Especially as the year ends, marketers face a heightened challenge: maintaining customer engagement without crossing the line into annoyance. Email remains the killer app, a cornerstone of communication and a powerful driver of engagement, overuse can have the boomerang—alienating customers, damaging trust, and ultimately, driving them away.

Our proprietary Optimove Insights consumer research gives critical insights into how marketers can balance frequency, personalization, and relevance to avoid email fatigue while maximizing campaign effectiveness. Based on a forthcoming survey of 329 U.S. consumers, the findings reveal key trends and strategies for marketers as they prepare for 2025. Our 2024 report can be accessed here.

Pummeling: When Emails Do More Harm Than Good

Our research reveals that email remains the preferred marketing channel for 59% of respondents, far outpacing social media at 18%. Additionally, 48% of consumers notice email more than any other channel while shopping online. However, this reliance on email comes with a caveat: sending too many irrelevant messages is a surefire way to push customers away.

• 37% of respondents cite email as the most annoying channel when inundated with messages.
• 57% have switched to a competitor because they felt overwhelmed by a brand’s email marketing.
• 70% have unsubscribed from at least three brands in the past three months, with more than one-third unsubscribing from six or more.

While email’s potential is immense, brands that rely on high-volume, impersonal campaigns risk losing customer loyalty and eroding their reputation.

The Answer: Relevance Over Volume

Our insights emphasize that success in email marketing is not just about frequency but relevance. Personalization has become a critical expectation:

• 75% of respondents consider personalization important. This is up from 54% when we queried consumers last year.
• 81% are more likely to open emails tailored to their interests, beyond a generic name inclusion.

To meet these expectations, brands must use data and AI to go beyond surface-level personalization, offering content, offers, and timing that align with individual customer preferences.

Timing Is Everything

Sixty percent (60%) of consumers report receiving poorly timed emails, diminishing their engagement and relevance. Whether it’s a midweek promotional teaser or a post-purchase loyalty reminder, understanding when customers are most receptive is vital.

AI-powered platforms can analyze customer behavior to determine optimal send times, ensuring emails arrive when they’re most likely to be read and acted upon. For example, brands could use predictive analytics to understand when loyal customers are most active and deliver tailored messages during those windows.

The Position-less Marketer: The Key to Seamless Execution

In this era defined by AI and data-driven strategies, the Position-less Marketer emerges as the linchpin of effective campaigns. No longer confined to traditional marketing silos, today’s versatile professional harnesses tools like AI and CRM platforms to manage and execute multiple functions—from data analysis to real-time messaging and personalization.

The Position-less Marketer uses technology to align customer preferences with strategic goals, ensuring that every email is timely, relevant, and impactful. This adaptability makes a powerhouse in navigating the complex demands of connecting with relevancy to each customer.

Give Customers the Control: Start with the Customer

There are three keys to interacting with customers.  1. Listen. 2. Listen. 3 Listen.
Customers want more autonomy over their interactions with brands. An overwhelming 90% of respondents want to customize the frequency, content, and timing of marketing emails. Brands that provide this level of control can build trust and strengthen customer relationships. And the only way for brands to do that is to listen to the consumer, so they are in control.

For loyal customers, this flexibility drives measurable results for brands: 84% are more likely to make repeat purchases after receiving reminders or deals from brands they trust.

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Best Practices for Marketers

To maintain customer trust and engagement while driving meaningful results, marketers should embrace these strategies:

1. Manage Frequency and Volume with Data:

• • Use analytics to monitor open rates, clicks, and spam complaints.
  • Gradually adjust email frequency to avoid overwhelming customers or triggering unsubscribes.

2. Prioritize Personalization:

• • Go beyond basic tactics—use predictive modeling to suggest next-best actions.
  • Employ dynamic content to create emails that reflect individual preferences and behaviors.

3. Empower Customers:

• • Create preference centers where customers can select the type and frequency of emails they receive.
  • Offer options like pausing emails during busy seasons or opting into specific types of content.

4. Foster Loyalty with Proactive Campaigns:

• • Use segmentation to identify VIP customers and reward them with personalized offers.
  • Automate replenishment reminders and milestone-triggered campaigns to keep customers engaged.

5. Test and Refine Continuously:

• • Perform A/B/n testing on subject lines, timing, and content to optimize performance.
  • Use real-time analytics to adjust campaigns based on evolving customer behaviors.

Optimize Customer Lifetime Value

Consumers have responded with a clear mandate for marketers: prioritize meaningful connections over relentless messaging. By leveraging advanced CRM-integrated email platforms, brands can craft campaigns that are personalized, relevant, and timely.

Every email should serve as a touchpoint that strengthens the relationship between brand and customer. Instead of inundating inboxes with offers, focus on delivering value—whether that’s through tailored recommendations, well-timed promotions, or personalized loyalty rewards.

As the year winds down, resist the urge to bombard customers with emails in a last-minute dash for revenue. Instead, invest in building trust and loyalty that will carry your brand into 2025 and beyond.

To do so, marketers do need to empower themselves with the latest technology as powerful co-workers and be position-less.  In the end it adds up to meaningful engagement—not more emails—will be the optimize customer lifetime value.

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