Far be it from us to proclaim that email is dead or even dying out. However, things are constantly changing in the worlds of marketing, technology and customer communications. It’s worth asking how email fits into the bigger picture.
Will your email marketing skills always be needed, or should you think about diversifying your skill set to prepare yourself for the changes ahead?
Email’s got company
That’s when email reigned supreme as the king of digital communication. Sure, there was instant messaging too. But when it came to hearing directly from brands, email has almost always been a top digital marketing channel.
Over the years, the importance of email has grown. People use email addresses as a form of online identification. Our inboxes contain everything from appointment reminders and renewal notices to product recommendations and customer satisfaction surveys.
Demand for email marketers has grown over the years as well. As of this writing, there are more than 70,000 open email marketing-related jobs
But email is no longer the only player in the game of customer communication. Other channels can fulfill many of the same functions that certain types of emails provide. And we sort of hate to say it but, sometimes people actually prefer those channels over email.
Bythis point, we’ve all become familiar with text messages that confirm purchases, provide two-factor authentication, notify us of potential bank fraud, and more. SMS (Simple Messaging Service) can cover a lot of the same needs as certain transactional emails.
MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) takes it a step further, delivering images, audio, and short videos to smartphones. That makes MMS an interesting marketing channel for many brands.
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is even more robust. Imagine the Togo Business Email List most impressive interactive email you could possibly develop. While RCS is only supported on Android devices at this time, it allows for things like high-resolution media, video calls, and payments.
Theshows how brands like Subway have used RCS for marketing efforts such as delivering digital coupons.
Messaging applications
Social media and messaging apps are part of the communication and marketing mix now as well. Brands that are on the cutting edge of customer communications are using messaging apps to inform, engage, and even sell.
It’s called , and it’s like getting in the form of automated conversations that happen in real-time. The channels on which this is taking place include:
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
- Instagram messages
Remember how crazy it sounded when ? That was just the beginning.
The artificial intelligence (AI) that’s powering conversational commerce often comes in the form of customized chatbots. Brands program them to answer common questions, make product recommendations, and more – all while sounding like a real human being thanks to
Chatbots can be deployed in messaging apps, on a website, or they can be UAE Cell Number integrated into an in-app user experience. They’re often used as an alternative to live support agents, but they can also pass people along to a real person for help when needed.
