Industry Insight: Why Email and VR Could Form a Perfect Marriage

Poland-based email marketing company GetResponse will be opening its first The states-based office in Boston this September. The company's CEO Simon Grabowski isn't afraid to tell his competitors what to expect once his visitor hits our shores: poached employees, poached customers, and lost market share for competitors.

When Grabowski isn't making his presence felt by his rivals, he'due south got interesting things to say virtually the time to come of email marketing, how artificial intelligence (AI) will disrupt automation, and why virtual reality (VR) volition shortly modify the manner consumers shop.

PCMag: Every bit companies like Zapier begin to help companies connect disparate tools to run multi-platform automation, how do you envision email marketing changing? Is it as simple as more data being used to create better messaging? Or will we see more than interesting, more multi-channel workflows that can span different mediums beyond just the email inbox?

Simon Grabowski (SG): Email marketing is evolving and I practise call up its futurity volition be driven by three areas. Data comes starting time. Marketers are collecting all the data they can put their hands on and are doing some really exciting stuff with it. Creating a drench of usable data is enabling more relevant messages for customers. But, equally important, this allows for more intelligent delivery: sending the correct message at the right time (for instance, when the subscriber is most likely to open up or read the message, based on by behavioral patterns).

Secondly, we are moving into a world where electronic mail is a part of bigger marketing puzzle. Zapier is a rough-and-tumble for this problem simply not a solution. As data becomes more important for marketers, I think we will run across a bigger push to create real ecosystems rather than integrate systems that don't connect otherwise.

Finally, while it's still early, expect AI to play a much bigger function in email in the future. More data means more data on what works and what doesn't. That can deliver unprecedented marketing automation for email copy and commitment, only even creative email campaigns can exist smarter without having to be much more than complicated.

PCMag: As enterprise tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Workplace by Facebook threaten to replace business email, does that worry companies like yours?

SG: Not at all. In fact, it clears inboxes for other types of emails that people desire to receive. Sometimes permission-based email marketing and electronic mail communication are confused. These are 2 [very] different animals. Nosotros're not a team of collaboration services like Slack. We employ Slack to communicate swiftly within the visitor, without overloading our inboxes. In marketing, though, email isn't going anywhere. Our latest written report showed that 57.9 per centum of marketers plan to increase their e-mail marketing budget in 2022. The replacement theory has never proven true in this business. Email is still here and it's non going anywhere. Rumors of its death, circulating since the 1990s, are much exaggerated. Email is powerful and it's here to stay.

PCMag: With phishing scams on the ascent and condign more effective, what is the role of email marketing vendors to assist ensure that e-mail recipients stay safety?

SG: Email marketing vendors are definitely an exciting target for cyber villains. Later on all, we house billions of information pieces that could be exploited for profit by criminals. Aye, nosotros tin can evangelize millions of awesome emails in seconds. But with that power comes a real responsibleness. Nosotros have to stop bad actors from exploiting the technology, from using it to send malicious messages or spam. In November, for example, MailChimp saw user accounts hacked. The hijacked accounts sent spam that threatened the recipients' private data. Providers demand to brand security front-and-centre for users, first and foremost, which will safeguard consumers. Information technology ways verifying user admission with two-factor authentication and making sure that y'all have technology on the dorsum end that can quickly place problematic accounts. As an example, nosotros use a machine learning [ML] algorithm chosen Hydra. It'southward an in-house, anti-abuse system that helps identify and assess potential threats posed to sniff out phishing and spam before they happen.

PCMag: We frequently talk most the technology backside email communications but we tend to ignore the artistry required to drive customer engagement. Your visitor offers a content development service that helps people arts and crafts the right kinds of email letters to reach customers. Without touting your service directly, tin you tell me what a well-crafted and well-designed email bulletin looks similar? What are the elements people miss when they send generic, homemade drafts?

SG: At the almost bones level, skilful email messages rely on two fundamentals: creativity and personalization. Recipients want irresistible emails that await groovy on any device—smartphones, tablets, and PCs. On the other hand, some email clients don't open images for user safe so, when the message relies solely on them, that's a missed opportunity. Using A/B split up-tests for finding the all-time creative that pulls the well-nigh results is a keen feature that power-marketers use all the time. It's 2022 and subscribers demand personalization. Addressing customers by proper name is not enough. What really works is designing a customer journey where you adjust communication based on the customer'due south previous actions and behavioral patterns. Yous want to create an open-ended feel that'south constantly evolving for the client every bit their journey progresses. That'due south how you tin ensure relevance. Unfortunately, every bit our study says, half of the people who use e-mail marketing in their strategy still don't use any kind of personalization; information technology'due south a missed opportunity.

PCMag: Have yous begun thinking, as a company, about VR, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality operating systems, and how email might someday soon be viewed on these platforms? This seems like it has the possibility to alter the game for email content creators and vendors who help deliver these messages.

SG: This is an interesting subject for sure. Tech is changing; pioneers volition try to target users of VR, AR, and mixed reality user segments. Imagine walking into your favorite Adidas shop with your AR spectacles on. All of a sudden, y'all get an augmented poke from the store, gently nudging you to subscribe to their mailing list. You lot just nod your head and y'all're subscribed. Then, on your next run, you might simply become an email from Adidas—conveniently displayed on your AR glasses screen—urging you to role ways with your old running shoes and replace them with a brand new pair of Boosts. So, you lot just impulse-buy them while running, all while never having to touch your phone. Just by saying, "Yes, place the order." Not that it wouldn't be super weird, at to the lowest degree by 2022 standards. Then many possibilities though.