Email Marketing – will it ever be replaced?

Email Marketing – will it ever be replaced?

Email Marketing is the thing of the past? Is it so? I urge you to think AGAIN!!
Time and time again, this debate in the digital marketing community has reached no clear conclusion.
Many Marketers believe digital marketing has moved on with the advent of social media, automation & Artificial Intelligence taking over. Well, the data beg to differ!

Email Marketing always has been, currently is and is poised to be the go-to marketing tool for Businesses. According to DMA,2019 Email Marketing boasts an impressive average return of $42 on every $1 spent.

Now that the numbers have spoken for themselves, let us understand a bit more about how & why email marketing is still at the top of its game.

How does Email Marketing work

Email Marketing means the process of targeting your audience and potential customers through email. It provides potential customers with what they are looking for increasing the conversions and in turn the revenues for a business.
For it to work, the emails sent by the businesses to its audience or potential customers get engagements in terms of sales or a particular goal to drive the subscriber through a sales funnel. There are numerous marketing tools that can be used to set up your Email Campaigns.

When to use Email Marketing

Some of the most common cases where marketers go for Email Marketing are –

● Market Products/Services
● Build Genuine Relationships
● Increasing Brand Awareness
● Guiding a visitor through the sales cycle

Why Email Marketing is Effective

Among all the media that marketers use currently to market their products/services. Email Marketing sits right at the top. And there is a good reason behind it.

1. Email is preferred by the consumers

If you have a professional email id, chances are your email communication will be read if not responded to. Though social media is an easy go-to option you do not get the kind of organic growth that a small business looking to scale up through social media needs.
What’s more important is that because these consumers actually signed up to be on your list, they WANT to hear communications from you. Having this kind of permission to communicate is a gold mine, ask the guys who have to cold call all day.
The pure permission-based nature of Emails makes them very different than other forms of marketing communications.

2. Email is easy on the mobile

Email is easily checked on mobile phones while consumers are on the go. As more and more consumers are becoming mobile-centric, Email is the perfect form of marketing. It is easy on the pockets for every small business as no heavy investment is required.
Also, reading and sending emails is one of the top activities done by users on their smartphones. This ensures your communication is read, responded to, and even forwarded to potential customers if it is your lucky day.

3. High Email Marketing ROI

This is in direct correlation to the fact that Email Marketing is the most affordable option for small businesses.
Not only Email Marketing fits any budget however small they are, but it also provides the best ROI on Investment.

This High Email Marketing ROI is attributed to the below facts –

● High Conversions – guides potential customers through sales funnels effectively and easily
● Improved Brand Awareness – helps in building relationships with potential customers for sustained growth over time
● Increased Revenue – The lower cost for wide audience reach and personalized relationships

4. Personalize and Customize

Emails are highly personalized with works in the favour of Email Marketing. Little details that can seduce a customer works in its favor. Basis the size of your audience and marketing goal, Email Marketing can accommodate any other marketing tactic available today. Be it social media, a landing page, a coupon or a simple newsletter Email has the power to integrate with all of it.

Evolution of Email Marketing

At some point or the other over the last decade. Every marketer has had this thought – Is Email Marketing Dead? For How Long Will Email Marketing Survive?

Sure, the times have changed and technologies have advanced at exponential rates. But Email Marketing has stood firm to the challenge. Today, Email Marketing still holds as much value for any business as it did a decade back.

1. Past – Inception

During the initial phases, Email Marketing was probably the most tiresome job. Collecting email ids and then emailing them your offer/product/service individually took up most of the time of your team with very little results due to no personalization and an often bulk nature of the emails sent.

2. Present – Development

Today, we use email marketing software and services. Visitors “opt-in” your mail list to whom this software send automated sequences of emails regarding the promotions being offered.

3. Future – Maturity

In times to come and we are already on the cusp of it, Artificial Intelligence will take our email marketing efforts to maturity. Already chatbots are a big thing helping to drive business sales & after-sales efforts.
We will have further fine-tuned and Artificial Intelligence-powered email marketing campaigns.

Future of Email Marketing

The scope of Email Marketing remains endless. It is one of the most important and effective forms of marketing.
Time and again, it has evolved and by design has withstood the test of time. What the future holds remains to be seen. As for Email Marketing, the future shall include –

1. Personalized Video Content

Owing to the versatility of Email Marketing to incorporate any form of communication, the future belongs to video content. More so, personalized videos directed to segmented customers will emerge on top.

2. Precise and Interactive

Short chat-like messages triggered dynamically by interaction are the way to go. Chats will replace formal email communication like on-demand (Netflix, Amazon Prime) video has majorly replaced cable TV.

3. Messaging Platforms

Messaging platforms are on the rise. They will continue to show upward trends as they look to replace the functionality of email marketing automation tools.
Even these email marketing automation tools will look to integrate and use the power and reach of Messenger bots such as Whatsapp in the coming times.

4. Push Notifications

As more and more emails are being opened and read on mobile, Imagine the trend as the reading interface moves from mobiles to further downsized wearables such as smartwatches. Yes, the content will continue to be reduced and your main call to action will be turned to push notifications.

Author Bio – Aakash Singh is a marketing professional & a content marketing specialist. Having over 5 years of experience working with major organizations, he is passionate about digital marketing, blogging & SEO. Aakash lives in Delhi, India & writes about digital marketing & scaling your online presence on his blog, cupofglory.com. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Do Note: For This Post, Pursho Act Just As Publisher.