We are so grateful to our amazing customers—Pura and Duke Energy—for taking the time to chat with us about 2024 trends. Our two experts: Rachel Warren, Head of Lifecycle Marketing at Pura, a brand that has revolutionized the way fragrance is experienced with the world’s first smart diffuser, and Tamarah Delevan, Senior Manager, Marketing Technology and Automation at Duke Energy, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, shared their expert insights in this informative discussion.   

Here is a sneak peek at what our guest panelists had to say about some hot topics for marketers in 2024.    

AI could be helpful…at some point  

Duke Energy: “In the face of increasing [email] volumes and the inbox being flooded, not only with offers from every other retailer that our customers get, I think it’s our job to ensure that— the basics are there, the health of the channel is there, the authenticity and the legitimacy is there, and then we can expand beyond that and look to bringing in AI.”  

Pura: “As far as content creation, I have a team of four when it comes to creating content for 300 fragrances on a one-to-one level, so it’s just not physically possible. I think the very tangible opportunity that we have [with AI] is to leverage some of these tools in a multichannel way to enable a small team like mine to meet important content and experience touchpoints. It’s really an incredible opportunity for us as marketers to have access to a lot of this technology with much smaller teams and less expertise, and that’s going to have a huge impact on content for 2024.” 

Placing the customer at the center of everything is key 

Duke Energy: “The best marketing is helpful. We’re trying to help consumers make the best possible choice for what their need is and give people the path that you would like them to take as a marketer while being careful not to limit them from making other choices.” 

Pura: “What channel is going to help my customer the best possible way? How does it help them access their subscription? How does it help them manage it? How does it help them know what the best promotion is for them if they would like to buy a product? If you’re really trying to help your customers, it’s an approach that can have a huge impact on the decisions that you make when you look at your channel marketing versus multi-channel versus omni-channel and how your whole experience works.”  

Content that engages builds lasting customer connections  

Duke Energy: “The content that performs for us is highly personalized. In the last few years, we’ve had opportunities to share some highly personalized information like usage and personalized tips for energy savings and saving money. Those are the emails that will outperform. As we look into the next year, we’ll look for more opportunities to personalize, to share that customer information as close to real time as we can. Customer trust is paramount for us. We’ve got a great team of designers who help us deliver great emails to the inbox.” 

Pura: “Content is big for us. We have the transactional communications that help people manage their subscription and then the content that supports that as far as value perception. And I think when you look at value perception and how you’re helping your customer take advantage of all the value of their device, of the fragrances that they’re purchasing, there’s an enormous amount of content that goes into that education. Content for us drives a lot of our experience, and it is more and more of what we’re moving into from an engagement standpoint. Content needs personalization and has to be in context of the experience. One without the other isn’t as valuable as both.” 

For the win in 2024: Focus on exceptional digital experiences and keep communications simple  

Pura: “I do think there’s been a shift in how customers interact with brands not so much being personal physical experiences only, but also online digital experiences and creating that trust loop with companies. I do think that we will continue to see more and more experiences being developed, created, and enjoyed virtually or a little bit differently than we have in the past. People are purchasing online much more, but they’re also more savvy on their expectations for fulfillment. I think there is a bit of a higher expectation from purchasers for their purchase fulfillment and brand experience. And I think we will continue to see this next year, and consumers are going to be louder about it.” 

Duke Energy: “One of the interesting things that we found this year— we did some testing with highly designed emails versus very basic, almost transactional type emails, same messaging, same call to action— is that the simplified version drove higher conversion rates. In fact, we had conversions in the double digits, some campaigns up to 40% conversion rate, which is unheard of. We have fewer and fewer moments with our customers in their inboxes and in other channels. Clean, clear messaging has proven very profitable for us this year. And I suspect it’ll be the same next year.”

This is just a sampling of some of the great insights shared during our fireside chat with Pura and Duke Energy, we invite you to view/listen to our entire digital panel here.