Email marketing continues to be a vital communications channel with the DMAs latest Email tracker showing that email receives 30 times return on investment on average. 95% of respondents rated it as 'important' or 'very important' to their organization.
Yet competition in the inbox for attention from email subscribers remains fierce as social media remains important and competitors optimise their approach.
Download FREE Resource – Email trends 2018: A visual guide
Review your approach to email marketing by reviewing the latest trends.
Access the Email Trends 2018 : A visual Guide
So, it's important to review the success factors to improving email ROI, which we summarise in this article with the help of the email specialists who kindly contributed their views and predictions on the trends which will be important in 2018. While some of these are not 'new' techniques, they are increasing in adoption since they are vital to keeping up with your competition and engaging your audience further in the customer lifecycle.
Our lifecycle marketing model shows you the potential customer touchpoints and how email marketing aids in increasing relevance and response of communications. Marketing activities such as personalization, loyalty programs, and re-engagement email programs are vital to your email marketing strategy. Whilst SEO, PPC, social media, and advertising may contribute to getting your customer into the top of your sales funnel, it is essentially your email marketers that keep them there, increase repeat purchase and increase customer-brand engagement.
Customer Lifecycle
For a broader overview of the biggest digital trends, including the integration of customer journeys into your engagement strategy, check our Dr Dave Chaffey's 10 marketing trends to act on in 2018.
With the end of 2017 drawing near, the trends in this article reflect on our free resource, Email Trends 2017 - a visual guide, to see if our predictions matched up to what the landscape of email looked like this past year.
Which techniques are already part of current email marketing activities?
The Email Marketing Industry Census 2017, by Econsultancy in association with Adestra, shows that segmentation (80%) remains the highest priority and technique used in email marketing campaigns in 2017. However, this is only a 1% increase from 2016 showing very little businesses are adopting this technique further than what they were in 2016.email priorities
Optimizing emails for mobile had the highest increase (9%) showing adoption of this technique is becoming increasingly popular and important for retention, UX and engagement on on-the-go devices for quicker and more convenient consumption of content. Other techniques with an increase in importance were:
Encouraging social sharing (2% increase)
Transactional Emails (2% increase)
Location-based emails (4% increase)
Dynamic content and dynamic social feeds (4% and 3% increase)
I will be addressing the importance of mobile-responsive emails, amongst other important trending features:
Respecting personal data will change your email marketing strategy
Mailable 'Microsites' are adopted by more companies to increase customer research, engagement, and retention
Conversion tones are adopted to increase genuine human interaction with customers
Rending is addressed to improve UX across email clients
Personalization and segmentation remain a priority to share dynamic content
However, it is interesting to note that personalization is a technique that has decreased in popularity by 4% (beyond adding in the user's name). Whereas this was a rising email trend a couple of years ago, it is hard to show how it has progressed further. More is needed than customizing the email to include the users' names. This has become the standard practice and is no longer considered 'personal', users now expect to see their name, anything less is offputting and risks low engagement.
engage-segment
Whilst email competes with organic (SEO) and paid search (PPC), it can drive a higher volume of sales than other channels and is important for customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. In our Essential Digital Marketing Tools framework, we outline the insight and management tools to help you engage users via marketing automation and optimization tools.
Expert prediction
Paul de Fombelle
Paul de Fombelle - International Business Development Director, Mailify
A major trend in email marketing in 2018 (like these past years...) will be to describe it with data biased by the largest retailers' influence. As they send millions of emails daily, their practices are highly visible but, in fact, email marketing senders are primarily small and medium businesses (SMBs), millions of them.
Therefore, to me the most important trend is how those SMBs are stepping up their game in the email marketing world. In the past years, they first learnt the existence and the multiple advantages of the channel, including the high ROI. They started doing email marketing. Then they understood that email marketing is the most efficient channel when it’s done in an appropriate way: they understood spam does not pay back, and that messages need to bring value. They started doing good email marketing. Now, in 2018, the main trend will be to see those small businesses start implementing advanced practices that were until then almost exclusively adopted by large accounts: a/b testing, multi-channel campaigns, automated communication flows, etc.
