As its popularity has grown, so too have challenges associated with delivering emails that stand out from a crowded field. As a result, tech providers are developing novel products while consultants are devising clever content strategies to boost engagement. Acquisitions and mergers are also continuing as firms seek to expand their capabilities.
According to Campaign Monitor and Statista, 269 billion emails were sent and received each day in 2017, and that figure is expected to grow to almost 320 billion daily emails in 2021. Radicati data shows that last year, about 111.1 billion consumer emails were sent and received each day. With the large volume of email sent each day, tech shops are striving to develop new products and services that can give marketers a competitive edge.
Technology to Break Through the Noise
Just recently, LiveIntent was awarded the 2019 MarTech Breakthrough award for Innovation in Email Marketing, according to a press release. LiveIntent uses programmatic technology to deliver emails based on individuals’ online activity, in a similar manner to how programmatic display ads are selected and presented. To do so, LiveIntent uses identity graphs that seek to link together individuals’ activities across multiple devices, such as mobile devices and home computers. By doing so, Identity graphs seek to allow marketers to pitch highly personalized content.
250ok, which is an email analytics and deliverability platform, is also developing new technology, reports Marketing Land. 250ok says it used mailing lists from its customers and email validation services from competitors and found that some firms are underreporting valid emails and misclassifying some addresses as “undeliverable.” By reducing invalid email addresses within mailing lists, 250ok says it can help firms avoid downgrades in their reputation rankings. The firm is also touting its pricing structure. Email validation providers typically charge a fee for each email address that passes through their systems, but 250ok charges a monthly fee based on sending volume and charges only for unique addresses.
Other tech providers are completing acquisitions to expand into providing email products. vCita, which provides cloud-based business management software for small and medium size enterprises, recently announced that it is acquiring WiseStamp, and Israel-based firm which launched its email platform approximately 10 years ago, reports TechCrunch. WiseStamp reports having over 50,000 customers who use the technology to boost engagement on social media and increase sales. vCita has 10,000 customers who use the firm’s technology to manage schedules, track invoices and organize client data.
Piggybacking on Amazon Prime Day
Industry researchers, meanwhile, are promoting novel, if not somewhat sneaky, ways to improve email engagement. Research from Yes Marketing shows that marketers can potentially benefit by riding on the coattails of Amazon.com’s success, or more specifically, Amazon.com’s prime days, which feature attractive discounts, reports Marketing Land. The company’s research shows that e-commerce brands that included “Prime Day” in the subject lines of email sent during Amazon.com’s Prime Day saw email open rates increase by a staggering 47%.
Among other brands, apparel brands saw open rates increase 15.6% and electronics brands saw open rates increase by 15.5%. Marketing Land adds that a tricky subject line isn’t enough to generate success. Brands should also focus on established industry practices, such as customer segmentation and quality content to drive results.
Artificial intelligence is also surfacing as a new tool for enhancing email marketing and customer services. In India, Rezo.AI is promoting its email automation service that it claims uses artificial intelligence that can handle up to 90% of conversational traffic with personalized responses, according to a press release from the firm. The company says it has successfully enabled pre-sales and post-sales inquiries for multiple enterprises.