Email Is Not Dead. It Just Needs Personalization to Survive

In the early 2000s it was stated that "Email is Dead!” As a product manager, who has worked for the past decade building scalable email platforms that send billions of messages a month, I completely disagree. To me, mass batch-and-blast emails are dead. With the sheer volume of first-party data captured by brands today, sending a generic email to your entire audience seems lazy and shows that you lack interest.

As a consumer, if I ever see a generic message, my instant emotion is to think about the lack of care that went into sending this to me. Next, I would think about that brand. That lack of care likely stems from a corporate culture focused on the bottom line rather than its customers. Would I want to engage with a brand such as this?

With so many alternative brands, I luckily can be distant. Finding an alternative option has never been easier. I’m happy to find a brand that values and engages with me. Time to move on, I say! Personalization is your friend and has never been easier to use. Please use that rich data set, and I don’t mean just putting my first name in the email.

Think about how to engage with me. Use that purchase data to anticipate my next replenishment order, look up my weather from my zip code, trigger a message as I walk past your retail store, or know that I browse your site 4X a day only looking at the most expensive items. I’m begging you to take my money!