It will be incredibly interesting to see how those advanced email marketing practices optimize the benefits that the channel offers them. Nevertheless, we know that the recipe for success will not change, being the key ingredients a qualified lead generation process, a well-thought recipient segmentation, a relevant message and well-designed, responsive email newsletter templates and, last but not least, the reputation and efficiency of a well-chosen email marketing app able to deliver.
Jordie van Rijn
Jordie van Rijn - Email Marketing and eCRM Consultant, Author, and Founder of Email Vendors Selection
Instead of trying to employ email at every twist and turn of the customer journey, it is often more effective to focus on the well performing campaigns. We need to learn to “Carpe Conversion”, tune to their mindset and deepen the personalized contact at those moments that matter.
One way that is up and coming in 2018, will be the combination of email and on-site interactions. Interactions with chatbots, guided tours, and next best action slide-ins. You know the little dialog boxes and circles bottom-right to click on? We will see a shift, as companies are starting to use them to guide the customer into (opt-in) and from (after click through) email and continue the flow on the site.
Improving landing page conversions and lead-to-deal ratio is also important.
Trend 1. Respecting personal data will change your email marketing strategy
This isn't a 'trend' as such that marketers are voluntarily adopting but instead enforced by the European Commission May 25, 2018. It's vital to comply with or risk hefty fines.
The way data is collected, stored and used for email campaigns has previously and continuously had a bad reputation due to the negative handling of personal data - often viewed as spam by the recipient. However, as GDPR comes into effect, we will see other counties tightening their data handling procedures, including America's CAN-SPAM.
We recently asked our members 'Is your company GDPR ready?' and found that the majority (94%) were 'aware but haven't started' preparations or didn't know what GDPR is!
Is your company GDPR ready?
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) changes will be enforced in 6 months, affecting all businesses that market to customers in all 28 European counties. This is the biggest change happening that affects email marketing strategies in 2018. For many years obtaining email addresses, phone numbers and other personal contact details via competitions and promotion of free whitepapers has been a technique to increase contact databases, used afterward for email re-engagement campaigns that the user had not originally and explicitly consented to. Reconsent needs to be given to store and use personal data.
Download FREE Resource – Email trends 2018: A visual guide
Review your approach to email marketing by reviewing the latest trends.
Access the Email Trends 2018 : A visual Guide
So, it's important to review the success factors to improving email ROI, which we summarise in this article with the help of the email specialists who kindly contributed their views and predictions on the trends which will be important in 2018. While some of these are not 'new' techniques, they are increasing in adoption since they are vital to keeping up with your competition and engaging your audience further in the customer lifecycle.
Our lifecycle marketing model shows you the potential customer touchpoints and how email marketing aids in increasing relevance and response of communications. Marketing activities such as personalization, loyalty programs, and re-engagement email programs are vital to your email marketing strategy. Whilst SEO, PPC, social media, and advertising may contribute to getting your customer into the top of your sales funnel, it is essentially your email marketers that keep them there, increase repeat purchase and increase customer-brand engagement.
Customer Lifecycle
For a broader overview of the biggest digital trends, including the integration of customer journeys into your engagement strategy, check our Dr Dave Chaffey's 10 marketing trends to act on in 2018.
With the end of 2017 drawing near, the trends in this article reflect on our free resource, Email Trends 2017 - a visual guide, to see if our predictions matched up to what the landscape of email looked like this past year.
Which techniques are already part of current email marketing activities?
