The Future of Email Marketing in a Creepy Data World

For years, the future of email marketing has been seen as tied to increasing data integration and personalization. But in a consumer data world that appears increasingly creepy to its subjects, not to mention increasingly regulated, what does the future of email look like? At Emma's Marketing United, marketers working for GasBuddy, Taco Bell and more talked about where this channel is headed during the session "The Future of Email." Data, Trust and Your Email Program "If 2017 was about what you could do with email," said Logan Baird, design services lead at Emma, "2018 is really talking about why we make these choices about our email marketing programs." Email Marketing has always been a value exchange. Subscribers exchange their opt-in and personal data for the perceived value of what you're going to send them. But as the channel has evolved, the nature of that exchange, the data you collect and the value you are able to offer for and with that data has shifted. "Email at its best uses that one-to-one relationship with the person," said Baird. "But to do that, you need data." And using data for marketing today is a conversation that's gotten to be a little creepy for your subscribers. "It's really important that when we are collecting data, we're really transparent about why we're collecting it and how it's going to be a benefit to the user," said Cher Fuller, senior strategist or eROI, who handles Taco Bell's marketing. She emphasized that it's really a combination of transparency about data collection, and delivering solid benefits in return for sharing it, that mark the boundary between what's OK and what's creepy . Melanie Kinney is the email marketing manager for GasBuddy, which tracks gas station prices and other driving-related data via input from app users. Those app users contribute a lot of data to gas buddy's efforts, but also see significant benefits. "This is a difficult topic in general," said Kinney. "Of course, we're asking you to share a lot of your data, but when you opt-in, we're able to tell you important things about your driving." And of course, the main benefit is the information and the app help users save money on gas. But Kinney has to be careful in how GasBuddy uses the information it has in email communication. Email is better for ongoing communication, but she said mobile push alerts are better for immediate notifications. For example, if GasBuddy is using geo-location to reach out to a person about gas stations near where they are, that's a job for push notifications, not really email. Via push, it's helpful. Via email, it's feels kind of like stalking — creepy. 'People Marketing' vs. 'Brand Marketing' "Email is one of the most personal channels that exists," said Fuller. "Email's really interesting because we can actually personalize it for the people who we're sending it to." However, Fuller pointed out that the personal touch is exactly why you need to be careful in how you use email. "I'm a really big advocate for people marketing and not brand marketing," she said. "Give them content that's worth engaging with, that they look forward to, so your open rates stay good and your engagement rates stay good." That's people marketing. On the other hand, "brand marketing," in Fuller's analogy, is when brand's use email to force people to consumer the brand's message, not a message that's tailored to them. "When brands try to use their email to say 'Hey, buy this! But this! Buy this!,' it's a little annoying." Fuller compares it to the friend who asks you to help them move again and again, and you stop answering the phone. "If I know the only email I'm going to get from you is asking me to buy something from you, I'm going to get annoyed." Providing Value for the Data There's a school of email thinking that has always said send more, make more offers, and you'll make more sales. And in many tests, the raw numbers hold up. Even when over-saturation drives up opt-outs, the bottom line can look like a win. But if you're not delivering personal value for permissions, data and trust those subscribers have given to you, you're damaging your brand. Data up until now has been a value transaction, but one that's only poorly connected directly to value offered. Most marketers ask for data to use or sell or otherwise profit from, but do not leverage that data to improve the customer experience. If you can't show why it's valuable to the customer to give you that data, you are going to look predatory — like you're just using them for their data, not providing value for the data. What does value really look like from an email campaign? It's helpful, or entertaining, or otherwise beneficial to the recipient regardless of whether they're going to buy from it. Fuller said that Taco Bell's email marketing sends the message that they know the food you like, and they honor the food you like in heir marketing. They use that potentially creepy data to deliver value to hungry subscribers. In another example, the panelists talked about Spotify's year-end email, which reveals to you data about what you listened to throughout the year. It's an effort that walks that line between using data that is a bit creepy, but delivering value as an interesting, engaging and personally informative email. "Some things should just remain between you and your headphones," joked Baird. But he also says that email showcases "autonomy, choice and giving back in a way that isn't broadcasting to them, but is entertaining and interesting." If you're collecting a lot of data about your users and using it in marketing, understand that both sides of that reaction are in play: They likely feel a little creeped out about what you know, but will stay on board so long as the value they perceive s higher than the risks or costs they perceive. And that's where the future of email marketing really lies. In a world where consumers are confronted by Facebook data dishonesty, marketers are grappling with GDPR, and email doesn't necessarily have the best reputation, email marketers must use data to improve the customer experience in order to justify to consumers why they collected that data in the first place. People are still more than willing to trade data for value, but they're getting wise to the ways they've been conned for their data in the past.

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The Future of Email Marketing in a Creepy Data World

Data, Trust and Your Email Program

Thorin McGee

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Thorin McGee