many respondents as these "far outrank increasing brand awareness and brand favourability for 2009", Datran states.

Around 80.8 per cent claimed they would be using email marketing to do this.

In the opinion of Lisa Cramer, president of LeadLife solutions, businesses must ensure they are determining the number and quality of the leads they generate.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"