The Email Marketing Industry Census 2017, by Econsultancy in association with Adestra, shows that segmentation (80%) remains the highest priority and technique used in email marketing campaigns in 2017. However, this is only a 1% increase from 2016 showing very little businesses are adopting this technique further than what they were in 2016.email priorities
Optimizing emails for mobile had the highest increase (9%) showing adoption of this technique is becoming increasingly popular and important for retention, UX and engagement on on-the-go devices for quicker and more convenient consumption of content. Other techniques with an increase in importance were:
Encouraging social sharing (2% increase)
Transactional Emails (2% increase)
Location-based emails (4% increase)
Dynamic content and dynamic social feeds (4% and 3% increase)
I will be addressing the importance of mobile-responsive emails, amongst other important trending features:
Respecting personal data will change your email marketing strategy
Mailable 'Microsites' are adopted by more companies to increase customer research, engagement, and retention
Conversion tones are adopted to increase genuine human interaction with customers
Rending is addressed to improve UX across email clients
Personalization and segmentation remain a priority to share dynamic content
However, it is interesting to note that personalization is a technique that has decreased in popularity by 4% (beyond adding in the user's name). Whereas this was a rising email trend a couple of years ago, it is hard to show how it has progressed further. More is needed than customizing the email to include the users' names. This has become the standard practice and is no longer considered 'personal', users now expect to see their name, anything less is offputting and risks low engagement.
engage-segment
Whilst email competes with organic (SEO) and paid search (PPC), it can drive a higher volume of sales than other channels and is important for customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. In our Essential Digital Marketing Tools framework, we outline the insight and management tools to help you engage users via marketing automation and optimization tools.
Expert prediction
Paul de Fombelle
Paul de Fombelle - International Business Development Director, Mailify
A major trend in email marketing in 2018 (like these past years...) will be to describe it with data biased by the largest retailers' influence. As they send millions of emails daily, their practices are highly visible but, in fact, email marketing senders are primarily small and medium businesses (SMBs), millions of them.
Therefore, to me the most important trend is how those SMBs are stepping up their game in the email marketing world. In the past years, they first learnt the existence and the multiple advantages of the channel, including the high ROI. They started doing email marketing. Then they understood that email marketing is the most efficient channel when it’s done in an appropriate way: they understood spam does not pay back, and that messages need to bring value. They started doing good email marketing. Now, in 2018, the main trend will be to see those small businesses start implementing advanced practices that were until then almost exclusively adopted by large accounts: a/b testing, multi-channel campaigns, automated communication flows, etc.
It will be incredibly interesting to see how those advanced email marketing practices optimize the benefits that the channel offers them. Nevertheless, we know that the recipe for success will not change, being the key ingredients a qualified lead generation process, a well-thought recipient segmentation, a relevant message and well-designed, responsive email newsletter templates and, last but not least, the reputation and efficiency of a well-chosen email marketing app able to deliver.
Jordie van Rijn
Jordie van Rijn - Email Marketing and eCRM Consultant, Author, and Founder of Email Vendors Selection
Instead of trying to employ email at every twist and turn of the customer journey, it is often more effective to focus on the well performing campaigns. We need to learn to “Carpe Conversion”, tune to their mindset and deepen the personalized contact at those moments that matter.
One way that is up and coming in 2018, will be the combination of email and on-site interactions. Interactions with chatbots, guided tours, and next best action slide-ins. You know the little dialog boxes and circles bottom-right to click on? We will see a shift, as companies are starting to use them to guide the customer into (opt-in) and from (after click through) email and continue the flow on the site.
Improving landing page conversions and lead-to-deal ratio is also important.
Trend 1. Respecting personal data will change your email marketing strategy
This isn't a 'trend' as such that marketers are voluntarily adopting but instead enforced by the European Commission May 25, 2018. It's vital to comply with or risk hefty fines.
The way data is collected, stored and used for email campaigns has previously and continuously had a bad reputation due to the negative handling of personal data - often viewed as spam by the recipient. However, as GDPR comes into effect, we will see other counties tightening their data handling procedures, including America's CAN-SPAM.
We recently asked our members 'Is your company GDPR ready?' and found that the majority (94%) were 'aware but haven't started' preparations or didn't know what GDPR is!
Is your company GDPR ready?
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) changes will be enforced in 6 months, affecting all businesses that market to customers in all 28 European counties. This is the biggest change happening that affects email marketing strategies in 2018. For many years obtaining email addresses, phone numbers and other personal contact details via competitions and promotion of free whitepapers has been a technique to increase contact databases, used afterward for email re-engagement campaigns that the user had not originally and explicitly consented to. Reconsent needs to be given to store and use personal data.
