Transitioning to Strategic Email Marketing: Gearing Up for Post-COVID Landscape

The year 2020 saw the world tossed into chaos thanks to the upshoot of COVID-19. For marketers, what had previously been a calculated chess game unleashed into a frenzy of chaotic moves. Everything was momentary; marketing professionals had to react promptly and adjust to the swift-flipping dynamics of the market. We’re now in a much more balanced terrain where the reactive maelstrom can, and should, shift back to a harmonic blend of strategy and tactical prowess in the marketing realm.

But what is strategy and how does it stand apart from tactics? Put simply, strategy is the ‘why’ behind using emails for achieving business objectives, and tactics serve as the ‘how.’ Diving immediately into the ‘how’ without first comprehending the ‘why’ can result in a blistering waste of valuable resources. It’s akin to a novice sailor embarking on a voyage to Catalina Island without first charting the course or preparing a sailing plan- a recipe for disaster!

In the world of marketing, professionals are often adept with the nuts and bolts of tactics, but the foundation stone – the ‘why’ – cannot be brushed aside. Understanding customers’ motivations, brand proposition, and overall value is paramount before setting their tactical machinery into motion.

Look around today, the marketing landscape still carries noticeable traces of the COVID-induced dye. The focus is precariously leaning towards ‘getting things done’ (the Howe), while the unignorable ‘why’ lies stripped of the attention it deserves (the Why).

So, how can we tilt back the balance and emphasise the strategy? Let’s start with regular communications with marketers. While they may have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish and how frequently, the foundational ‘why’ behind their agenda often finds itself grayed out.

Marketers can make a swift shift from being tactics-focused to adopting a strategy-led approach by following these three simple steps:

1. Jumpstart by asking “why?” as the first-step.
2. Iterate and refine your strategy based on customer insights.
3. Constantly monitor and adapt your tactics to align with the overarching strategy.

By constantly revisiting and reinforcing the ‘why’ behind their marketing initiatives, marketers can ensure that their tactics are purposeful and impact-driven. This approach helps build a stronger connection with target audiences and ultimately drives better results.

For a deeper insight into the optimization of email programs, refer to our detailed article titled ‘6 key email programs to optimize before Q4.’

To sum it up, the shift to strategic incorporation in marketing is no longer a mere option, it’s a necessity. The equilibrium between strategy and tactics not just drives successful campaigns, but ensures long-term sustainability in an ever-fluctuating market. The stability that the post-COVID era offers must be leveraged to its fullest potential, welding together the Why and the How into an unbeatable, resilient marketing lexicon.