At a time when new communication channels are springing up like mushrooms, email remains the often overlooked backbone of corporate communication for SMEs. Thomas Schwetje, Head of Digital & Customer at Coop, put it in a nutshell at the MarTech Summit 2025: “The communication medium of email is still drastically underestimated.”
At Aivie, we are convinced that email is not only a proven communication channel, but also a future-proof one – especially for small and medium-sized companies that value control, scalability and independence.
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The strengths of email over WhatsApp
WhatsApp is loud, volatile and dependent on a tech giant. For SMEs that want to decide for themselves how they communicate with their customers, the email communication channel has a clear advantage – legally, creatively and strategically.
1. independence and openness
Emails are based on open standards. Companies can operate their own servers or register with any provider. This means they are not bound by the rules and pricing of a company like Meta, as is the case with WhatsApp.
2. established and familiar
Everyone knows e-mail. Email is known and accepted across all generations. This universal familiarity makes e-mail a low-threshold and low-barrier form of communication.
3. professional design and control
E-mail makes it possible to design communication in your own corporate design (CI/CD). From text to HTML e-mail, from the font to the color code: Companies retain full control over their appearance.
4. cost efficiency
Emails are an extremely cost-effective communication channel, especially compared to paid messaging or social media solutions. We have written a detailed blog article about this. Take a look at our cost comparison blog article pure.
5. own database, full control
Companies build up their own independent database with emails: Contacts, opt-ins, engagement data. They determine when and how they write to their contacts. An asset that is missing from closed platforms such as WhatsApp.
6. seamless integration into company processes
Thanks to tools such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, email is deeply integrated into calendars, CRM, collaboration tools and internal workflows. This technical integration makes it the backbone of corporate communication.
7. documentability and traceability
Email offers a high degree of transparency, legally compliant archiving and simple traceability – important factors in B2B business.
E-mail as a communication channel in SMEs
As Thomas Schwetje emphasizes, the importance of email in modern communication is often underestimated. Yet email is omnipresent in the B2B environment – no other means of communication is so deeply integrated into everyday business life. In the future, email will remain one of the most important channels for sustainable business success – in 2024 alone, over 370 billion emails will be sent worldwide every day, and this figure is expected to rise to over 500 billion by 2030.
WhatsApp: Fast, direct, but proprietary
WhatsApp scores with speed and multimedia: voice and video messages, emojis, direct communication. But all this comes at a price:
- Full dependence on Meta
- Limited branding options
- Limited automation
- Limited use in a professional context (e.g. GDPR, compliance)
WhatsApp may be useful for B2C customer service, but email remains unbeaten for scalable and independent communication in B2B.
Conclusion
Those who use targeted personalized content via email retain control of their customer data and effectively convert leads into loyal customers – which is exactly what Aivie specializes in. To summarize for companies, email is the ideal channel for independent communication. For SMEs that focus on sustainability, data sovereignty and efficiency, email will continue to be the strategically wisest choice of communication channel in 2025.
With Aivie, we offer the right solution: a marketing automation platform that is operated entirely in Switzerland and offers maximum data sovereignty. Whether newsletters, onboarding flows or automated reminders – with Aivie, you can manage your email communication effectively, securely and scalably.
Marketing automation that simply works
Start immediately with the right use case package from Aivie
Whether it’s winning leads, creating customer loyalty or implementing data protection securely – with our preconfigured use case packages, you can get your marketing automation up and running quickly and effectively. Without lengthy training. Without detours. Select a package, simply get started and see the results.
