Let’s face facts; there were some who believed that email marketing would become less effective in an age of digital techniques and communication. Last year saw many businesses come to the realisation that email marketing could play a pivotal role in the long-term success of their venture, offering £38 for every pound spent and an impressive ROI of 3800%.
With this in mind, email marketing is set to enjoy another stellar year in 2017, as it continues to rank among the top three traffic drivers in the digital realm.
This article will look at how the practice will evolve in the year ahead, and ask how business can leverage such growth.
We Will See a Return to the Basic Principles of Email Marketing
The renaissance of email marketing caught many brands by surprise, causing them to be swept away in pursuit of large-scale campaigns. The next twelve months will see business take a more grounded approach to email marketing, however, as they familiarise themselves with the basics of the medium while placing a greater emphasis on strategic planning.
This was touched upon in the latest DMA Consumer Tracker report, which revealed that successful email marketers such as Amazon thrive due to their fundamental understanding of the discipline. More specifically, they use transactional behaviour and analytics to drive their email content, which in turn guarantees the efficiency of each, individual campaign,
Data-driven Strategies Will Take Centre Stage
On a similar note, it is fair to surmise that successful email marketing campaigns will primarily be data-driven in 2017. This not reflects a return to basics, but also the fact that brands are increasingly keen on developing long-term strategies that can evolve in line with changing technology and consumer behavioural trends.
In terms of the collation of data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms will place an increasingly important role. These technologies will allow brands to build larger and more detailed stores of information, which can be accessed from a single location and in real-time.
This, in turn, will enable marketers to use data in a more effective and sophisticated manner, particularly when it comes to personalising user content and leveraging email to target consumer behaviour rather than stereotypical demographic profiles.
Heralding the Rise of the Interactive Email
In many ways, the still and relatively stagnant nature of email has struggled to compete with video marketing and similarly interactive platforms. This is likely to change in 2017, however, as operating systems (such as Windows 10 and Apple’s much-vaunted iOS10) continue to offer rendering and technical support to enhance the fundamental capability of email communication.
More specifically, there is now an opportunity for brands to create interactive emails that are designed to engage readers on a far more meaningful level than traditional content.
From the inclusion of animated Gifs to high resolution videos, email will host a more diverse range of interactive content in 2017. This will make it far easier for businesses to personalise content and improve their marketing ROI, as well as providing far greater scope for imagination, fun and creativity!
As we can see, the immediate future for email marketing is bright, as the medium benefits for technological advancement and businesses learn how to harness its power effectively.
If you want to find out more about our email marketing solutions, give us a call on 01423 206320!