How can AI and personalization improve email performance

CHPosted by Chuy

Jan 16, 2025

Email marketing remains a cornerstone of digital strategy, but its effectiveness hinges on relevance and engagement. In today’s dynamic landscape, generic email blasts are no longer sufficient. The fusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and personalization has emerged as a game-changer, enabling businesses to craft tailored, impactful experiences for each subscriber. This blog explores how these powerful forces combine to drive unprecedented email marketing performance.

The Imperative of Personalization in Modern Email Marketing

Personalization has transitioned from a desirable feature to an essential requirement. Today's customers expect brands to understand their individual needs and preferences.

• Meeting Elevated Expectations: Personalization is now a fundamental expectation of customers. It goes beyond merely using a subscriber's name, encompassing a full tailoring of email content based on past behavior, preferences, and demographic data. More than 80% of marketers have reported improved performance by using subject line personalization, real-time content, and dynamic content personalization.
• Driving Sales and Building Loyalty: Personalized experiences are key to increasing both sales and customer retention. Around 75% of marketers believe that offering personalized experiences increases the likelihood of repeat business. Furthermore, marketers who give customers a personalized experience are 215% more likely to report that their marketing strategies are very effective.
• Leveraging Dynamic Content: Dynamic content, which includes AI-driven product recommendations, location-specific information, and personalized images, significantly boosts email engagement. Litmus users, for example, have seen a 52% increase in conversions with dynamic content personalization and some companies have seen up to a 44% increase in email-driven sales.
• The Significance of First-Party Data: In a future where third-party cookies are phased out, first-party data becomes paramount for effective personalization. Email is an ideal channel for gathering this data, as most information collected via email or forms is self-reported. This allows marketers to directly build consent and gain insights for their marketing.
• Strategic Segmentation: Using subscriber segmentation to send targeted messages significantly enhances email performance. Segmenting audiences based on demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels allows marketers to create more relevant and engaging content.

The Transformative Role of AI in Email Marketing

AI is not only boosting personalization but also enhancing efficiency and effectiveness throughout the email marketing process.

• AI-Powered Content Creation: AI tools are capable of automating email content creation, personalizing subject lines, and offering product recommendations, which ultimately saves marketers valuable time and resources. Over a third of email marketers are already using AI for copywriting tasks, and 63% of marketers predict most content will be created at least partly with AI assistance.
• Scalable Personalization: AI enables marketers to create more personalized content and customer experiences at scale. 77% of marketers using generative AI report that it helps them create more personalized content, and 72% of those using AI and automation say it helps them personalize customer experiences.
• Advanced Data Analysis: AI facilitates in-depth data analysis and reporting. AI algorithms help marketers quickly identify customer intent, highlight qualified leads, and access the data they need to make informed decisions. 6 in 10 AI and automation users analyze data with AI.
• Enhanced Deliverability and Engagement: AI can improve email deliverability and engagement through intelligent automation. AI-powered chatbots can be trained to quickly answer customer questions, which increases customer satisfaction and can lead to better engagement metrics.
• Efficiency Gains: AI provides more than just personalization, it greatly increases efficiency. It aids in various tasks including data analysis, research, content creation, and generating ideas. With AI, marketers are saving an average of 3 hours per piece of content and 2.5 hours per day.

The Synergistic Impact of AI and Personalization

The real power of AI and personalization emerges when they are combined.

• Increased Return on Investment (ROI): AI-powered personalization can increase ROI by up to 70%. Marketers who use AI and automation are 95% more likely to report their marketing strategy as very effective. Furthermore, email marketing campaigns have an average ROI of 36 times, meaning that businesses earn an average of $36 in revenue for every dollar spent.
• Improved Customer Experiences: The combination of AI and first-party data is transforming how businesses interact with their target audiences by creating more personalized, efficient, and impactful experiences. Personalization leads to more effective marketing. Marketers that focus on a personalized customer experience are 215% more likely to see success.
• Closing the Personalization Gap: Despite personalization being a priority for marketers, only 35% believe they currently deliver highly personalized experiences. AI tools help scale personalization efforts to improve the customer experience, bridging this gap.

• AI drives hyper-personalization, which 39% of email marketing professionals believe will have the biggest effect on email automation campaigns.

Practical Steps to Enhance Email Performance

To fully leverage AI and personalization, consider implementing these actionable steps:

• Prioritize First-Party Data Collection: Focus on gathering first-party data through email interactions to create more relevant and personalized content.
• Implement Dynamic Content: Use dynamic content to deliver custom product recommendations, location-specific information, and other tailored elements.
• Explore AI Tools: Experiment with AI tools for content creation, subject line optimization, and data analysis to streamline workflows and increase overall efficiency.
• Strategically Segment Your Audience: Use email segmentation to send targeted messages based on demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels.
• Incorporate Automation: Implement AI-powered chatbots to provide more personalized marketing experiences and improve customer service.
• Optimize for Mobile: Ensure emails are optimized for mobile devices to accommodate the increasing number of users accessing emails on their smartphones.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the combination of AI and personalization is revolutionizing email marketing. By leveraging AI to automate tasks, gain deep insights, and personalize content, while at the same time prioritizing personalization to build stronger customer relationships, businesses can achieve remarkable improvements in email engagement, customer loyalty, and overall growth. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, these strategies are essential for any business aiming to remain competitive and achieve success in their email marketing efforts.