Long Live Email Marketing

espite emergence of new ways of instant communication with new worlds of Facebook or Twitter, email marketing is one of the most preferred channels. People may start using new quicker ways of communication such as text messaging or messaging via social networks, majority of the customers continue to use email, which still rules as an official internal communication in businesses. If email marketing campaigns are creative and relevant for the customers, email channel still posses strength to deliver high quality engagement and maximize ROI.

As social and mobile emerge, email marketing channel continues to evolve. In 2013 and in coming ears, following trends will make email marketers to continue innovate.

1. Big Data and Cloud- With more and more transactional and social data of prospects and clients are captured, the big data in conjunction with cloud will help make email marketing more targeted, personalized and effective. No company can afford to sit on the data and not act upon it in real time. 

2. Customer lifecycle: Gone are those days when emails were used to bring traffic to the e-commerce sites. It's now imperative to follow a customer through out the lifecycle.

• Unaware
• Interested
• Engaged
• Inactive

Emails to help guide through various stages will not only help bring in new customers but will help improve retention. Triggered email campaigns are great way to keep user engaged via welcome emails, birthday reminders, abandoned cart emails, availability of previously requested but out-of-stock products, anniversary emails. 

3. Multichannel communication: Customers interact with brand through many various channels, making it necessary to have integrated strategy across the firm. Customers can visit local branch or contact via phone or interact through social outlets on web or mobile. So, email communication can strengthen other business channels by providing connected experience. 

4. Value add: Due to strong competition in marketplace, every company needs to differentiate its product from that of competitor's. Value added services such as newsletters with cherry picked customized products are key to drive conversions.

With slow economy, email channel continues to provide comparatively cheaper yet highly effective integrated marketing and communication mechanism. So, email marketing is here to stay and help companies generate higher revenues and provide value to the customers.