Despite the rise of omnichannel automation tools for marketing communication, Emails remain a Martech CMO’s most preferred mode of communication. In 2021, we are hoping to see Email marketing grow rapidly. The rise of chatbots and communication apps has been cited to be the ‘email killers’. This may not be entirely true. As per reports, the global email users’ number was at 3.8 billion in 2018 and the number is expected to rise to 4.4 billion by 2023. The presence of such a large number of users enables marketers to target their audience in more powerful ways and drive their business goals. Let’s see what are the trends that marketers will follow to take Email Marketing to the next level.

Hyper-personalization

Due to the COVID-19, brands have become hyper-sensitive against deploying the age-old email marketing tactics. Creative marketers are experimenting with COVID-proof messaging ideas to enhance their marketing outreach. Hyper-personalization is one way to create one-to-one marketing contact. Experts have ideated that hyper-personalization carries the potential to make a significant impact on customer experience. It focuses on imparting relevant product/service/content/ad information to the end-user. The primary goal is to deliver an experience that increases the chances of converting them on an offer.

Hyper-personalized emails bring:

• Reduced efforts — A seamless experience making customer journey map simple and well-coordinated
• Offering Relevant Information — Leveraging AI, IoT, Machine Learning, hyper-personalization offers the most relevant recommendations based on personal preferences and buying history
• Saves Time — With tailored targets and messages, hyper-personalization saves a lot of time for marketers

Interactive Emails

Interactive emails allow users to interact directly with the content inside. Reports indicate that a video in an email increases the click rate by 300 percent. Powered by Accelerated Mobile Pages, interactive email stands out from the crowd. A perfect example would be a shopping business offering a direct option of adding a product directly into the shopping cart, eliminating the need to bring customers to the landing page and then analyzing the product and adding it to the cart. It increases the rate of conversions and provides a hassle-free shopping experience to the users. Such interactive emails will also work similar to social media feeds and engage consumers just like social media.

Hence, marketers will implement what worked in social media to their email marketing. Interactive emails will also follow the minimalist design to get more user attention and reach out to varied audiences including recipients with hearing or visual disabilities. They will also entail animation and videos to add next-level engagement elements without losing the essence of the email subject.

Email Marketing Automation

Email Marketing Automation increases the chances of customer conversions and boosts retention. The automation will also integrate tailored/personalized mailing into the strategy. For marketers, scheduling targetted emails based on consumer insights will be effective for both acquisition and transforming customers into loyal brand followers.

Some examples of automated emails:

• A welcome mail to introduce service/product to the consumer — The average open rate for a welcome email is recorded at 82%
• Recommendations based on prior buying history and related products
• Offering coupons, discounts, and giveaways to the loyal fan base — Around 49% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands
• Send reminders to renew subscription/re-buy products/update cart — Sending three abandoned cart emails results in 69% more orders than a single email
• Re-engage inactive subscribers — 81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for retention

Going Mobile

Around 61% of emails are opened on mobile devices. While 75% of Gmail users use mobile devices and 43% will delete an email if it isn’t optimized for mobile. With smart handheld devices in everybody’s hand, 2021 will drive mobile optimization for email marketing. Users that completed their tasks via desktop will now be able to complete them in their hands. As mobile screens are small, this trend will be coupled with interactive content, minimalist and responsive design, and straightforward copy.