Every year, the email marketing industry undergoes new phases and transitions. In recent years, we have seen things like automation become a core part of the normal email marketing strategy. In 2019, there are a lot of things that have already happened in this industry and there are more things expected to happen over the course of time. What is certain is that going by the trends, email marketing will be completely different in the next five years. But how exactly has email marketing changed, and what is the future of email marketing in 2019? Let us look at these pertinent issues by analyzing a number of points.
Brand Authenticity Will be at the Core of Future Trends
One of the key issues that will come up over the course of the year is the importance of brand authenticity. Indeed, it has already been observed that more companies are focusing on making sure that their customers are in tune with specific brands. This is so because of the nature of the market at the current time. Most customers are no longer interested in trying products that do not appeal to them either in terms of face value or brand originality. This is why the trend of giving products more personality will continue to rise over the next few years.
Customer Experience Will be a Primary Focus
In addition to brand authenticity, customer experience will also be a priority for email marketers. Issues of personalization and market segmentation have already defined in the past few years. As more and more businesses get involved in the market, it has become impossible to sell to customers with generic messages. This is why the year will be defined by customer-focused approaches that specifically aim at solving the problems of individual customers. By using an email template builder, a marketer can be able to personalize messages and content to the level where it is almost impossible for a customer to skip a marketing email.
Increased use of Predictive Automation
Automation has already become part and parcel of marketing. The shift over the course of the year will thus be towards predictive automation. This is the kind of automation that puts more emphasis on using data to ensure that automation works for specific marketing needs. There will, therefore, be a proliferation of email messaging which is targeted, relevant and welcome by the target audiences. Predictive automation removes the challenges of estimation as the available data is put into proper use. The market is thus set for a transformation where every message fits into a particular marketing context.
Data Science in the Email Marking World
While still on the topic of data, marketers will focus more on engagement and retention. In the past, there was no possibility of directly engaging with customers who are specifically receptive of marketing messages. This is where data science comes to the rescue. With a huge amount of data being collected each day, marketers are now looking to tap into the benefits of this data to create more engagement with customers. This will be done by considering the effects of time, frequency, place, and other factors that affect how customers perceive marketing messages.
The Use of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI), represents the hallmark of technology. It is no surprise therefore that the possibilities of AI are being explored in the email marketing world. As opposed to data science, AI does not rely much on human effort to make sense of data or to make decisions. AI can receive, process, and automate data without any intervention from human resources. This is why chatbots, augmentation, and other forms of AI trends will start defining the future of email marketing starting from this year. There are already companies invested in ensuring that the AI trend picks up in 2019.
Simpler Designs
As technology gets more entrenched in every aspect of life, designers are finding simple designs to be more appealing to the masses. The market is now accustomed to cutting-edge designs and mind-blowing graphics. But when every other message being sent over email is full of the same top-tier design theme, the monotony will drive designers to the basic and functional designs. This is already happening and marketers are now focusing more on making use of plain text to pass messages to the masses.
Inclusion of Stories
Another big trend that will define the year and the future is the use of stories in marketing messages. There is nothing as captivating as a story that just manages to highlight the main points of a marketing message. Email marketers are finding it easier to include storytelling in messages in a bid to get the full attention of their customers. With stories, it is possible to have emotional appeal by the use of vivid descriptions. Messages that appeal emotionally to audiences have been proven to be very effective in the realm of marketing.
Increased Segmentation
Segmentation will come in many forms in the future. As of today, the main forms of segmentation that have been applied by marketers have resulted in huge successes. Segmentation is an unavoidable evolution in the area of marketing. Marketing automation campaigns especially have a high potential for segmentation. At a time when different customers have varying opinions about products, marketers have no choice but to personalize email messages. Personalization is a key feature in segmentation and data analytics will play a big role in this area.
Focus on Mobile
Smartphones and other mobile devices have taken over the tech industry. Today, billions of people around the world move around with mobile devices in their pockets. For marketers, these devices present the perfect opportunity to send messages. Even though it has been several years since the first-ever email marketing message was sent over a mobile device, the market is still very young. In 2019, marketers will specifically focus on the role of emerging technologies in the area of mobile. Mobile devices now feature advanced voice, text, image and video tools that can all be used by marketers in various ways. Things like optimization for mobile devices will thus define the market.
Originality in All Aspects
Finally, the desire for original content is rife in the market. Consumers now want authentic messages more than ever before. The proliferation of technology has made it possible for people across the world to get access to vast amounts of information. The average consumer is therefore very hard to dupe when it comes to selling. Convincing the highly knowledgeable consumer base will require authenticity in all levels. From simple things like creating a brand to the more complex affairs like crafting compelling stories, all aspects of the email marketing process will have to be original and appealing to the customer.
Summary
The future of email marketing is already being seen in various forms. We are at the onset of major changes in the world of marketing as new technologies become a key part of marketing. Technology is changing how both consumers and marketers see the market. The creativity of those in the marketing world and the inclusion of technology are all making the email marketing realm very exciting. The changes in the email marketing realm will be gradual and fascinating to see.
