Pathwire just published the results of its study “ The world of emailing after COVID in which he analyzes the impact of the pandemic on corporate email communication over the past year.
Research has found that since the pandemic began, most respondents have been sending more emails to their audience and have adapted their emails to accommodate consumers’ changing lifestyles and mindsets.
More engaged consumers
With fewer ways to communicate related to the health crisis, brands have relied on email to keep in touch with their audience and update their customers on their new opening hours, health standards in place or their business continuity plan.
So have been since the beginning of the pandemic More than half (57.7%) of French respondents have increased their shipping volume.
This increase in volume also goes hand in handa higher transmission frequency (49.7%).
In detail, French respondents say they use e-mail more often twice a month (18.4% before the pandemic, 25.9% now) or even once a week (13.9% before the pandemic, 14.8%). send emails.
Conversely, only 40.7% send messages only once a month (compared to 59% a year ago).
The study also highlights an increase in open rates for 42.2% of the French interviewed as wellan increase in click rates (41.1%).
This increase in retention rates can be explained by the increase in time consumers spend at home in front of their screens combined with a desire to learn more about brands, as observed in previous Pathwire study.
Email campaigns adapted to new consumer expectations
The development of living and consumption habits and mentalities during COVID-19 has affected business communication.
More than ever, consumers are choosing brands that match their ideals, which explains why 40.4% of French marketers surveyed say they placed more emphasis on their brand’s mission and values in their emails.
Almost 30% of them also highlighted their internal initiatives.
Beyond the content, they also changed the form: 40.1% have simplified the design of their emails to gain authenticity, and 35.5% Adjusted their tone to be more human and empathetic.
After this 2020, we know that people are more passionate and committed to the causes they care about.
Consumers make more decisions based on how well a brand aligns with their values compared to other traditional factors.
The brands have shown that they listen to consumers and their customers Email strategy has gained authenticity and ingenuity. »
says Julie Paci, Marketing Manager France at Pathwire.
Best practices for more efficient email
The study also looks at the evolution of email communication budgets since the beginning of the pandemic.
While many brands around the world have been struggling economically, only 10.5% of French respondents said they reduced their email budget over the past year, compared to 23.8% who have increased it.
” Stabilize and increase budgets may be related to the increase in the number of emails sent related to a pandemic, but also to an increased investment in certain advanced features says Julie Paci.
The survey shows that French senders have made significant efforts to make their emails more relevant, for example by starting to do so Segment your contacts by location (17.8%) or beginning to add Personalization Elements to their emails (23%).
After the onset of the pandemic, French respondents also stated that they had adopted conservation best practices the quality of their contact list (78.7%), for example by verifying their recipients’ email addresses to maintain a healthier list (33.1%).
These good habits, adopted in the context of the health crisis, allow brands to send more targeted and personalized emails and improve the performance of their email strategy…
This study was conducted in March 2021 with more than 760 respondents.
