See whats in store for 2013….Six Email Marketing Predictions For 2013
1. Marketers will get serious about creating mobile-friendly emails. On Dec. 25 alone, 17.4 million new smartphones and tablets were activated, according to Flurry Analytics. The shift to mobile reading of emails is now unequivocally too big to ignore.
While I’ve seen a number of retailers like Crate & Barrel, Lowe’s, Urban Outfitters and Walgreens optimize their emails for mobile readers, many retailers have yet to make the necessary changes to their templates. Whether it’s simple mobile optimization techniques, trickier responsive designs or tech-enabled live content, 2013 is the year to take comprehensive action.
2. Triggered email programs will give sophisticated marketers a sustainable competitive edge. I wrote early last year about the haves and have-nots in the email marketing industry: how the more sophisticated marketers are significantly outperforming less sophisticated ones. I’m even more convinced of this technology divide now, and see triggered email programs as the key measure of separation.
While ESPs are making triggered programs progressively easier to set up, these programs do take time to establish and optimize, especially more advanced ones like browse-based emails. That means that marketers that have already invested significantly in triggered emails should enjoy a growing competitive edge over their less sophisticated competitors, who will find it an uphill battle to catch up. Under-invest in triggered emails at your peril.
3. Video in email will finally take off. HTML5 video will finally deliver on the video in email experience that marketers have long craved. Last August Avon, Bloomingdale’s and Brookstone all tried HTML5 video — and just last week a Walgreens email used it. Consumers tend to be too busy for video content during the holiday season, but now that that’s behind us I expect to see many more brands experimenting with HTML5 video.