Marketers need to harness the impact of email and social channels in parallel, says Nick Fuller, Director of Strategy and Analytics at e-Dialog International
As progress in digital continues, it is tempting to think of email as the old warhorse. But in reality the channel is changing as fast as any. Many brands have found that the best principles of DM can be successfully applied to email to create more intuitive and quicker-to-implement campaigns. Those same golden rules can now be applied to the ever-converging media, platforms and devices on which campaigns are served.
We’ve come a long way
Email is a much more dynamic channel than it was just a few years ago. This is the case both in terms of what we can include in an email and the device on which the user consumes it. Marketers may panic about the numerous permutations that this throws up, but these permutations present real opportunities.
Not that long ago we could only dream of emails that could be opened anywhere and anytime, full of rich, dynamic content and personalised right down to individual customers’ most recent behaviour. Yet effective email marketers are now able to do just that; a successful marketer with the right tools at their disposal can send the most effective, sophisticated message at the right time.
As consumers choose to read their email at a time they choose, email is no longer synonymous with the PC. Mobile devices – from smartphones to tablets – are now the device of choice for many consumers. Identifying the devices used to open mails and then designing messages that render well across all variants must now be a standard task in merging technology and creativity. But the challenge doesn’t stop there because the consumer’s experience after clicking from the mail must be equally smooth – there are no prizes for links that don't open or app downloads that don’t deliver. Device data needs to drive innovation, based on rigorous and effective process.
This merging of device ‘boundaries’ is also important as campaigns start to combine the best of both worlds. In working with time-sensitive and triggered communications (such as insurance renewals) there's value in combining email and mobile so that the more time-sensitive and universally-opened nature of the latter can be used to up the stakes as the key date is approached. This combination of channels will only accelerate, especially as the value of m-commerce transactions continues to rise. Marketers’ future lies in enabling consumers to buy whenever and however they choose.
For those who pronounced email extinct in the wake of social, the reality has been somewhat different. Email continues to be the ‘glue’ that drives much social interaction. What has really happened is that brands are grappling with the more important question of how to harness the impact of the two channels in parallel.
Email can of course be used to drive readers to a brand’s social presence and is routinely being used to do just that. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond simply pointing readers to a brand’s Twitter or Facebook presence, some brands are embracing the currency of social in enabling consumers to actually share content (and providing content that is actually worthy of sharing.)
The same can be said for the use of social sentiment and subject matter gathered from listening tools to drive email content. Operational silos haven’t helped (it’s a rare email marketer who also controls a brand’s social activity) but there is now a greater move towards using email to drive social interaction and using social audiences to drive email opt-ins; this is the current imperative. Whilst boardrooms are the battleground for investment debates over the value of social, this move to apply more measurable DM metrics to social noise will continue to take centre stage. There is no doubt that email can drive 'likes' or that ‘likes’ can drive email opt-ins; the numbers speak for themselves.
There’s still a long way to go
In parallel with these positive changes have come some threats. Producing rich and dynamic mails makes no sense if they never reach the inbox. For that reason recent developments by Hotmail and Facebook (in filtering by engagement and by sender respectively) have demanded serious attention. The same can be said of the threat of phishing and security breaches – good reasons for some consumers to simply steer clear of the channel altogether so, as marketers, we must work hard to distinguish our legitimate communications.
It should also be remembered that much of the day-to-day consumer experience of email marketing is far from inspiring. As a channel, email has long been adversely impacted by its relative ease and inexpensiveness – some brands have chosen to send large ‘blasts’ with rudimentary targeting and creativity. This undermines the value and undersells the possibilities – and most importantly it does the marketer no favours in the eyes of the recipient.
A recent Forrester Report, worryingly entitled ‘European Email Affinity Declines’, highlighted how Europeans are subjecting email marketing to a higher level of scrutiny than ever before with overall open rates down and unsubscribe rates up. This must represent the logical outcome of the above and though it may appear to be a barrier to success it can also be the catalyst for a rise in standards.
It can be done
The best case studies point to a set of lessons which we need constantly to bear in mind as email marketers. The old rules still apply – capture permission, treat it with respect, use the data that you know about the recipient and excel in channel-specific creativity. Test and test again (not just the email but the success of resulting site visits and conversions; web analytics and email metrics are two sides of the same coin but are often not treated that way) and then use the results to fine tune your programmes. These core DM values have to be backed up by organisational disciplines too – remove or work around silos, and think about channels as naturally feeding each other. For example, if you’re launching a new promotion on your Facebook page, feature it in your email programmes.
Looking to the future
Relevance reaps rewards, and ultimately it’s clear that the innovations we’ve seen – in terms of content, platform and additional channels – allow us to capitalise on that.
So what does the future hold? With Britain leading the way in smartphone uptake, mobile devices will become an increasingly important part of what we do. Neglect one manufacturer at your peril – Apple, Android and RIM devices must be considered equally, and who knows what else might emerge? Designing emails for mobile is important but mobile devices will also play a much greater part in direct marketing – the use of QR codes, augmented reality and location-based services (to deliver content and offers of relevance to the user right where they stand) are potential game-changers.
The same goes for social. Google+ has many people talking, as do rumours surrounding where Twitter goes next. Facebook commerce is already here but the potential for moving mainstream will have an impact right across the messaging spectrum.
Email will have a key place in all of these developments, but it will change. The marketer needs to be moving in the right direction as these changes unravel. We’ve come a long way in the last couple of years. Right now it’s worth taking a moment to consider what we’ve learned and to gear up for – rather than be overwhelmed by – what comes next. While these new avenues are not always exploited to best effect, as the Forrester Report indicates, if you take the right approach, the benefits will be clear, now and long into the future.
Nick Fuller, Director of Strategy and Analytics, e-Dialog International
www.e-dialog.com