3 actions to survive (and thrive)

Email marketing is a fundamental part of a marketer's toolkit. New research from Gartner shows it's the most effective channel across multiple stages of the buying process, from generating demand to driving conversion and customer loyalty.

However, this important channel is too often unloved, with the focus being placed on the rapidly changing advertising and social media landscape. Marketers have been escaping this dynamic for years, but cracks are emerging that, if left untreated, can cause irreparable decline in channel performance.

Let's dig deeper: 6 Strategies for Creating Recession-Proof Email Marketing

One key sign is that average email open rates are dropping because promotions are filtered out in inboxes and consumers don't bother checking those folders. Through research, Gartner found that the majority of both B2B and B2C customers feel overwhelmed by the number of emails they receive from brands. Worryingly, these customers say they will unsubscribe once they realize the email is irrelevant, but this is easier to do than ever before.

In order to maintain the number of clicks, many marketers fall into the trap of sending out more campaigns, but this only solves the problem. Sending more (or fewer) emails to avoid continued deterioration in channel performance is not the solution. Instead, marketers Better Email. Let's take a closer look at three ways to do this.

1: Build your email strategy based on ongoing value

First, if you want to send better emails, you need to focus on the value you're trying to provide. over time. It may sound obvious, but marketers often fall into a pattern of initially gaining contacts by offering them something they want (like a one-time discount), but then… , you may not know how to maintain interest in the long term and end up having to acquire contacts. resume.

You can avoid this by being clear about the digital value exchange you are offering to your customers. In fact, your sign-up incentive doesn't have to be a cost center. It can be as simple as communicating more clearly upfront the benefits of your newsletter and account at the point of sign-up, collecting topic preferences, and including a privacy policy upfront. Brands that are recognized as Genius Brands by Gartner, or best-in-class based on key digital marketing factors, are more likely to have a mobile site that does this.

Of course, people won't sign up if the benefits are clear, even if they say, “There's not much benefit.” Therefore, defining your value proposition for your target audience and building a long-term plan for your resources will make the difference between success and failure in your email marketing.

2: Prioritize before personalizing

When it comes to personalization, marketers typically start in one of two places: the easiest place, like the subject line, or the most obvious use case, like abandoned cart messages. It often stops there. Anything more than that will be very difficult.

While the timing of the message is important (e.g. receiving an email after forgetting an item in the cart), customized help is even more important to drive business value. If you can do both, even better. Look for signals that the customer isn't ready to buy yet and needs help finding out how a particular product fits. This type of “triggered nurturing” is extremely powerful because it positions your brand as helpful rather than just passive.

Historically, marketers have struggled to create and manage enough content to support increased learning paths through email automation or triggers. Now, AI projects like ChatGPT have the potential to change that, but it still takes time and effort. In the meantime, marketers should prioritize areas to automate based on the business value generated from emails to specific audience segments.

3: Optimize your emails with the best KPIs

Gartner's latest multichannel marketing research reveals that marketers who use three or four KPIs are most likely to exceed their goals. Too much and you have too much to focus on. Too little and you won't have enough insight to identify problems and close gaps.

The question is, what should you focus on? When it comes to email marketing, it's easy to say what not to focus on. Open rate data is more imprecise than ever and unsuitable for reporting without significant adjustments. Instead, lower-funnel metrics like conversions and click-through rates are more valuable because they are the fundamental goals of this channel.

However, the best marketers don't just use channel-specific metrics. Instead, combine them with broader business goals. Gartner finds that marketers who use engagement metrics (such as revenue per email and cost per click) and relationship metrics (such as customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)) outperform their industry peers on performance goals. I've discovered that it's much more likely.

Email marketing will probably never disappear completely, but its value to businesses will decrease if it continues on its way. At the very least, these actions will put you ahead of your competitors while other marketers fail to change.

Matt Murut is a director and analyst. Gartner marketing practiceswill give live presentations on this and other topics. 2023 Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpowill be held in Denver, Colorado from May 22nd to 24th.