Context and Relevance More Important Than Ever, Studies Suggest August 12, 2020, | Posted by Guest

One of the major points that we at Site Impact have been pressing for a while--both here on the blog and with our prospective and current clients alike--is that relevance and context in email marketing efforts are vitally important. Even before the global crisis of Covid-19, the trend had already been established: Gen X, Millennials, and especially Gen Z all looked for relevant and contextually nuanced email efforts. The current pandemic has only heightened and accelerated that trend, according to studies performed by multiple digital marketing watchdogs. Even in an era of increased consumer vigilance towards privacy and data control, consumers crave relevant content in their inboxes. And now with so much incoming information on all channels, that’s more important than ever.

Lockdown, social distancing make relevance vital

Even as cities and states and the country itself rolls on through the reopening process, there are a lot of reasons for consumers to be shy about getting out there; the virus is still not fully under control and won’t be for some time to come, and until there’s a vaccine that is widely available and confers immunity on the needed level, any trips outside of the home carry a mixture of risk and unpleasant required behaviors. Add to that the fact that people are more glued to their devices than ever, that they’re generally using more than one device at a time, getting as much information as they possibly can, and it’s easy to see why relevant and contextual email has become vital: people just don’t have the time or interest in engaging with something that isn’t obviously and strongly relevant to them. 

Relevance isn’t as hard as it seems

A lot of businesses have avoided diving deep into the world of context- and data-based email marketing because while the trend was certainly happening, it wasn’t occurring at such a level that a campaign’s success or failure depended on how relevant and contextually accurate the subject line or copy was. Now, however, it’s going to quickly become a matter of survival for smaller brands--unfortunately, they’ll have to work in some cases twice as hard as the larger brands in a particular niche to get the same kind of attention. The good news is that data-based email marketing to produce highly relevant campaigns is not as difficult as it may seem. It is--of course--a great deal easier when you partner with an agency that has access to all the data you need, but even without that, the data you have about your prospects and customers can help you steer your campaigns in the right direction.

Whether you’ve been holding back because you don’t want to spend the additional money or because you simply don’t understand how to implement contextual marketing, now is the time to get on board. As consumers and business buyers alike become more bombarded by information and more selective about where they put their engagement, it is becoming vital for survival for businesses to make their email marketing campaigns highly contextual and highly relevant for the recipients they go to. Contact Site Impact to learn how we can help you get started sending out the most relevant campaigns possible.