As we say goodbye (good riddance!) to 2020, let’s take a moment to reflect on the year. 

First of all, we’d like to unofficially honor “unprecedented” as the most overused word of the year. We don’t have to remind you of all the ways in which you’ve heard this word on the news or in Zoom calls, but we do want to acknowledge all of the ways this year was unprecedented—in a positive way. (And yes, there were some positives!!)

2020 has been challenging for sure, but we’ve seen marketers rise to the occasion with determination, empathy, and resilience like never before. Let’s take a moment to celebrate all of the ups and downs along the way. 

During this uncertain time, your subscribers relied on email more than ever. Here’s how:

• Emma customers sent 8.345 billion emails that were opened all around the world. 
• In March and April, email open rates saw an increase of more than 20% year over year, and an increase of 16% month over month, indicating that customers relied on email as a way to hear how brands were responding to the crisis. (Campaign Monitor)
• We saw a small shift back to the desktop, with 54% of emails opened on a mobile device, down from 63% last year. This is a reflection of people working and spending more time at home. (Campaign Monitor)

Our customers persevered through unprecedented times.

• You A/B tested 2,408 campaigns, an increase of 125% on last year.
• You tested 61,427 subject lines, to increase that all-important open rate.
• You created 14,037 automated email workflows, driving greater engagement than “business as usual” marketing messages. (According to the Epsilon Email Institute, automated emails average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates.)

...especially as your needs changed in light of COVID-19, and worked hard to deliver what you need to succeed.

Jan - Additional preference center options
Feb - Image sizing flexibility
Mar - Signup form improvements
Apr - Single Sign-on
May - Salesforce Integration by Beaufort12
July - LiveTimer
Aug - HQ Billing visibility 
Oct - New Template Gallery
Nov - Navigation redesign
Dec - Blackbaud & Raiser’s Edge Integrations

• We’re proud to support you with a 99% delivery rate for all email campaigns sent.
• Features released: 30
• Product deployments: 1851
• Code commits: 13,929
• 99.99% app availability, which means your experience was seamless and interruptions were minimal.

Like most of us, the higher ed industry lost many in-person interactions due to COVID-19.

While our customers across all industries had to make significant changes to their plans this year, we felt especially equipped to support the higher education industry as they made a necessary pivot to communicating virtually, impacting the education and futures of students everywhere. 

Webinars

• Deliverability Best Practices
• Emotion Behind Email
• 45 Minutes to a Stress-Free Higher Ed Strategy
• Deep Dive: 2020 Higher Ed Email Benchmarks

Digital events

• Our first-ever EmmaU, the email marketing digital event for higher ed. 

Guides

• The 2020 Higher Ed Email Benchmark Report
• Graduate to Better Email
• 10 Email Campaigns Universities Should Send This Fall

Newsletter

We launched The Higher Ed High-Five, a monthly newsletter for universities and colleges. Subscribe here. 

After all, your success is why we come to work every day. 

In 2020, our support team: 

• Answered 11,671 phone calls within 73 seconds on average.
• Closed 19,931 support cases. 
• Helped 513 customers with their email marketing needs, covering everything from design to implementation and strategy.

We learned to stay connected, even while apart.

• 195 team members made the shift to remote working, resulting in 40,014 Zoom meetings totaling over 80,300 hours.
• We embraced a holistic approach to supporting our teams while working remotely by sending care packages, providing access to online yoga and fitness classes, and hosting global events via Zoom focused on nutrition, mental health, and mindfulness. 
• Our team walked over 4 million steps in one month to raise money for Cerebral Palsy research and support.
• Employees raised $32,454.19 for various equity-focused charities, which was then matched by CM Group with a $32,454.19 donation to NAACP's Empowerment Fund.

Thanks for braving 2020 with us. We’re rooting for “calm” as next year’s most overused word, anyone else?