Email essentials recap: Real stories and hidden gems revealed

Sometimes, we all need to step away from the screen to share stories, swap strategies, and remind ourselves why we do what we do. That’s what we saw at our latest customer event hosted at the Dotdigital office in London Bridge.

More like a gathering of minds than a typical seminar, the session explored topics like practical goal setting, what it means to be bold with your email strategy, and how relevant messages can inspire customer loyalty. Read on to find out our top takeaways from the day.

Be SMART about your GROWTH

Have you heard of the GROWTH framework? The GROWTH framework is a super scalable approach to planning and executing your marketing activities. You can use it for everything from top-level strategy to single-run campaigns because it helps you stay focused, data-driven, and agile. Here’s how…

What is the GROWTH framework?

GROWTH stands for:

• Goals: Without clear goals, you can’t measure success. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals will increase focus and accountability
• Reason: Understanding the ‘why’ keeps you focused on the customer needs and business value
• Observe: Review your current efforts to prevent duplication and reveal opportunities for optimization
• Work the plan: Execution without a plan leads to inefficiency, creating a clear roadmap keeps you on track
• Test and learn: Experimentation drives innovation and continuous improvement, so never be afraid to try something new
• Hone and optimize: Regularly refine and adapt your plan for long-term success and better ROI

The power of SMART objectives

Businesses that plan their marketing efforts are 538% more likely to achieve their objectives – but only if marketers have clear goals. SMART objectives like “increase newsletter sign-ups by 15% within the next quarter” will produce better results than simply aiming to “improve engagement.”

To turn objectives into results, marketers should embrace a culture of testing and continuous improvement. Every campaign is an opportunity to learn. Try these top testing tips:

• Test one variable at a time
• Set a clear goal or objective
• Define your success metrics before launching
• Use (Dotdigital) testing tools to help
• Document everything you learn, even if it fails

For more on smarter testing, check out our guide on the A/B/Cs of split testing.

Be brave enough to try something new: Insights from The Royal Ballet School

Maddy Carroll, Audience and Insights Executive at The Royal Ballet School, shared how she used automation to take her email strategy to new heights. Here‘s her story: 

Starting with a blank canvas

Maddy joined the marketing team at The Royal Ballet School shortly after the brand onboarded with Dotdigital. As a result, she inherited something of a “blank canvas” – there were no automations, messy mailing lists, or outdated segments to work her way through. Seeing this as an opportunity instead of a setback, Maddy decided to make the most of her untouched customer data.

Building a foundation for growth

1. Segmentation and integration
   Maddy’s first move was to segment her audiences according to location and interests, and connect Dotdigital to the school’s ecommerce platform. This helped her to track interactions like donations, purchases, and class sign-ups and use that data to inform her campaigns. 

2. Automations that free up time
   With insights into customer interactions, Maddy was able to build automations based on recent engagements and purchase behavior. This freed up her one-person team to focus on high-impact initiatives and creative outreach.

3. Testing, learning, and evolving
   Automation is a great place to test and experiment with your email strategy. When you start small, you can monitor results as customers flow through. If there is an issue, a typo, or a broken journey branch, the program can be paused and issues resolved quickly. As Maddy explains, “it never feels like a big risk.” 

Top advice for marketers

Maddy’s top piece of advice was simple: “Be really brave and don’t hold yourself back.” Do your research, prepare thoroughly, and take the leap to experiment with automation. Agility is key, especially for small or one-person teams. A willingness to adapt and try new approaches can lead to seriously good results.

What customers really want from your brand

The loyalty divide report found that while 78% of consumers feel brands are personalizing their marketing well, only 23% find those messages relevant. Your audience wants more authenticity and relevancy from their favorite brands. Here’s how you can close that gap:

1. Segment and personalize across channels

Email remains the top choice for 61% of consumers, but other channels are gaining ground. Gen Z is more open to push notifications, while Millennials are 34% more likely to engage on messaging apps like WhatsApp – segment and target customers to reach each group on the channels they prefer.

2. Choose the right rewards

Points-based programs and cashback are super popular, but Gen Z and Millennials also value gifts and freebies. Free shipping and birthday discounts are also top drivers of loyalty, so take the time to discover what your customers really want.

3. Identify your brand loyalists

The report revealed that brand loyalists – those are your most dedicated repeat customers – are often women, over 40 years old, who like receiving freebies, birthday rewards, and free shipping. Engaging this audience consistently with value-driven content will see them flourish and grow.

By taking the time to get to know your audience and adapting your approach, you’ll inspire deeper loyalty and keep customers coming back.

Discover hidden gems inside Dotdigital

Even if you’ve been using Dotdigital for years, there are always a few features that slip under the radar. But these sweet little hidden gems can make a big difference to the success of your marketing campaigns. These are some of the standout tools and tricks shared at our event:

1. Personalize without preferences

You don’t always need a full preference profile. Use link groups and campaign tags to target customers based on recent actions, like grouping all donation links to spot interested subscribers, or tagging campaigns to easily identify engaged audiences. This makes segmentation simple, even with limited data.

2. Prevent personalization fails

Avoid awkward “Hi {First_Name}” moments with dynamic content blocks. These let you personalize messages when you have the data (like “Hi Jenna”) and skip it when you don’t, so every customer gets a seamless experience.

3. Manage links even after they’re sent

Never panic over a broken link again. Dotdigital’s link manager lets you update campaign links even after sending, and highlights which URLs are valid or invalid, so you can fix issues before customers notice.

4. Easy image editing in-house

You can resize, filter, and add alt text to images right inside the platform using our image manager, saving you a trip to external editors. Plus, when you add alt text in the image manager, it updates the alt text for that image everywhere. 

5. Streamline cross-channel campaign creation

Creating cross-channel campaigns doesn’t have to add to your day-to-day workload if you use AI to convert your emails into SMS campaigns. With WinstonAI, you can create an SMS based on your top-performing email campaigns with just the click of a button.

The good news is that these features aren’t really hidden. They’re right on hand to help you manage and optimize your campaigns every day. With these tools, it’s easier than ever to personalize your campaigns, manage your content with confidence, and reach customers across multiple channels.

That’s a wrap

The best marketing results come from staying curious and keeping your audience at the heart of every decision. The stories, strategies, and practical tips shared at our event show that even small changes, like refining your segmentation or testing a new channel, can spark big wins. Good marketing isn’t about ticking boxes or following trends. It’s about real connections, creative thinking, and having the confidence to try something new.

So, keep experimenting, keep learning, and, most importantly, keep it connecting. Because when marketers share successes and learnings with other marketers, that’s when the magic happens.