Email is here to stay, and itâs getting its groove back

The year was 1999. After smashing the charts with ‘Baby, one more time’, Britney Spears released the track ‘Email my heart’.

Strangely, this advice has never been more relevant. On Wednesday, email expert Skip Fidura from dotMailer delivered a free webinar on email marketing (available here).

One of the key learnings? Customers want to feel like you care. It should come as no surprise that people crave old-timey interactions – the general store kind, circa 1920.

But while the type of service that remembers your name and favourite colour isn’t scalable to millions (or even hundreds) of customers, technology now exists to get you close.

Dynamic, responsive programs that tailor your communications not only save time. They make things personal. And if there’s one thing customers (read: people) want, it’s to be recognised as an individual.

Email: dinosaur or bird?

Lots of speculation exists around channels more than five years old. Did TV kill the radio star? No. Will snapchat, Oculus Rift and wearable tech kill email? It’s unlikely. 18 – 24 year-olds are the most engaged age group with the medium. In fact, research suggests it’s a medium they prefer.

So what should you do with it? Take advantage of its ability to hold all of your marketing together and make it easy for people to do business with you, says Skip.

And don't ignore other channels. Somewhere in the region of 40% of online purchases are made through search. While consumers are more likely to browse and make a purchasing decision on their mobile, it’s on a PC or laptop where the magic happens. So be findable.

The D word

Giving marketers an email address is an extremely low barrier for consumers, and trumps phone and address collections every time. But for most companies, the data they have is scattered everywhere (Skip likened it to a messy teenager’s room). It’s likely you only need a small part of what you have.

On the topic of children, he also likened silos to a child that doesn’t play nicely. Part of improving your communications is to, well, improve your communication. Internally. Making the most out of responsive and automated technology requires getting the right people in your organisation to recognise its value.

To discover how to overcome these barriers, listen to the free webinar and tune in for a second instalment on 15 April.