by Jess Nelson , December 15, 2017

A shift is occurring in email, says Kristin Naragon, director of product marketing at Adobe Campaign, as marketers increasingly use email marketing as a wedge into digital transformation.

Naragon, who was previously the director of email solutions at Adobe before being promoted this year, spoke with Email Marketing Daily about where email marketing is headed in 2018 and beyond.

Adobe Campaign secured 200 new customer wins this year, bringing the total number of companies using Adobe’s cross-channel campaign management solution to over 1,000. Joining Adobe’s client roster are notable brand names including Dell, Domino’s, Harvard Business Review, Mattel, Sephora, SiriusXM and WESTJET.

“Email is still a really critical piece of the puzzle for engagement between consumers and brands,” says Naragon. “Email marketing is still incredibly reliable because consumers want to receive emails. It’s the most preferred channel for brand information.”

Naragon adds that many Adobe customers begin with marketing automation first with email because testing and experimenting with email is far less risky than other channels. Email’s low cost gives marketers an opportunity to try new campaigns that they might not be able to test in more expensive marketing channels.

She recommends that marketers think of email as a connective tissue between a brand and customer — not just an outlet for batch-and-blast email campaigns. It’s not about sending more email volume, she says, but sending more more informative emails more frequently to drive brand loyalty and stickiness.

Naragon says some marketers are still resisting the change and refusing to embrace new technology, and she believes this is because they may not have the skill set for complex data mapping and segmentation.

She predicts that email will continue to drive more online sales in the New Year.

“I don’t see it going in any other direction,” she says. “It’s reliable, easy for the marketer, and habitual for consumers.”

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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