Marketing automation is more valuable than ever.
As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations of all sizes are shifting their business models to utilize digital communication. A new McKinsey report shows that consumer behaviors have changed drastically, and users are now preferring to learn about businesses via email, text message and other automated systems.
In 2021, we expect to see four key trends impact the success of marketing automation.
- Automated emails will create efficiencies.
Marketing automation helps companies with their initiatives by streamlining every day, tedious processes.
Setting up automated emails can help you drive results without having to spend time replicating your work. Once an automated email campaign is set up, messages can be sent to individuals when they meet a certain trigger. Examples of automated campaigns are Welcome, Nurture, Re-engagement, Cart/Browse Abandonment and Loyalty/Anniversary.
- Mobile marketing should be prioritized.
In 2019, the average US adult spent three hours and 43 minutes a day on mobile devices. This marked the first year that time spent on mobile exceeded the time spent watching television. (Sorry, Jerry Springer!)
This divide is expected to further widen over the next two years, with time spent on mobile devices forecast to hit just under four hours by 2021.
Optimizing emails for mobile is crucial this year – it’s how many readers are accessing marketing messages.
It’s likely that we will see email designers continue to harness the power of minimalism. The volume of emails being deployed is increasing, so keeping things clean and concise means that your message is more likely to be heard in the sea of noise.
- SMS marketing will continue to grow.
Most Americans – 96% – now own a cell phone of some kind. The share of Americans who own smartphones is now 81%.
Email open rates are great at 20 to 30%, but according to a Dynmark report, SMS blows that away at a 98% open rate. Many consumers prefer to receive SMS messages, making it a great tactic for businesses to use this year.
- Increased personalization is crucial.
People love to hear about themselves. It’s human nature.
Personalization, in the context of email marketing, is the act of targeting an email campaign to a specific subscriber by leveraging the data and information you have about them.
It could be information like their first name, the last product they bought, where they live, how many times they log into your app or several other data points.
Personalizing your email campaigns is a proven way to increase your open and click-through rates and can have a measurable impact on your ROI and overall revenue.
Want to reach more of your audience through marketing automation? Reach out to us. We’re always here to help.