Our 4 Predictions for the Future of Email Marketing
By: Sonja Kukic
In 2020, many marketers were forced to invest more in digital marketing as brick and mortar retail spaces faced unprecedented challenges to their continued existence. To handle the increased workload and stand out from the competition, renowned brands turned to some creative new solutions by upping their email content and design.
We’ve listed out a few of the top trends we think are here to stay.
Triggered Email Campaigns Never Disappoint
The pandemic has undoubtedly caused some major shifts in the allocation of marketing budgets across businesses. Much was given over to online marketing, with some unexpected and unsatisfactory results. For one thing, peoples’ inboxes were overflowing with blast emails, offering discounts, gifts, and bundle deals. Standing out from the crowd became more difficult than ever before. But, this is where businesses employing automated, triggered emails really stood to gain. Instead of bombarding subscribers with spree campaigns, triggered emails apply hyper-personalization as the main tool of engagement. Automated email messages are sent to recipients only after they have taken a specific action. For any given criteria, such as order confirmations, shopping cart abandonments, or even birthdays, an email is triggered and sent to the subscriber. The email looks like a letter to a friend — it addresses the subscriber by their first name and references the action they took. That’s why automated emails have become an effective way of building trust with clients and prospects, since they are only sent to people who need them, at the appropriate time. As a result, automated emails feel intimate, called for, and recipients are almost never mistargeted.
While some ESPs (email service providers) offer limited automation functionalities, industry-specific solutions have proven to offer the best bang for your buck. For example, some automated insurance email campaigns are tailored to fit the specific needs of the insurance industry, streamlining policy renewals, automating billing processes, and sending interactive feedback surveys to policyholders. Built by leading industry experts, triggered insurance emails anticipate, and then promptly address policyholders’ needs.
Interactive, Responsive Email Design
Normally, the intention of every email marketing campaign is to get recipients to complete the desired action. In theory, they click on a CTA button and land on a page where they can register for an event, purchase a designer bag, or read a news article. In the case of interactive email design, however, the email itself contains the functionality necessary for recipients to complete the desired action. Within the said email, people can book a holiday, add items to shopping carts, and take surveys. All without needing to visit a separate landing page. This shortens the path subscribers have to take in order to convert, so it’s a great chance to increase user engagement. Interactive emails often work across devices, with iOS and Android phones and tablets, as well as desktop computers. It’s important to integrate responsive design into your email marketing plans, as more than 61% of all emails are opened and read on a mobile device.
Easy Setup – Everyone Should be Able to Design and Personalize Their Unique Email Templates
Many ESPs provide customized copy and design solutions. You can create a bespoke email campaign using a wide variety of user-friendly, drag-and-drop tools. In other words, building a profitable email campaign no longer requires you to excel at coding, HTML, etc. Simpler, easy-to-use solutions such as WordPress are becoming a new industry standard.
These setups provide a wide array of customizable design options to accommodate the specific needs of businesses, as well as their customers. For example, adjusting an email campaign to match your brand voice and brand colors is a significant step to increasing brand awareness. On the other hand, addressing customers by their first names and never mistargeting them with irrelevant campaigns helps nurture a healthy consumer relationship, maximizing the customer lifetime value. As mentioned before, automated, triggered email campaigns ensure repeat customers never receive a welcome email. Easily set up email design, on the other hand, ensures B2C relationships stay on track and on-brand, throughout the customer journey. It also allows businesses to keep up with the latest design trends, and never lose that fresh, crisp look that keeps them cutting-edge.
Merging Emails with Apps, Calendars and Notes
Email campaigns have a multitude of functionalities that have substantially increased in number overtime in an attempt to keep up with the latest trends in technology. That’s why today, email campaigns are often merged with other apps, the Google Calendar, and even online notes. Merging your automatic email messages with a client’s Google Calendar, for example, allows you to trigger a campaign based on an important date, such as a birthday, or a holiday. This enables your business to send congratulatory, personalized email messages. Additionally, connecting your app with a customer’s Google Calendar also provides the opportunity to receive email reminders for anything from doctor’s appointments, gym sessions, or skin treatments. This cooperation between platforms allows you to assist your clients at many facets of their everyday lives, helping them grow and thrive. Integrations eventually boost both your email engagement and the engagement on your integrated app.
Conclusion
The future of email marketing is automated, personalized, and not limited to email marketing. Integrating a variety of apps, and reaching out to customers via a plethora of mobile and desktop devices enables 24/7 communication. In the future, we can expect email marketing to grow with all other platforms and online tech trends, to the mutual advantage of businesses and consumers.
