Email marketing used to rely on generic blasts sent to huge groups of customers. But now, it’s a hyper-personalized chance. Customers expect at any moment that a brand will know what they’re doing, what they’ve done, how they engaged previously, and create the best-fit content for them at that time.
Real-time personalization in email marketing means that businesses can create messages that are fluid and exist in a way that responds to users the second they open an email. With real-time insight, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning, brands can make every email relevant and urgent. They can showcase a live product recommendation that has been updated since a last-minute visit or transaction, they can include a measurement of what the customer is doing at that moment within the email, or they can change a promoted deal based on the user’s experience so far. Real-time personalization fosters incrementally higher engagement and conversion rates.
How Real-Time Personalization Works in Emails
Email real-time personalization is only possible due to data-driven automation and AI algorithms and email triggers that customize message content at the exact moment of opening. In comparison to regular email marketing attempts, which go out to thousands of users with static content, email real-time personalization brings a different message to life in real time based on various factors, including the user’s past browsing behaviors, current location, and what they’re doing online at that very moment and often, past purchases, as well. To ensure that these personalized messages display correctly across devices and clients, marketers should use tools to check your email templates before launching campaigns, optimizing both appearance and deliverability.
For example, if someone goes to a category page on a website and does not purchase an item from that category, when they receive an automated email from the website and open it, it will show only the products available in that category. If someone signs up for a travel brand’s newsletter and, at that moment, they’re in another state, a hotel brand might send hotel suggestions relative to where they are located. This type of email ensures that the content is applicable, useful, and enticing, as AI-driven engines can assess email data and fluid streams of information in seconds or milliseconds.
The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Email Personalization
The technology that enables real-time personalization is AI and machine learning. AI digs through enough data to predict what users want and changes the email content accordingly. Machine learning, often used interchangeably with AI, analyzes data over time to ensure the algorithm learns from past activity what users clicked on and what they later bought to make better suggestions in the future.
For example, if you buy a lot of items from a certain online clothing retailer, the next time you receive an email from that retailer, AI may predict which items you like or would want based on what you’ve purchased in the past and what you’ve browsed and saved on its website. Machine learning might indicate to AI which items you may not receive in the email based on open rates or what similar users bought thereafter.
Moreover, AI allows for automated content creation. This is often what makes the text, images, and sale opportunities differ within an email from person to person (aside from a generic subject line); the AI adjustment personalizes what each marketer experiences. It makes it different from typical comparison shopping.
Using Behavioral Triggers for Real-Time Engagement
Another important component of real-time email personalization is behavioral triggers. A behavioral trigger refers to when the user takes action, and upon completion, a triggered email goes out that is still automated but personalized.
For instance, if a customer abandons a cart, a triggered email can go out with a reminder and discount code to persuade purchase. If someone attends a webinar and does not sign up for a product demonstration, a real-time email can go out with additional resources.
This way, the email is sent based on something that just occurred. When brands are able to acknowledge what people do and decide in real-time, they’re more likely to experience engagement and sales.
The Impact of Real-Time Personalization on Open and Click Rates
Personalized emails perform better than non-personalized across the board in engagement. But with real-time personalization, since the information is current and based on what the consumer needs at that very moment, opens, clicks, and general email performance skyrocket.
Consumers like receiving what seems like generated personalized content for them. For instance, an airline that has access to a consumer’s flight history and sends flight deals is more likely to engage and convert than an email seeking a flight to anywhere with a nonsensical, generic international destination list. Offering at the moment what’s needed engages better and satisfies the consumer.
Personalizing Offers and Discounts in Real Time
In addition, AI can personalize sales offers in real time, too. Instead of blasting the same sale offer to all subscribers, AI can determine the best price for the individual based on purchase history, viewing habits, and response patterns that drive conversion.
For example, if someone typically purchases a certain brand of activewear but hasn’t made a purchase in the last three months, AI can automatically create an email with a limited-time offer for that brand and category. If someone has viewed high-ticket items yet hasn’t put them in their cart, AI can send a message at just the right time to warrant an upsell.
When offers come at better times and are more relevant, conversion rates increase and loyalty to the brand grows.
Enhancing Customer Journeys with Dynamic Email Content
Real-time personalization means brands develop smarter, more engaging paths to purchase. Rather than relying on email drip campaigns sent according to a timetable or worse, a timetable that was set months ago and is now outdated, AI enables those drip campaigns to change in real-time based on user activity.
For example, if a reader subscribes to the newsletter, they might receive welcome emails in accordance with their stated preferences upon signup. But if, during the welcome series, they click through a few emails on one topic, the AI picks up on the fact that they’re interested in that topic and adjusts future emails to concentrate on that topic instead.
Over time, it makes more sense to have this journey rather than trying to force users into pre-designed campaigns that no longer resonate. When brands can facilitate this organic progression, it guides users in more meaningful directions, expanding lifetime value and loyalty.
