A New Era: Email Marketing 2.0
The very basic, but daunting question that marketers are faced with every single day is: What do consumers want? We may never know the exact science, but the industry is getting warmer. Ironically, we’re using technology to go back to an old-school, hyper personal, one-on-one approach. In terms of email marketing, we’ve figured out that the key to conversion is reliant on 2 things: value creation and personalization.
- Value Creation: Email campaigns are a very common tactic used by many companies and agencies, but many aren’t using them to their full potential. To be competitive, you have to realize that people aren’t just looking for information. Google has the power to provide consumers with basic facts in seconds. We have to create value beyond the basics. Value creation within short, succinct experiences has become the new basis for email marketing, but this concept doesn’t happen naturally. Marketers are now facing the challenge of delivering content that is both intriguing, yet practical; ideas that can seem somewhat inconsistent from a strategic standpoint.
- Personalization: Taking it one step further, the delivered content should also have a personal touch. From a consumer perspective, custom content just feels better. It’s more genuine, it’s inviting, and there’s a greater chance it won’t be immediately sent to the trash folder. Customers are intrigued when you acknowledge them as a person with unique characteristics rather than a customer ID number floating in cyberspace. We have to remember that email addresses aren’t just simply addresses, but a direct link to human beings – human beings in which we hope to build long-term relationships with.
In our tech-driven, mobile world, email is a powerful tool that now has the ability to provide value in real time. You can catch consumers at their desks or on-the-go. Studies have shown that consumer mobile activity isn’t just nonsense. We’re doing more than just chatting and playing Candy Crush. Mobile phones have become a platform for continuous learning and consumer education. This leads to the questions: Is your content responsive?
Rationalizing these concepts, the even bigger question becomes: so what do we do with this? The answers across industries could be endless, but the core of any email marketing tactic begins with a well-defined strategy, integration of automated technologies, high-quality content, and a team who truly understands the business. Where do you stand?
