One thing that hasn’t changed in 2021? Email marketers are asked to adapt and overcome the latest movements in our industry. With all our knowledge and expertise at Team ITG, we can tell you that it won’t change in 2022.
It’s a daily discussion in the coffee corner at our offices. What new developments will change the course of our organisation next? With the help of our experts, who have over 20 years of experience in the constant changing tides, we’ve pulled together some predictions of the biggest Email Marketing trends to beach on our shores over the next 12 months.
1. Privacy Measures & Permission-based marketing
This one will come as no surprise. Industry leaders and experts are deciding for us. Email Marketers will have to adapt and rethink their strategies to keep up with a new permission-based future.
It’s easy to reuse the same strategies and campaigns every year. That isn’t going to cut it in 2022. Customers simultaneously want to provide email marketers with less data while still receiving an unparalleled level of personalisation and relevance. And hey, we’re marketers, and we like a challenge. So let’s go back to the drawing board and see what we can do to provide our customers with hyper-personalised email communication still while still respecting their privacy—Sherlock hats at the ready.
Harness the power of our first party data. With the disappearance of third party data, it’s even more important to collect your first party data. This requires teams to adopt powerful data management and export solutions. That way, you can collect the information you need from start to finish and then process it real-time into a personalised, dynamic contact strategy. This leads us nicely onto our next top trend.
2. Boosting Personalisation
To stand out in the inbox, we have to offer customers what they want. Yes, that means more than just their “First Name” in the subject line. We have to get inside our customers’ interests and give them an offer they can’t say no to.
The perfect way to execute this is by enriching your customer profiles to know which
message resonates most with your audience. By adopting a data platform into your marketing automation strategy, you can create 360-degree customer profiles. You will also benefit from complex audience segmentation and channel synchronisation. Giving you the view and insights to boost your email marketing personalisation and target the right person with the right message.
3. It’s all about Omnichannel, not Multi-channel
While we want to focus on email, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room. Consumers want more than just emails. They want instant support via SMS and WhatsApp, they want a seamless user experience, and they want to connect to their experience in-store. All of these touchpoints reaffirm your brand’s reputation. And while it might not seem obvious with the highstreets becoming more like a ghost town. The upcoming generation prefers to shop in old fashioned brick and mortar. A survey conducted in 2021 by Statista revealed similar results. Every week, Gen Z (and millennials) shopped online and in-store reasonably equally. So, if your target demographic is Generation Z, it’s critical that you focus on a genuinely omnichannel approach rather than focusing primarily on online buying.
A great example of this is Rituals. Every email they send contains a member-specific barcode. To get a great ” gift” when you buy in-store, you have your email barcode scanned. That allows Rituals to seamlessly connect the experience in-store to the experience online or in-app.
4. The rising importance of deliverability & domain health
With further developments standing in the way of email analytics, deliverability has never been more critical. Ensuring your communication ends up in the right place can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. How can we make sure your message is heard and the battle won?
To decipher the success, we must first look at the results. As email marketers, we can access a wealth of information on the journey our email has taken. We can see Click-throughs, Conversions, Accepted, and Bounces to see the final destination and ultimate success of our emails, and our journey starts at that very first opt-in. We spoke to our expert Jeroen on the matter, and he said:
“A shortlist of recipients who want exactly what you are selling is much more valuable than a long list of recipients who have no idea who you are! With higher engagement (opens and clicks), you ultimately boost your send reputation.” Jeroen Verschoor – Deliverability Manager
5. User-Generated Content & Social Proof
Word of mouth is the best press. Have you ever steered clear of a brand because someone you know has told you bad stories? Or have you filtered your search results on popularity to find the most trending items?
Of course, you have because you’re ingrained to assume that unbiased reviews and opinions are the correct experiences. Social proof in your email communications is an excellent way to increase sales and improve brand reputation.
User reviews and generated content, when used correctly, can accomplish more than just turning site visitors into buyers. You can persuade abandoning customers to give you a second chance by displaying your reviews in the perfect place and at the defining moment.
Prepare for 2022
The previous few years have demonstrated to the world how powerful and robust the email channel is, something we expect to see more of in 2022. Focusing email in your marketing plan and keeping a finger on the world’s pulse, Leverages the power for success today and tomorrow.
