It has been a long time since the revolution for digital marketing evolved. From simple social media relationships to extensive EDM marketing; it has diversified in various ways. Different types of CRM (customer relationship management) tools were introduced to marketers and business owners. Each one has it’s a unique feature that can be taken advantage of by its users. They also have been a great medium to use for overall database and admin tasks. But, just like any other hype in this digital age, would it remain a potent ally or a complete downfall for a business? I wonder…

The new year is coming, and it is a new age of revolution. Many developers and marketers had been forecasting a lot of possible outcomes this coming year based on the data they gathered during the whole year. But how accurate are they? Can they be a basis of your next actions for 2020?

Many experts and professionals gave their thoughts about this, and we have noticed that half of them are pretty much the same as the previous years. However, it is quite noticeable that the approach seems to be different this time.

I am one of those marketing individuals that having a new strategy can either be good or bad for business, mainly because not all companies need it. In some aggressive approach, it can even make or break the business. 

You must be wondering, what does knowing these possibilities be beneficial for me. The best person who would answer that is you. However, it doesn’t hurt to know what MAY be coming soon, right?

I’ve gathered a few of these fearless forecasts spreading around the web and will give my thoughts on each. Let’s start, shall we?

Aggressive Mobilisation

Due to the dynamic increase of mobile technology, almost all email servers made it possible for mobile devices to set up their inbox system quickly. As you recall, back in the days, for you to set up your email on your mobile phone or any portable device, you would need to set up the SMTP set up manually. Nowadays, you have to enter your email and viola! — Your, good to go!

Because of the enormous possibility of having more and more people accessing their emails through their mobile phones, CRMs which help businesses, are starting to redesign their features to accommodate this. Their system and email templates are mostly set up to be optimised for a mobile view as well.

This is quite a threat for CRMs who refuse to diversify their system, just because they are afraid that it could cost them more and their current clients will not be too willing to shoulder the burden of the price increase. It can be quite scary, indeed.

However, let’s face it. Technology is getting more and more innovative, and the hype is surely undying. With this said, it is best to make sure that we do not let us stay behind, but, making sure that the tools that you will be using is practical and suited for your business needs. 

Slow Death of Overly Designed Newsletters

With the increase in technological innovation, security threats can also be inevitable. In addition to that, email servers have also increased their security system. As we noticed, most emails that contain large images or raw links in the content tends to be thrown over the junk mail. Uh-oh, that cannot be good, especially if you had put a lot of effort designing your layout.

Fret not; there’s a right solution for that. Since most edm marketing tools, like Ontraport, are coming up with more email templates and make sure that your layout and images will comply with these email security measures. Isn’t that awesome? — BUT, hold on to that thought.

You may have been set up with an excellent layout and appealing images, but does your text content suits the standards? CRMs can do as much as scoring them to say they are safe, but people may still prefer to read those with value in it.

So I strongly suggest not to over-decorate your email. Instead, write up great content that your readers will look forward regularly. Remember, content is king!

Smarter AI on EDM marketing campaigns

Again speaking of technology, aren’t you amazed how everything now seems to be automatic? It’s more convenient to market your business now. Whether it be through newsletters or social media, you can practically automate almost 100% of every action you need to do in a campaign.

Let’s say you need to go on a vacation with your family for ten days, but you also have a promotion coming in those days. It would be quite frustrating if you have to send emails and invites to different people every day to market it. Even advising your team what to do next would be quite a hassle. This is where the magic of CRMs comes in. 

Just like Ontraport, it helps you create a full campaign. You can practically just set up everything a few days before your vacation. You set to have emails shoot in a specific day, and even notify your team for the next course of action. It can also associate itself with text messaging within the campaign. It certainly is quite a convenience.

Excessive Personalisation

We have been saying that personalisation in your content is the best way to capture the hearts of your prospects. This is why most marketers are taking advantage of this matter. However, there is a saying anything excess can also be harmful. Sometimes, it can come out too creepy for some readers as well.

I believe that personalisation is a great strategy, but it should always be done in moderation. Most marketers will overly use this strategy, especially for 2020, since 2017-2019 consistently showed how effective it is. 

Marketers can abuse it because of the other above mentioned strategies. Since almost everything can be done automatically and we get more assistance in doing these designs, it is undoubtedly going to re-revolutionise how we market businesses

Emails will be voiced

I’m sure that almost everyone knows who Siri and Alexa are. Again, because of innovative diversity, even reading emails can be more convenient. You could have Siri, or Alexa read it for you, cool!

Although it just started to improve more in 2019, it is seen that it can be another factor to consider for emails now. If your email content is not readable and designed well enough for these smart assistants, it might affect the number of your readers.

Let’s say, out of 1000 recipients of your newsletters, 200 of them turned to have Siri or Alexa read their emails instead? And out of these 200, 90% of them are sure potential buyers of your product, wouldn’t it be such a waste to lose them?

Although this is being predicted based on the trend of savvy users nowadays, it is still best for you to max out the capabilities of your current CRMs. You may not know, they may already be accustomed to this technology.

EDM Marketing will live on

Technology can tend to be scary, especially with the new age of digital technology, but this is certain, email marketing will never die. Social media may be quite a great medium to market as well, but most people still prefer reading emails. Mainly because it can be an all in one stop for everything you need to know. 

There will always be people who will want to read emails, and that is why it will continue to be a great way of marketing your business. Today, you would notice that there are more and more features that are being added to CRMs. Not only because they need to be competitive, but because they need to cater to your needs as a marketer. 

Planning ahead and preparing for your next strategy would be a great way to start. Analyse your current pattern and use it to your advantage. Maximise your CRM’s features and know what and where to start.

Overall, there are a lot of possibilities that can come to us as marketers. And knowing these beforehand can prepare us for the next actions towards your marketing strategy. How come you say? Well, you wouldn’t engage in a war without weapons, don’t you? It would be best if you always were prepared, no matter what.

Digital marketing is quite competitive and being left behind or getting caught off guard can be fatal. There are a lot of preparations, and it may be quite a lot of work, but it pays off in the end. No success can be achieved overnight. It always comes with hard work and perseverance. We at the Marketing Arrows are still here to assist you with your business’ EDM marketing. You can talk to us, and we certainly will work on your needs together.