When executed properly, email can be an effective and low-cost channel to interact directly with your customers. In 2024, this channel will grow in importance as marketers grapple with the elimination of third-party cookies and other privacy challenges.
Marketers will continue to refine their email strategies because of the potential for huge profits. A new survey of 1,000 consumers by media technology company Adlook found that 58% of consumers say they are positively influenced by emails about their purchasing decisions. Only 27% said they were rarely influenced by email, and 16% said it never affected them.
Here are some ways marketers can improve their email programs in the year ahead.
Increases the value of email content
In the new year, marketers will pivot from sending low-value deals to sending valuable content that builds relationships between brands and customers.
“We're seeing brands embrace the idea of sending valuable emails early in the customer journey,” says Andrei Marin, co-founder of email marketing agency CodeCrew. Masu. “Historically, new brands, such as CPG, will send generic 'spam' emails that say '50% off.' Now, peaks are coming much earlier, and brands realizing that the email space is getting crowded are sending more valuable content to their subscribers sooner. In fact, they will offer subscribers more than just a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offer. ”
“In today's noisy online world, email stands out as the key to capturing both intent and attention,” says Jon Beck, CRO at marketing technology platform LiveIntent. “With less ad space and a less cluttered environment, it's the perfect way to create lasting impact and connect with your audience. In fact, this is why Substack's rapid rise and The New York Times' 9 million digital subscribers That's what's behind superhuman growth. And that's why there are 12 newsletters in every publication you read today.”
Brands are trying to capture this interest in reading emails and learning about content by abandoning some special offer messages.
“We're moving away from a race to the bottom when it comes to discounts and margins,” Mullin said.
B2B email campaign
Email campaigns aren't just for consumer brands. In the coming year, expect more B2B organizations to adopt and implement email initiatives to engage with customers.
“B2B-related email marketing is on the rise,” Marin says. “Many B2B businesses have embraced the idea of doing email marketing, but until now they have relied on full sales teams to get the word out about their business. We are actively collecting leads and doing email outreach.”
In B2B use cases, email doesn't have the risk of interrupting prospects during your busy workday. As a more passive channel, email provides details of the customer's journey that B2B customers can act on at their convenience. According to Marin, this is one of the big reasons why his B2B marketers started using email.
The importance of email as a login channel
“Companies will look to login channels like email to build owned audiences and direct relationships,” Beck says. “Unlike other channels that rely on unpredictable algorithms, email thrives outside of data-hungry walled gardens. And it has emerged as a great source of first-party data. doing.”
“The importance of email marketing for retailers is expected to grow significantly, and we are increasingly using email marketing to collect first-party data and drive personalized campaigns in a cookie-free, privacy-centric marketing environment. will become even more important,” said Andrea Polonioli, Senior Product. His AI marketing manager at enterprise software company Coveo.
Polonioli added: “After years of anticipation, the marketing world is preparing to transition away from third-party cookies as Google phases out third-party cookies in 2024. This means facing the challenge of effectively collecting and leveraging first-party data while respecting privacy.”
Bulk email policy changes
According to CodeCrew co-founder Alexander Melone, email marketers don't need to worry about upcoming changes to their email provider's bulk email policies. Instead, these policy changes reinforce best practices that email marketers already have in place.
“As the likes of Google and Yahoo roll out new spam filtering and inactive account policies, marketers are becoming more aggressive with their email data,” said Tom Burke, CEO of email technology company AtData. “The importance of digital management is becoming even more important.''
“Email marketing will reach some saturation point, but consumers will continue to value and appreciate highly personalized emails from their favorite brands,” says customer experience company Newfold Digital Online. said Alicia Pringle, senior director of marketing. “Brands could capitalize on this desire for personalization to ensure their messages reach 'focused' email inbox tabs, rather than being categorized as 'other' or 'promotions.' need to be increased.”
Let's dig deeper: New rules for bulk email senders from Google and Yahoo: What you need to know
Improving your email content process with AI
“The AI buzz will continue to grow, and email senders will need to incorporate more machine learning into their creative, segmentation, traffic routing, and scheduling,” said Sr. Email Solutions at Stirista, an identity and email company. said Alyn Reyna, Vice President. “Some level of AI has been included as part of her ESP for quite some time, but now human elements such as creative design and copying may be under attack by AI populations. .”
“Generative AI powers the content development process and gives marketers the tools they need to deliver the best user experience to consumers at every touchpoint, from personalized marketing materials to seamless customer service encounters.” ” said Aruna Ravichandran, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing & Services. Customer Director for Webex by Cisco. “As marketing teams begin to see positive outcomes such as increased engagement, open rates, and increased ROI for ad campaigns, internal teams will also benefit. Leveraging Generative AI for Content and Campaign Development This frees up time and allows employees to collaborate and innovate on higher-level strategic initiatives.”
Ravichandran further added, “Brands will look to AI tools to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior, which they can use to resonate with different audience segments and drive engagement. “You can personalize the messaging and visuals you want to use,” he added.
“I think the interest in AI is very much continuing and really starting to take off,” Melone said. “That being said, I am not saying whether it is best for companies or not. There is still a lot of room for improvement in AI. Companies should ensure that best practices are established before considering adding AI capabilities. You need to make sure that it is.”
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