Is Your E-mail Marketing Optimized for 2019 Trends?

E-mail marketing is constantly evolving and AccuList USA tries to keep our e-mail list and e-mail marketing services clients up-to-date on the latest tactics and best practices. A good overview of trends for 2019 was recently supplied in a Business2Community post by Rohit Munipally. The value of e-mail targeting and list segmentation is so clear that it will be a given for smart marketers in 2019. Munipally cites HubSpot research showing that e-mails that are relevantly segmented and targeted account for 58% of all e-mail earnings and increase profits up to 18 times more. When combined with automation, e-mail content power is further enhanced. For example, if a contact hasn’t opened an email for an extended period, they can be dropped from deployments, while a contact who has visited a web page several times or opened multiple e-mails can receive relevant automated e-mails prompting action. In fact, global automated e-mail marketing alone is expected to account for $2.7 billion in spending by 2025, Munipally reports. Watch for acceleration of the trend away from graphics-heavy e-mail designs in 2019. Research shows e-mail users prefer plain text over HTML-style e-mails because plain text e-mails resemble a personal message that would be sent by a family member or friend. Also expect to see interactivity dominate over product display next year. Response data favors interactive e-mails that encourage engagement through quizzes, surveys, games, contests, GIFs, and call-to-action messaging that lets recipients shop, edit an order, update a wish list, send a shipping confirmation, etc. Story-telling also has proved itself as a content-engagement tool. E-mails that begin with a story that grabs the reader and then leads into value and offers are highly influential when delivered to a relevant audience (again underscoring the value of targeting and segmentation). Mobile optimization also will be essential for success in 2019, with 53% of e-mails opened via mobile devices and 75% of gmail users viewing accounts on mobile devices. And since consumers demand content that is relevant and personalized whether viewed on a computer or mobile device, data use must go beyond first-name inclusion to information unique to the account or buyer persona. Plus, next year should see growing use of AI for everything from targeting, subject line choice, image selection, and more. To illustrate the power of AI, Munipally reports that Adobe recently developed an AI technology with a series of sophisticated algorithms based on e-mail campaigns and audience behaviors, resulting in e-mail users opening nearly 80% of work and 60% of personal e-mails. See our blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/is-your-e-mail-optimized-for-best-2019-performance/

Trade Show Market Preps for 2019 Growth,Trends

Demand for meetings and events is projected to rise worldwide next year, pushing the global market up by 10% and boosting attendance numbers in North America by 14%, according to the "2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends" report from Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). But trade show marketers clients will still need to address new attendee expectations if they want to catch that market wave. In fact, the CWT report found that attendee experience was the concern that was top of mind for planners, including delivery and tracking of attendees through innovative applications of technology, use of unique venues, and more engaging and interactive content. Along those lines, Ryan Gould, vice president of strategy and marketing services for Elevation Marketing, recently posted about five key trends affecting 2019 attendee experience. First, he urges marketers to commit to an experiential, customer-centric booth design that goes beyond square footage and demo stations to address comfort, engagement and interaction, with a focus on a big first impression. One way to enhance experiential booth design is to create a multisensory experience, with unique lighting design, touch-panel interfaces, gamification, interactive displays, and even scent marketing that uses attractive aromas to capture visitors. Think it's nonsense? The respected Harvard Business Review concludes that amplifying the sensory qualities of your exhibit is a top way to get attendees connecting with your brand, notes Gould.When it comes to multisensory options, Virtual Reality (VR) has earned a big buzz in the trade show market. In fact, Gould points out, studies show that 53% of customers are more likely to buy from a brand that uses VR than one that doesn’t. Plus, proliferation of VR platforms has increased affordability, with VR app Google Cardboard now available for as little as $10 as an example. Since it's exhausting to spend a day walking a trade show, exhibitors who offer lounge areas are luring attendees into their booths and keeping them there for extended periods of time (including a sales pitch, of course). Savvier marketers have been adding charging stations along with comfy lounge chairs to further draw visitors. A trade show booth with a single flat-screen TV for presentations is now behind the technology curve. With technology advances, you can transform the entire space using multiple screens and unique lighting elements to direct visitors to specific displays or products. Use of 3D projection mapping can further transform a space, turning a whole wall into a 3D video image or projecting a personalized image on a prop, statue or other surface. For more on forecasts of the 2019 meeting and event market, see our on-site post at http://www.acculistusa.com/trade-show-marketers-need-to-prep-to-ride-2019-growth/

2016 E-mail Winners: Mobile, Interactive, Automated

Digital marketers betting on e-mail ROI need to make sure they are playing a hand with winning strategy cards in 2016. A recent MarketingProfs post by Cynthia Price, marketing director at Emma e-mail marketing services, cited five high-scoring trends to include. With mobile exceeding desktop traffic for the first time last year, a dedicated mobile strategy of responsive design for small screens is a must--because 71% of e-mail recipients will delete immediately if an e-mail doesn't display properly. Next, invest in interactive content, Price urges. It's hard to argue against interactivity when adding video to an email can boost click rates by 300% and including dynamic content can increase click-to-open rates by 73%. And then be sure to make that content personalized, relevant and appealing; time to go beyond a first name greeting and generic pitch as consumers' e-mail screening options rise. One way to boost appeal is to leverage user-generated content, such as testimonials and product photos. Remember Nielsen found 84% of consumers trust recommendations from their peers, and just 15% trust brands' recommendations, Price points out. And finally, get automated. You can't argue with the 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click rates delivered by automation, Price asserts. Just look at her cited stats for basic automated e-mails: Welcome e-mails have 50% better open rates; birthday e-mails lift conversion rates by 60%; and thank-you e-mails, with an offer, drive 13 times more revenue. Read the whole post: http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2016/29443/five-superhot-email-marketing-trends

2016 Customer-Centric Trends You Shouldn't Ignore

We've read many marketing trend predictions for 2016, but a recent Entrepreneur magazine article best emphasizes the new "customer-centric" focus of many shared predictions. Jay Arnold, vice president of marketing at FullContact, cites 10 marketing trends that he believes will make 2016 the "year of the customer." Here are just his first five forecasts. He foresees a proliferation of "marketing apps" this year, not just mobile apps but web apps, desktop apps and even TV apps, as marketers take advantage of the many free or low-cost apps that can now aid with tasks such as e-mail, social media, online ads, contact management, analytics and more. He also sees a shift to "insight-driven marketing," using analysis of the heaps of available data for more relevant targeting and messaging. Of course, this assumes a centralized database of multichannel customer info, so that is a priority task if not already under way. Content marketing got a lot of buzz last year, but Arnold now sees a greater shift from static content (such as social posts and white papers) to "interactive content," such as interactive assessments, calculators, training and games to keep people clicking and sharing useful information for sales. Everyone agrees that "personalization" will continue and grow as a proven response driver, but Arnold warns that 2016 will demand greater adaptation by channel and customer expectations. Consumers now expect relevant content tailored to them, but they will also be less tolerant of online and mobile advertising that is overly personal to the point of intrusive and creepy. Finally, Arnold predicts that 2016 will see a leap in "advocate marketing," as marketers realize that using customers to advocate for brands and generate referrals can be more effective than incentives and affiliate programs for referral generation--especially now that identifying influencers and advocates is easier than ever before via social and digital interactions. For five more of his customer-centric marketing predictions, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254620