New report shows enterprise email marketers are embracing AI

The AI ​​revolution is coming, but no one has given me a playbook. until now.

My company recently published a new report, 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: A Market Overview for the Future of the Channel, which explores how marketers at large enterprises are currently using AI; I'm making it clear what I think. How does it affect the business world?

One thing is clear: These marketers aren't afraid that AI will turn them into mere button-pushers who force machines to make strategic decisions. Our research, conducted in partnership with Ascend2, found that marketers are using AI, especially generative AI, to help them do their jobs better.
Here are five of the key findings from our research (download your free ungated copy).

1. More than 9 in 10 marketers say AI will have a significant impact

Source: 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: Market Overview for the Future of Channels by RPE Origin and Ascend2

Only 8% of marketers doubt the impact of AI on email marketing. It's encouraging to see that marketers see a big future in AI, with 92% saying AI will play a central or important role.

It's no surprise to learn that marketers are open to the possibilities that AI can bring to deliver better results from email. The rapid popularity of his ChatGPT and its image creation cousin DALL-E (to name just two) in 2022 is due to marketers taking the grunt work out of content creation and gaining more time. It means you've finally found the tool you've always needed. Think about ways to improve your email program.

2. More than half of marketers now use AI

Source: 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: Market Overview for the Future of Channels by RPE Origin and Ascend2

AI is here to stay in all its forms. If you're among the 18% of respondents who said “no” to AI or are on the fence, you might want to look to the future.

AI can directly impact the work you are currently doing, or indirectly when your competitors use AI to give you a lead in the race.

We need to learn about it, make a strategic plan to use it, and try it out to discover what it can do for us. While cost can be a factor for companies that don't have the budget to deploy high-end AI-powered systems, generative AI can deliver a lot at a low or manageable level.

One more thing: If you're among the 24% who are currently using AI extensively, help your marketing peers and share your experience in blog posts, webinar appearances, white papers, conference talks, and more. Start writing and speaking. We've always driven email improvements by learning from each other.

Let’s dig deeper: Marketing leaders, are you really ready? A.I.?

3. Current AI personalization, retargeting rules

Source: 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: Market Overview for the Future of Channels by RPE Origin and Ascend2

AI addresses three key needs for email: Content personalization, email retargeting, and subject line optimization are the top three uses for marketers with the most experience with AI. These three uses make email your marketing holy grail: speed to market plus relevance.

Using AI in these tactics, you can create email messages for individuals or groups, create lists of products or groups of content modules, and let machines choose what to send and who to target. can do.

This was achieved using a top-of-the-line program with a price tag to match. AI can accelerate the average marketer’s ability to learn and implement technology, democratizing the process at a lower cost.

4. What marketers want from ESP: Better personalization and predictive analytics, advanced testing

Source: 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: Market Overview for the Future of Channels by RPE Origin and Ascend2

We asked marketers for their wishlist of features that ESPs could build into their platforms. The results are broadly consistent with how marketers are currently using AI.

Now is the time for marketers to ask vendors for their generative AI roadmap through the RFP process. This is more than just adding subject line generators and testing tools. What are your plans to provide the advanced features marketers want?

If your ESP hasn't launched a new AI tool for all users or VIPs, call your account or customer success representative and ask about it. Many of us at RPE Origin have worked on the vendor side of martech, so our product and feature roadmaps are often defined by what needs to be fixed or updated, or what our customers are asking for. I know that there are many. ESPs won't consider adding anything unless a lot of clients want it and they can monetize it.

5. Data, expertise, and strategy hinder AI adoption

Source: 2023 Email Marketing & Research Report: Market Overview for the Future of Channels by RPE Origin and Ascend2

The age-old challenge of email marketing remains: lack of sufficient time, money, and resources. Add to the list the lack of expertise and new concerns about retaining enough data and protecting people's privacy, and it's easy to see why AI hasn't taken over the email world yet.

The tech industry doesn't have enough time to transition to adding AI tools, but it needs to. What can we do as technology consumers to help drive that forward? These steps will help you:

• Tell your vendor what you need Then ask how you plan to meet those needs. The answer will tell you whether you are working with a technology partner who can help you develop your skills and improve your email program. If the answer doesn't fit the details, it may be time to go find a supportive partner.

• Look around the technology market To see what's available. Our agency handles many RFPs and platform migrations. Over the years, we've learned that companies primarily switch technology platforms because the technology no longer meets their marketing vision or needs.

Switching isn't necessarily the solution. Can you do it better with a different technology? Or can you get more out of the technology you're already paying for? Getting outside training or bringing in people with the necessary expertise can help you do what you currently pay for. You may be able to get more out of the technology you have.

If you're like 39% of people and feel stuck without an effective AI strategy, it may be time to find an outside voice to help put your strategy together. Agencies with experience in planning and working on AI strategies will have an advantage as they will have a broader perspective by working with industry verticals and a wider range of clients.

More information: Ryan Phelan: Spotlight About the experts

summary

AI provides a great use case for incremental innovation, the idea that improvements don't need to be made in one big breakthrough. Instead, you can take small steps and build on those improvements to make big leaps forward.

Naturally, enterprise-level companies are more likely to have the time, money, and human and technical resources to design and test programs at scale. But that's how we've always advanced email. Big companies experimented with programs on a large scale and then led the way for us.

Generative AI and its iterations are sparking a resurgence of conversations about what’s new inside and outside of email. It reminds him of the early 2000s, when consumers were adopting the email channel and everyone was learning and talking about what email meant. It also highlights the dominance of email over the past 25 years.

This gives you advantages in product, copy, targeting, and relevance, and generates a wealth of ideas and ways forward.

We are still in the early stages when it comes to AI and its impact. But you can push the boundaries in small ways. There's a lot packed into the infrastructure required to make these enhancements work. Don't give up hope just because you don't have the tools yet. Experiment with the tools you have.