Will Chatbots Kill Email Marketing?

Kevin George — November 7, 2019 Follow @imkevin_monk

With around 3.7 billion active email users across the globe, leveraging emails the right way can definitely help businesses reach new heights of success. In fact, email advertising spending has already reached a whopping 350 million U.S dollars in 2019. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that email marketing is one of the main marketing channels. However, with the emergence of some new marketing channels like chatbots, the speculation around the downfall of email marketing has become quite high. Well, with an expected growth rate of 136%, it might look as if chatbots will take over emails but that’s certainly not the case. In fact, 51% of customers already dislike using chatbots. Sure, chatbots come with a lot of benefits but overpowering email marketing is still a distant dream for it. Want to know how? Look at the points below.

1. Wider reach

As mentioned above, currently there are 3.7 billion active email users already. In fact, according to Radicati, this number is expected to reach a huge 4.2 billion by the end of 2022. As a result, the reach of email marketing is certainly going to be higher than any other marketing channel. In addition, the conversion rates for emails stands at a high 66% compared to any other channel. Going further, demographics also play a big role in making email marketing the first priority of customers. Sure, chatbots can make its way through millennials who are well acquainted with smartphones and internet. However, with only 17% of the older generation accessing the internet through smartphones, mobile-friendly marketing channels like chatbots don’t stand much chance. And on top of that, 55% of the users over the age of 56 years prefer checking their email on computers, not on mobile. Therefore, email marketing, by all means, has a competitive edge over chatbots.

2. Higher ROI

When it comes to ROI, no one can beat email marketing. According to chatbots also have an ROI of 400% in some cases, that’s far from beating the email marketing ROI. In short, the cost-effective strategy is the key to any business’s success and that’s exactly what email marketing does better as compared to chatbots.

3. Better connectivity

Do you know about 58% of people check email as the first thing in the morning? That speaks volumes about the extent of reach and connectivity of emails in our lives. In fact, from our colleagues at work to the services we pay for, everyone reaches us through emails. Whether one is looking for it or not, emails can reach a customer anytime unlike chatbots, which can do anything only when a customer asks them to. As a result, email marketing certainly has an advantage over chatbots. If done right, it would develop a customer’s interest in your products which they weren’t even looking for. All in all, while emails can help you entice and create interest among your customers, all a chatbot can do is respond only when asked.

4. Great marketing assets

Emails on a whole are marketing assets on their own. From compelling, enticing copywriting and creative designs to engaging content and strong CTAs, it has everything that drives customers to take the next action. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that email marketing is no less than a marketing tool for your business. Moreover, its ability of being shareable also makes it a robust marketing channel. Customers who find your email insightful and engaging can easily forward it to their family and friends, thereby triggering an altogether different kind of chain marketing effect. You can do it by including relevant CTAs within your emails that encourage customers to share it with their network. However, chatbot can only engage with users without leveraging the top-notch marketing elements that an email uses. Unlike emails, no matter how good a chatbot is, it cannot be shared. To put it in other words, email marketing if done right is not only highly shareable but has the potential to market your business alone. Chatbots, on the other hand, can’t do any of it.

Email marketing in every way wins out in front of chatbots. However, chatbots is a new evolving technology. Imagine combining it with your email marketing strategy. It wouldn’t only improve your marketing efforts but would help you reach the top more seamlessly. When combined properly, these both approaches can emerge as an efficient, engaging and cost-effective marketing platform. Here’s how.

? Enhanced user engagement

Enticing people to subscribe to your newsletter can be a tough task. It requires you to offer something of value to the prospective customer. This is where chatbots can come in handy and streamline the whole process. With its more personalized interaction, it can provide you with valuable information about each customer, thereby helping you to create more customized offers and content for your customers. As a result, it will increase user engagement like never before.

? Improved lead generation and nurturing

You can make use of chatbots to interact with the leads in your email list. Each lead that the chatbot generates can be further nurtured through extensive email promotions.

? Serves as a great reminder

Cart abandonment is a common phenomenon amidst customers. You can use chatbots to counter this issue effectively. It can interact with the customers who abandoned their carts and remind them to complete their purchase. In case a customer forgets about making the purchase, a chatbot can remind them about the email that’s ready for them to successfully complete the checkout process.

Wrap up

The email was, is and will always be the king of all the marketing channels. Chatbots cannot kill it but can complement it for sure. The above-mentioned points make it quite clear. From helping automate newsletter to facilitating more personalized content, a chatbot has everything to take your email marketing strategy to the next level. In short, these two approaches when combined together can boost each other’s effectiveness greatly. To sum it up, a new technology doesn’t necessarily kill the old one. While chatbots are being widely used, email marketing is still as effective as it always was.

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