Essence of Email Weekly - Identify and track Apple privacy opens with Klaviyo

Rewind: Back in September 2021, Apple's privacy update went into effect and changed the world of email marketing forever.

The update pre-loads email images, preventing senders from knowing if a recipient opened their email and therefore hiding open rates for Apple users. The results are increased open rates that are not an accurate reflection of the situation. But email marketers are continuously working on finding solutions!

Zoom in: Klaviyo users can now more accurately measure open rates thanks to the release of new features.

They can do this by adding a new field on open email metrics called "Apple privacy open" to flag opens that are likely affected by MPP. When using this metric during the creation of custom reports and list segmentation, they'll be able to properly understand their subscribers' actions. In addition to this, the feature can further personalize communications with subscribers based on their email engagement.

For more information about how to set up custom reports to track Apple Mail Privacy Protection/iOS 15 opens, head to this page.



DIGITAL MARKETING


First-party data is king


Source: Giphy
The big picture: With consumers becoming more aware of their data privacy rights and COVID-19 influencing their behavior, the post-pandemic world has become a complex place for businesses. In this fast-evolving environment, businesses need to react quickly and adapt to the changes. Knowing the key drivers of customer engagement will definitely be considered a huge advantage for the brands.

Let's take a closer look at what are some areas where businesses should invest more in the months going forward.

• Customer-first data strategies

Up until recently, brands have used third-party data (data obtained from third-party sites with the help of cookies) to target their customers with relevant messaging. However, things have changed due to consumers' concerns regarding their data privacy and governments tightening up the data privacy regulations. Now, brands are turning towards first-party data in order to deliver relevant and personalized marketing experiences.

Businesses can balance data privacy and the increasing need for personalized experiences by building trust and delivering value to the consumers. How can you achieve that? By being transparent about the ways in which the consumers' data will be used. Also, by offering loyalty programs, immediate tangible benefits, and gamification, you can entice the consumers to share their data with you and then use those unique insights to create hyper-personalized content, which will drive high engagement.

• Hybrid experiences

We need to admit that the world will never be the same again. Although younger generations are more inclined towards new mediums for purchasing, such as Instagram, voice-assisted purchase journeys, and virtual reality environments, older generations still prefer in-store experiences.

Brands will need to find ways to deliver hybrid experiences so that the consumers can have a choice. That will lead to deeper customer relationships, innovation for differentiation, and more inclusivity.

• AI-enabled customer service

Customer experience is one of the key factors when it comes to customer engagement. Artificial intelligence is an asset that brands are using to improve the overall customer experience.

There are many ways in which AI can contribute to the process, such as self-help chatbots that can resolve common customer queries, the ability to automatically route the call to the most relevant agent for quick query resolution, etc. If done consistently, this can build additional trust between the consumer and the brand.

What's the main takeaway? The thing that makes hyper-personalization, hybrid experiences, and AI-enabled customer service possible is first-party data. The crucial answer to the question of what will drive customer engagement in the post-pandemic world lies in creating a transparent data-driven ecosystem that will be built with the customers' consent and will deliver real value to them.



DIGITAL MARKETING


Gen Z vs. Millennials


Source: Giphy
While Gen Z is considered to be the tech-savvy youngest consumer generation and also the most-studied generation, they are on the track to surpass their millennial seniors. The study "Marketing to Gen Z", conducted by CM Group, revealed some surprising facts.

Zoom in: When it comes to personal privacy, 50% of the Gen Z generation believe that they have control over their data. They are less worried than the older generations and they are more prone to download apps that they see advertised. But in the context of shopping in-store compared to online shopping, 47% prefer in-store which is similar to what the previous generation would choose.

Although they tend to avoid ads, they are more likely to make a buying decision based on an ad. In addition, they don't mind being retargeted based on their searches and purchases and they react better to native ads. Even 55% of them consider the ads to be the best part of the Super Bowl.

75% of the Gen Z generation use their smartphones to buy things, versus 69% of the millennials. Plus, they won't doubt to look for the recommendations of the online influencers.

Additional deets: Gender also plays a role here. Only 27% of females would make a frequent purchase based on an ad compared to 43% of males. Additionally, females use more TikTok, Snapchat, and Pinterest whereas males favor Instagram and Twitter. When it comes to engaging with brands, 38% of females would contact the brand via email compared to 26% of males.

Gen Zers also get excited about brands that use ethically sourced materials. What is really interesting is that 23% of them rank authenticity as really important and they strongly disapprove of lack of transparency.

What does this all mean for brands? As Wendy Werve, CMO of CM Group puts it, "Gen Z presents a unique challenge and opportunity for marketers as they emerge from two years of hyper-focus on supply-chain and pandemic-related issues. Contrary to popular opinion, this generation is not solely focused on technology-first experiences, instead preferring to balance both to suit their needs."

If you are interested in more information about this generation of consumers, check out this report.



EMAIL DESIGN INSPO


We want vintage!


Source: 99designs
Have you heard of the "vintage dreamland"?

It's a mix of several different styles from throughout history, such as the 80s mod, 70s glam, and Arts and Crafts movement. As the name suggests, vintage dreamland boasts a dreamy aesthetic with strong shadows and crowded frames.

Trying out this style in emails is especially interesting for eCommerce brands, as it's ideal for product promotion! It gives them a romanticized look, and when paired with a classy, serif font, it really makes the products stand out!

Check out one such example by Sound. What do you think?