Brands that have neglected their email marketing are scrambling to update their approach. Last year, marketers experienced growth approaching 80%, with industry surveys showing ROI approaching $40 for every dollar spent. Understandably, 2020 forecasts anticipate brands to broadly increase their email marketing spend.

Rather than an innovation in technology causing this lift, the resurgence of email marketing has been driven by consumer preference for passively following and connecting with brands by simply checking their inbox. Almost 75% of millennials prefer for businesses to communicate with them via email. And all but 1% of consumers check their email daily.

Brands looking to capitalize on this underappreciated channel can begin retreading their strategy around three vital features: Measurement, Personalization and Creativity.

MEASUREMENT

Data such as rates of Open, Click-Through, and Conversion make email the most measurable of all marketing channels. Combined with email addresses being specific identifiers of consumers (tying their online behavior to purchase history) brands can gain a powerful picture of their customers by measuring and analyzing email performance. Strategy should lead the creation of campaigns that both take advantage of what gets learned through measurement, and in turn feeds back to customers what they’re searching for.

PERSONALIZATION

Gone are the days of one-message-fits-all e-blasts. Segment your targeted demographic into clearly defined personas. Create localized and even hyper-local work for distinct geographic regions. Find the human element in your customers’ connection to your brand and speak to it.

CREATIVITY

Strategy must set loose Creative with clear direction on what needs to be accomplished—and permission to break away from the expected norms. Concept campaigns around unique features. Implement stunning design that people remember and want to click through to. Craft copy that doesn’t merely sell item X but makes the brand memorable and desirable. Each time you hit their inbox, customers should get a little jolt of excitement and open you first.