Technology
The Buzz: “’That thing out there…that is no dinosaur,' says Owen in the 2015 action/sci-fi film Jurassic World. Can the same be said about your email marketing strategy?” (mashable.com) Fifty years ago, in 1971, pioneering American computer programmer Ray Tomlinson implemented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet. It was the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET. The first business marketing email blast was sent in 1978 – and companies are still using this method of communication with customers and prospects today. Given the digital transformation every business is undergoing now as a result of the global pandemic, we’re wondering if this form of communication is antiquated or truly the backbone of how we entice, engage, and convert customers. Or is it something in between? Does email fit into the modern buyer's journey? What’s working and what’s not? What might the future of email marketing look like? We’ll ask Neal Schaffer at PDCA Social, Lindsay Miles at Emory University and Ashley Melendez at SAP for their take on eMail Marketing: Digital Dinosaur or Business Backbone?