marketing tips to help you win 2023

It’s the season! It’s the season for everything. It’s chaos for retailers. There is no time for strategizing. It’s all about execution from here until the New Year.

Yoda said that there is no “try”, but only “do”. Start things. Earn money. Attain your year-end goals

After the 15th November, my job as an email strategist was over. My team had its holiday campaigns locked down until the end of the year. My job was over. Although I did a lot to make ends meet, in the final six weeks of the year nobody asked me to do strategic thinking. Everyone was in execution mode.

My agency’s retail clients are now all focused on launching their campaigns. Our teams help them accomplish their goals. Everyone is rushing for the end.

Other verticals teams fall under one of these two categories:

• For those who December is only the end of the year. It’s important to finish strong.
• These are the B2B marketers who have closed deals by December 31st.

No matter what vertical you are in, take some time to walk with me. We can look back at the past 12 months.

Four marketing lessons from 2022

Many of you will be reading this as you rush to get to work, your daily stand-up, your team meeting, or your commute (don’t read or drive). Or maybe you’re just looking for something to do when you don’t feel like doing the things you should be doing.

No matter where you may be in your day, I’d love to have you join me for a review of the year. We can look for things that we can praise ourselves for, and remind ourselves how we got through another difficult year.

1. You can use the 2022 advice that I gave to you as a guide for 2023

One thing stands out when I look back on all the columns I wrote for MarTech this year: They are all designed to help you improve your email program. Marketers are often advised to stop doing what they do, take a step back, reflect on their actions, and consider how to improve.

Since I started writing my MarTech columns, that has been my goal — to help marketers succeed.

Because I’ve been there, I can offer real-world advice based on my own experiences.

• The person who presses the “Send” button.
• One of the victims is being screamed at to “send a second email.”
• Marketer who had to find a way to get every penny for the email program to succeed.

You might be wondering what you should do in 2023, but aren’t sure where to begin. Visit my article directory at MarTech to find ideas. How to conduct email audits, analyze your tech stack, and switch to a new ESP. How to tell your company a bit about yourself and your results.

It will provide a year’s worth of information. There are many tactical and strategic approaches that can make a big difference in your email program. Follow my advice to make sure you make the improvements.

You don’t need to do it immediately. You can leave a note in your cubicle or attach it to your computer monitor. Come back after the holidays to review it.

2. Email marketing is a growing area of investment for brands.

An encouraging trend is the increase in spend. Our clients have made significant investments in email in 2022. Asking business owners why they did so, they tell me they learned from the pandemic. They had to invest in better platforms so they could take advantage of all that email could offer.

People also put off their investments to see what would happen in economy and labor market. However, the overwhelming majority of spending growth outpaced cuts or holds.

We also spoke with front-line marketers. We also spoke with front-line marketers. They said that they were able to win increases because they communicated effectively the power, the upside, and the possibility of email within their organizations.

They argued for email. They educated their executives about email and highlighted the areas where it could be a great tool. They also highlighted other instances where email could be used to solve problems in companies that were brought up by COVID-19.

This is the advice I gave a year ago when I wrote my forecast for 2022. Talk about your program. Discuss your email program with your executive group. Let them know what you are doing and how it contributes to the company’s email program.

This is one of my constant themes this year, because I can see an increase in business. I want other marketers that can create solid communication and business plans to reflect that mindset.

To put it another way, if funding is important to you, you must think like a business owner. Because you are the owner of a business unit within your organization. Your marketing program should be treated as a business unit, and communicate it to your managers.

Companies that value email spend more. This is because they own it.

Explore deeper: 5 lessons from the pandemic email marketing

3. RFPs, ESP migrations, and other requests for proposals are a huge success.

This is another long-term effect of the changes made under the pandemic. Many companies discovered that their platforms were not good enough. They were not fast enough. They were unable to handle extreme digital transformation’s fast pivots and new demands.

Many marketers wondered if they were the problem. Or is it my platform?

I have seen people run RFPs in my 20 years of experience with RFPs, onboarding new clients and migrating to new platforms. They didn’t try everything and they weren’t taking ownership of the process to learn every trick.

We are receiving inquiries today from people who have done this work and realize that their platforms won’t get them where they want. They don’t have the time or resources to deal with slow systems, downtimes, extra processes, or inefficient workarounds. These companies are eager to adapt and require platforms that can keep up.

You don’t need to be tied to the platform you use, whether it be email marketing automation, CRM, or whatever else.

Digital Transformation In its broadest sense, it can be defined as moving to a platform that allows cross-channel and Omnichannel marketing. This will allow you to access the Valhalla that is real-time dynamic content. It creates a closer relationship between customer demand and customer intent.

In 2023, this rush to submit RFPs will not stop. Clients are expressing their frustrations in a tangible way. This is a challenge for the existing ESP industry. It’s not enough to say that you “do” email. People want more than just a pipe. They expect functionality beyond email that pushes email to do more.

Are you thinking about an RFP? Maybe. Before you begin to put one together, make sure you are using all the features of your existing platforms. To ensure you are able to accomplish all you need, audit your current platform.

Explore 5 Tips to Switch Successfully Between Email Service Providers

4. Balance is not a desire, it’s a necessity.

COVID reinforced the idea that people desire balance between work and personal lives. Last year, I wrote ” Marketers – Where will you be in a year?” that finding this elusive balance between work and home would be a priority for 2022. We could see the effects of burnout as 2021 progressed into 2022.

I wish Elon Musk would have listened to my advice.

He bought Twitter a few months ago and sent out a now-famous memo to tell people that they needed to work harder, either on weekends or nights, or they would be fired.

My reaction was: Someone wasn’t reading the room.

We have gone beyond such demands, regardless of whether Musk likes it or not. We have gotten beyond the corporate belief that work is everything.

Yes, some employees signed up to work 24/7. That’s fine. It’s part of their DNA. Others, however, chose to live a full life regardless of how much work they do.

This trend is expected to continue into 2023. Take control of your work and make time for yourself. Your work will be in ruin if you aren’t taking care of it.

In my column 2021, I advised marketers to keep their resumes current and to accept any interview that comes along. While you may be content with the job that you have, keep your eyes open for new opportunities.

Continue to brag about your email program. Let others know about your great work and earn the respect you deserve. It can pay off, as some of my clients proved.

Prepared for the New Year

Let’s not forget this as we enter 2023. Despite the difficulties of 2020 and 2021, it was worth it. We got to the other side. COVID isn’t over. Another winter is coming with the triple threat COVID, RSV and flu, the respiratory viruses that are so deadly for children and seniors.

Let’s not forget the double challenge of inflation, recession, and any other crisis that may be coming our way. Can we meet it? Yes. Can we conquer it? Yes!

Email marketers have impressed me over the past 20 years of being in this industry with their creativity, their spirit, and their grit.

We are a highly skilled industry and should take pride in what they do.

In the coming days, don’t listen to Elon Musk and make time for yourself. SpongeBob SquarePants. Put your phone down. Your notifications should be turned off

To start 2023 with a new perspective, put some distance between you and your work. You deserve to have breaks. Give yourself the gift balance.

You should know that I consider everyone who reads my words to be an incredible person.

Enjoy a great holiday and I will see you again.

The post 4 Marketing Takeaways From 2022 to Help You Win 2023 appeared originally on MarTech.