ForresterIn its latest ESP (Email Service Provider) report, Forrester Research states there is a renewed focus on email marketing. However, email marketing is also changing and relevance is – more than ever – key.

There is a move towards integration and changing consumer behavior requires a more personalized approach whereby segmentation techniques look at real-time interactions and behavioral patterns across channels.

According to Forrester, there are two reasons for the renewed focus on email marketing:

  1. The “soft economy” this year.
  2. The “maturation of the email marketer.”

Forrester predicted a rise in email marketing spending earlier this year. In March, the research company found in its “Marketing Forecast Online Survey” that 92% of respondents were using email marketing, and that spending on email marketing would rise to whopping 2 billion dollars by 2014.

Relevance, testing and dynamic content: the power of personalization

For the latest ESP report (PDF opens), Forrester surveyed 218 clients of the 15 ‘reviewed’ ESP’s. The report shows that these clients, email marketers, are focusing increasingly on the relevance of their email marketing programs, their communications and thus their content.

Forrester says, “these increases in relevancy will drive the need for data integration and increased adoption of relevancy-empowering tactics — like dynamic content and testing — as well as strategic and tactical services.”

48% of the respondents said they are trying to make their communications more relevant (chart via YesMail).

And that can only be applauded, although we don’t really have a choice… Not in email and not in other forms of communication.

Forrester - more relevant communication main consequence of a down economy in email marketing
Forrester – more relevant communication main consequence of a down economy in email marketing