Marketers today have more ways to reach customers than ever. So why rely on email? Isn't its demise simply a matter of time?

Despite the exaggerated rumors of email's impending death, nearly all Americans use email—many on a daily basis. Moreover, email is a powerful and effective means of business communication.

But its importance, along with its effectiveness, wanes if businesses are not responsive in their email communication with customers and potential customers. For one, response time has an impact on sales. Companies that respond within one hour to inquiries are much more likely to qualify leads:

• They are seven times more successful in doing so than those who take two hours.
• They are 60 times more successful than those who take more than 24 hours to respond.

Those stats are from an infographic compiled by NowSourcing for email analytics and reply-time report provider Timetoreply.

The infographic highlights more stats and best-practices that sales, customer support, and account management teams—businesses, in general—should know about email, including the importance of email responsiveness.