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Email marketing remains a crucial channel for marketers in 2023. With advancements in automation and artificial intelligence (AI), the effectiveness of email campaigns has significantly improved. According to the DMA’s Consumer Email Tracker, the number of consumers who find email brand messages useful has increased to 32% from just 15% in 2021.
However, the landscape of email marketing is evolving with new privacy measures and changing user preferences. The DMA’s study also revealed that 37% of consumers now use separate inboxes for personal and marketing emails, up from 23% in 2021. This shift necessitates careful consideration from marketers.
To gain expert insights into the biggest trends impacting email marketing and how marketers can drive success, we spoke to Brian McKenna, VP of CRM at DMi Partners, and Mike Fantis, VP and managing partner at DAC Group.
AI Enhances Email Marketing with Fine Segmentation
AI has long been a valuable tool in email marketing, enabling marketers to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance their campaigns. Marketers have been using AI to improve segmentation and recommendations, optimize send times, test creative elements, and evaluate list saturation.
According to McKenna, brand investments in AI have primarily focused on gaining access to these tools and improving ongoing marketing automations and campaign deployments. However, in 2023, generative AI has emerged as a significant trend. Tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E have sparked innovation, and many email providers are launching their own generative AI tools.
MailChimp, for example, recently introduced the Email Content Generator, allowing marketers to create email campaigns based on industry, marketing intent, and brand voice. This shift towards end-to-end AI solutions for email means that AI will be leveraged more extensively, from idea to audience selection, email building, and deployment.
McKenna advises clients to invest in data infrastructure and email templates to capitalize on AI more effectively. Fantis agrees, emphasizing that AI’s ability to deliver greater personalization at scale will drive further adoption among email marketers. AI can address challenges such as content generation for multiple segments, making it easier to target smaller peer groups effectively.
Privacy Changes Highlight the Importance of Trust and Subscriber Relationships
The release of iOS 15 by Apple in September 2021 had a significant impact on email measurement. The introduction of Mail Privacy Protection allowed users to hide information about their email behavior, making open rates unreliable. Additionally, Apple’s pre-loading of email data, regardless of whether a user opens an email, further complicated tracking metrics.
McKenna highlights that improving click rates has become even more crucial as a result of these privacy changes. Recently, Apple announced additional privacy changes with iOS 17, including the removal of URL tracking parameters. While these changes may not impact all email service providers (ESPs), they underscore the ongoing focus on privacy and the need for email marketers to adapt.
Marketers should view these privacy changes as an opportunity to build trust with subscribers. As privacy remains a priority, brands have more significant potential to personalize the experience for their owned subscribers compared to site visitors who have not engaged via email. Fantis suggests that privacy strategies have not affected marketers as much as anticipated, as many marketers have yet to leverage their existing data effectively.
He believes that the impact lies in a shift in focus and the growing recognition of the importance of media mix modeling rather than channel-specific reporting. These privacy changes are prompting marketers to consider the user’s journey and look beyond individual channels. However, Fantis warns against moving away from personalization altogether, as there is currently no allocated media spend for email marketing.
Localisation and Personalisation in a Cost-of-Living Crisis
Fantis notes that while personalization continues to be a trend in email marketing, many brands and marketers have yet to fully grasp its potential or how far to take it. He suggests that a good starting point is to focus on adding value based on the user’s profile, needs, and previous purchases.
In addition to personalization, brands need to consider wider factors such as the cost-of-living crisis, mortgage rate increases, and other financial concerns. This requires both personalization and localization to better serve customers and provide timely, thoughtful, and effective content.
Fantis emphasizes the importance of measuring the impact of macro-factors on local communities. By understanding the hardships faced by customers and what’s happening locally, marketers can personalize their content at a local level and achieve better results. This approach allows brands to emphasize the value they provide and address the specific needs of their customers.
In conclusion, email marketing in 2023 is shaped by the increasing use of AI for fine segmentation, the impact of privacy changes on tracking metrics, and the need for personalization and localization. Marketers who embrace these trends and adapt their strategies accordingly will be well-positioned to drive success in their email campaigns.
