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Top 8 E-Mail Trends in the coming future
2005 begins the second half of the decade. It's finally
time to stop marketing like we did in the 1990's. Email is
the most revolutionary tool in marketing history, and everyone
should take advantage of its flexibility, ease of execution,
low cost, and trackability.
The following are what we think should be a part of every
marketer's plan for the coming year!
- Relevance is King.
Good marketers, prepare to reap your rewards. This year
will finally bring the deserved demise of Batch & Blast
email. Marketers and subscribers alike are beginning to
appreciate the unique value proposition of one-to-one email
in building relationships.
As email clutter competes with every other kind of interruption
marketing, customers are going to give their attention to
those organizations that deserve it. By definition, relevance
is "the relation of something to the matter at hand."
In the case of marketers, the matter at hand is what matters
to the customer.
If you want to further a relationship, then you'd better
talk to your subscribers as if you know them. Your messages
should reflect your understanding of their specific needs
and the unique aspects of your relationship.
In 2005, marketers will take further advantage of Dynamic
Content in order to leverage what differentiates email from
every other marketing medium: its ability to make each communication
completely relevant to the recipient.
- Frequency Becomes Individually Driven.
As emails become more relevant, the question of how frequently
to email subscribers goes away. Marketers should not send
emails based upon a predetermined schedule. Set frequencies
are a relic of the print world, where cost constraints and
events dictated the "campaign" schedule. Relationships
are not "campaigns." They are experiences and
communication between people.
Email gives us the power to change the relationship paradigm.
We can let the customers' requests and behavior dictate
frequency. In other words, one-to-one frequency is possible.
Sometimes it makes sense to communicate to a subscriber,
sometimes it doesn't. Remember: every time you deliver an
impertinent email, you are at a risk of losing your subscribers!
- Software User Interface is Critical.
"Computers shouldn't be unusable. You don't need to
know how to work a telephone switch to make a phone call,
or how to use the Hoover Dam to take a shower, or how to
work a nuclear-power plant to turn on the lights."
- Scott McNealy
Just like anything else, if you want to optimize your results,
you have to start with the right tools. As marketers desire
to do more with their email, the ease of use of their tools
becomes essential. If marketers have to reach out to technology
resources every time they want to change a content rule
or test a concept, guess what? They won't do it! The entire
program will fall flat due to inefficient technology.
Batch & Blast is the result of such inefficiency. Trends
for 2005 will absolutely drive the value of easy-to-use
and intuitive user interfaces.
- Automated Email.
Well, not quite, but automated or event-driven email will
get a lot of attention. Marketers can utilize customer data
with automated email triggers to deliver relevant one-to-one
communications with subscribers.
Here's a good place to use a specific example:
A Netlink client sends concert promotion emails to hundreds
of thousands of subscribers. I personally subscribe to these
emails, and every promotion I get matches my genre preferences,
the venues I like, and the musicians I've indicated interest
in. The email even uses my current preferences to suggest
other musicians I might like! Some months I get one email;
others I get three. Every bit of this is automated.
Point number one: There's no reason to waste a 'touch' on
an entire database when only a few subscribers are interested
in receiving a particular message.
Point number two: This client is not comprised of a huge
marketing department. Their advantage comes from their integration
and excellent database. Automating email allows marketers
to easily communicate with subscribers in a targeted and
intelligent way, regardless of department size.
- Marketing Democracy.
Email will become the great marketing equalizer. Gone are
the days that good marketing requires big budgets! It doesn't
matter if you are a one-person shop, a chain, or a national
powerhouse. The playing field has been leveled, thanks to
new technology and powerful tools.
The only advantage in the marketplace will be captured by
the company that can drive the better relationship.
- Rise Of The "From" Address.
The 'From' address will become the most important factor
in determining the initial success of your email program.
This shouldn't come as a surprise, especially when we think
about communications as a vehicle for growing a relationship.
Who would you rather have a relationship with? A person
who can engage in two-way dialogue? Or a company name?
Most organizations invest a ton in human capital: salespeople,
managers, customer service. Ironically, these people, or
rather "relationship owners," are ignored when
it comes to marketing. The fastest way to build a relationship
between your prospects/customers and your company is to
engage them with a human being.
We all know that people buy from people. Email technology
has finally provided a way to leverage this knowledge and
deliver emails coming "from" real people. These
emails include pictures, personal notes based on prior engagements,
working reply addressesjust like a real relationship!
The beauty of it? With the right tools, personalizing the
"from side" takes only a bit more time and effort
than it takes to create a Batch & Blast email. And the
payoff is huge.
- Control & Compliance.
Email is probably the least controlled medium in most organizations.
As one CEO told me: "We have more control over Post
Cards than we do over Email!" Control and compliance
over email will only accelerate, with three main drivers:
1. Organizations are striving for one central view of the
customer to cut down on the number of emails sent to customers
from various departments throughout the organization through
batching.
2. Companies are recognizing they are legally liable for
content in emails sent by their employees. Policies aren't
enough; integrated content management systems will become
a critical component to any system.
3. Compliance also affects deliverability. It is becoming
mission critical that systems are in place to monitor compliance
with lists, bounces, filters and everything else associated
with managing blacklists complying with the rules of various
ISP white lists. No organization can afford to appear on
a blacklist that might affect the entire enterprise because
of the irresponsible action of perhaps one person or department.
- In-house email will convert to Email Service Provider.
Most organizations don't have the resources in-house to
manage the constantly changing complexities of email marketing
software. These marketers will outsource their email to
professional email service providers. Providers such as
netlink, who can deliver an on-demand, easy-to-use email
solution that allows you to communicate to customers individually
with relevant, trackable emails while staying compliant
with current regulations
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