Tailored Communications in 2018: Tips for Email Marketing
Even after all these years, email still dominates as the channel marketers turn to for the highest return on investment. On average, email contributes over 20 percent of revenue for businesses, according to a recent study from The Relevancy Group.
However, with so many companies planning to increase their spend on email marketing, their comes an inevitable pressure to increase the number of emails sent in order to deliver on revenue goals. For consumers, that translates into inbox overload, frustration and, often, negative brand sentiment.
The Impact of Good (and Bad) Email Marketing
To understand the habits, preferences and opinions on email personalization, Dynamic Yield surveyed 550-plus consumers in North America, Europe and Asia. The results show a clear desire for more tailored, highly curated and relevant email messaging. The degree of personalization respondents encountered within emails from retailers greatly varied by region. Greater amounts of personalization were reported in Asia, while in North America, personalization is less experienced and capitalized on by retailers.
By and large, consumers want and expect emails to be tailored specifically to them. Flooded inboxes plague consumers on a daily basis across regions, especially in North America, but only a small portion are emails are opened or clicked through.
Consumers inspired by the right email are most likely to transact on a desktop in the evening, after dinner. Quickly gaining ground, however, many respondents noted a preference for using a mobile phone to make a transaction from an email. This makes sense as the majority of emails are now opened on mobile devices.
With the right promotions and discounts, consumers are more likely to associate brands with enjoyable email experiences, as well as immediately act on their messages. And even if an email doesn’t result in a click or transaction in that present moment, the likelihood an individual will mark the email as important or access it later is increased.
Amazon.com is the email gold standard for retail. Cited as the favorite retailer to receive emails from, consumers associate highly targeted emails, surfacing and offering information of relevant products as the bar to hit. Famous for its product recommendations, and reported as an area of improvement for retailers across regions, adapting Amazon’s strategy should be a major priority.
When asked how retailers could make email experiences better, only 13 percent answered “Nothing, I’m very pleased overall when I receive emails from retailers.”
Consumers enjoy email when personalized, but brands still have a lot of room for growth when it comes to delivering on that true one-to-one experience. As practitioners budget their spend on email marketing this year, the opportunity to improve the current state of the channel is too large to ignore.
Shana Pilewski is a senior content marketer at Dynamic Yield, an omnichannel personalization platform.