Overcoming Challenges in Real-Time Email Personalization
Yet there are hurdles to implementing real-time personalization. First, there are data privacy and compliance concerns. With GDPR, CCPA, etc., companies don’t always have carte blanche to customer data. Companies must be transparent about data usage and offer users ways to adjust their settings.
Second, integrating email marketing platforms with real-time personalization might pose an issue. Many antiquated email marketing applications do not offer dynamic content updates necessary to facilitate real-time personalization. Therefore, companies may have to transition to AI-driven applications or automation systems to fulfill this need. However, once they’ve overcome this initial obstacle, brands will be on the right track for future successes.
The Future of Real-Time Personalization in Email Marketing
As AI and automation continue to advance, possibilities for real-time email personalization will become increasingly elaborate. The future may boast expected email messaging due to projected needs or actions, voice-activated email applications, and super-personalization based on diverse engagement venues.
Additionally, real-time personalization becomes an element of brands’ omnichannel marketing efforts. Social media, chatbots, mobile applications, and various customer engagement opportunities will link to email initiatives and vice versa to generate even more customer engagement and an integrated brand experience.
Leveraging Real-Time Location Data for Hyper-Personalized Emails
The latest form of real-time email marketing is location-based personalization. By understanding location data, brands can create emails and send offers based on someone’s current positioning, adding an instant access factor that’s both useful and interesting.
For example, if a person is walking past a brick-and-mortar store, they may get an email about an in-store discount that day to encourage them to walk in. If they’re on vacation, emails about travel can be sent based on where they are or the temperature outside. AI will help understand when the perfect time is to send these location-based emails, leading to higher open rates and more relevancy.
Furthermore, as brands work to advance real-time emailing techniques, location intelligence will be important to provide hyper-relevant information based on a user’s current environment.
Measuring the Success of Real-Time Email Personalization
In order to reap the rewards of real-time personalization, however, brands must consistently track and assess specific key performance indicators related to audience engagement and conversion success. Open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates indicate how well people are responding to personalized opportunities. AI-generated analytical tools provide brands with not only basic updates and reports on campaigns, but also the means by ascertaining and forecasting behavioral patterns, engagement levels, and interests. For instance, analytics can reveal the times of day emails are most frequently opened, which subject lines generate more open rates, and which images or texts within the body incite users to convert.
Beyond standard engagement metrics, brands should evaluate deeper indicators that the campaign was successful, such as retention, repeat purchase, and lifetime value. Real-time personalization endeavors that extend beyond the moment create ongoing connections that indicate customer loyalty and small, incremental revenue over time. For instance, retention rates indicate whether receiving a personalized email fosters the type of long-term engagement a brand seeks. If customers are returning and converting again because of timely, special, relevant recommendations or dynamic content, then the efforts are establishing a deeper relationship for the brand and customer.
In addition, brands should analyze how real-time personalization impacts email deliverability and inbox placement. The more relevant a communication is, the more someone will open it. Thus, email service providers should catch on to this trend of positive interaction over time and start putting such personalized communications in the inboxes of potential buyers instead of junk. Evaluating sender reputation, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates can help brands adjust their personalization efforts to keep it in the inbox and not on the spam folder list to avoid audience fatigue.
Then, another key development involves the potential for real-time personalization across audience segments. Not all customers will react to personalization in the same way; thus, companies will need to experiment with various levels to see what works best for various demographics, interests, or buying habits. For example, companies can leverage AI to A/B test against various levels of personalization product suggestions, different CTA verbiage, or changing images to see which version creates better engagement rates.
In addition, real-time personalization helps customer journey mapping work even better. For example, if a company assesses email engagement in addition to website engagement and buying habits they can more effectively fine-tune their automated email sequences. If someone consistently opens your emails related to a specific product category, real-time personalization driven by AI can enable that email drip campaign to automatically adjust to focus more on engagement related to that category, facilitating more interest and, ultimately, conversion.
Continuously evaluating and refining personalization ensures that real-time emails will be relevant, effective, and helpful. Therefore, the advantage comes from evaluating what’s resonating, why it’s resonating over time, and using AI to mass customize. As consumers’ expectations only grow over time, those who can most successfully implement these tactics to personalize real-time emails will have the most success with long-term customer relationships and revenue.
Conclusion
Real-time personalization means that a brand doesn’t have to wait for segmented campaigns anymore; it can use AI, real-time triggers, and data-driven automation to make sure that each and every email sent is applicable and sent at the proper time to make sure a message counts.
From a changed format based on live engagement to promotions that work based on recent activities of the receiver or even when the email is sent based on predicted open rates for that exact user, real-time personalization bolsters engagement and boosts conversion rates. And with possibilities for so much more in the future, those brands that implement such personalization will be one step ahead.