It's common knowledge that data is required to send emails. Without a basic database of information - at the minimum, an email address - it's impossible to reach customers. Yet marketers continue to struggle to put data to good use. Sure, the basics are in place to power the sends, but the important pieces of data that could really personalize the experience aren't being harnessed and leveraged. Why is this?

No, this isn't a mermaid story. This is an $18 trillion global spending story. 70%-80% of consumer purchasing is controlled by women. There is a reason why many retailers have shifted their language from share of wallet to share of purse. Women are the gatekeepers to household and discretionary spending, and they don't shop or buy the same way as the other gender.

One thing that keeps email marketers shackled to what I call the "hamster wheel of mediocrity" is not knowing how to manage the leap to greatness. You know you need to move your email program away from relying on broadcast messages and simple segmentation. But achieving a highly automated, dynamic program takes more than buying the right technology. You also have to manage change effectively throughout the process, from buy-in to implementation to long-term success.

A few years ago, I decided to take a close look at my personal finances. I found a lot of ways to reduce costs but the thing that really surprised me was the amount of money I was spending on my morning latte habit. Every day I spent just a little bit on the way to work. Over time, that expense really added up. It is the same with unsubscribes and spam complaints. In any given campaign, you will remove only a very small number of subscribers from your list because they have either unsubscribed or complained about your message …

Today's consumers, especially Millennials, are more discerning than ever and demand to have experiences that put them first. As the first generation that doesn't really remember a time of true privacy, Millennials are also much less reserved about giving information digitally than previous generations.

Home repair and marketing automation are contextually similar. They are both jobs that require continual maintenance. The highs are short-lived and the lows are never forgotten. Yet, there are an endless set of options (tools or contractors)for how to accomplish the job depending your budget, level of risk tolerance and patience.

I've been wondering why some email marketers get things done -- solve major problems, launch creative initiatives, win praise and awards and rack up major revenue for their companies -- and others don't. It's easy to blame outside forces for failing to launch. But I've seen marketers in one-person departments with minuscule budgets overcome these challenges because they take responsibility for their own successes.

Marketers have long been wary of the "creep" factor when it comes to relevance. Now privacy concerns threaten to make relevance even more difficult to do well. Below are four things marketers can - and should - be doing to improve trust and pave the way for relevance and personalization.

Strategy execution is a serious challenge in business, regardless of the functional area. You can put visionary goals into place, but then those strategies are often difficult or impossible to implement. In email marketing, I'd argue that the problem is the opposite. Execution happens without being informed by strategy. Sure, marketers set revenue goals and line up tactics to try to achieve those goals, but that approach is too narrow. Marketers will never find new opportunities for putting consumers first and delivering longer-term value if they don't make the time (and business case) for strategy.