When do users experience a positive customer experience? One factor is seamless and consistent transitions between different digital channels. As a result, the user experience between email, web and mobile is becoming more and more merged. Email marketing is also getting in on the act and this fusion is changing the future of this marketing channel.
Users do not differentiate between different channels when evaluating their customer experience and they are not interested in whether there are technical or organizational hurdles in the integration of different channels at companies. If, for example, the customer experience of the email is excellent, but that of the landing page or the online store is not, the perception of the entire company suffers. High abandonment rates and possibly even the unwillingness to engage further with the emails are the consequence.
The customer experience between the key dialog channels of email, web and mobile will therefore continue to merge. There are a few things to keep in mind, such as uniform design, consistent product information, or pre filled forms on linked landing pages. However, these are basics that have been important for years. Going forward, there will be three key drivers for the merging of the customer experience between email, web and mobile:
- Interactive Content: The most seamless Customer Experience will have little to no media disruption as the user interaction takes place directly in the email instead of on a website, an online shop, an app, etc. Through the integration of interactive content (see Interactive content will open up new areas of application for email), email is taking over more and more functions from other channels. This extends to shopping processes that take place directly in the email.
- Individualized landing pages: Marketing emails usually briefly tease offers or content and link to a generic landing page or a product page in a store. In the best case, the emails are individualized, but the landing pages usually are not. However, individualization must be cross channel. This means, for example, that the user is taken to an individual online shop page on which the product is already configured for him and other relevant products are suggested only for him. If necessary, individualized target pages are even technically detached from the website or the online shop and directly a part of the email. The online view of the email will also gain in importance.
- Email to app: Push notifications from apps are an important dialogue channel, but are not activated by all users. Email is increasingly becoming the alternative of communication between app and user. The customer experience of the email adapts to the customer experience of the app, i.e., data from the app is used to individualize the email and app usage contexts serve as triggers for emails. Emails link directly into the (hopefully individualized) app instead of to a website. The email marketing technology recognizes whether an email is read on mobile or desktop, as well as whether the user has the app installed, and dynamically adapts the content of the email to this context, possibly live while it is opened.