It’s not about the content, it’s about the level of personalization. And the story of Astana Hub is a clear example of how, when data and technology meet, email can “come back” stronger than ever.

Who is Astana Hub?

Astana Hub is not just a startup incubator, but a comprehensive technology ecosystem in Kazakhstan. The center brings together more than 1,300 tech talents and collaborates with “big guys” such as Binance, Google for Startups, Draper University.

Their mission is to support startups to develop, connect investors and create an innovative environment for the region.

That means: they need a a strong, stable and highly community-oriented communication channel to promote events, introduce applications, spread scholarships and maintain connections with thousands of program participants.

Challenge: When “mass email” is no longer effective

Before the renovation, Astana Hub still maintained the form of sending mass emails to the entire list. Campaigns are still invested carefully in content and images, but the results are not very promising:

• Low email open rates
• Unexpected click-through rates (CTR)
• And increasing unsubscribe rates (opt-out)

The core problem lies in the lack of segmentation and lack of personalization. One content sent to everyone will not "touch" anyone. While AI startups need to update their technical workshops, fintech groups are interested in fundraising policies, but they all receive the same content.

Solution: Smart and Automated Email Marketing Strategy

Astana Hub decided to restructure the entire email marketing process. They apply a smart segmentation strategy combined with automation, using behavioral data to:

• Segment recipient lists by specific interests (AI, fintech, blockchain…).
• Create automated email sequences for each segment, ensuring each person receives the right information they need.
• Personalize sending times based on each group’s peak engagement times.

The results after a few months are truly impressive:

• 63% email open rate
• 26% click-through rate (CTR)
• 28,000 new app downloads, far exceeding any previous promotional campaign

Not only that, internal surveys showed that more than 70% users felt the content was “relevant to their needs,” demonstrating the clear effectiveness of the personalization strategy.

This approach is quite similar to Sephora's strategy, the global beauty brand increased revenue by 142% simply by automating the customer journey.

Lessons from Astana Hub: Email is not dead – it’s the old way of doing things that is dead

Astana Hub proves that email is still the channel with the highest ROI when managed with the right data strategy. The difference is not in the tools, but in how businesses understand their customers and automate the engagement journey.

They don’t just send messages – they create personalized experiences with each email. Each piece of content is tailored based on the recipient’s behavior, interests, and context. That is the future of marketing: precision communication – precise communication, based on real data.

What can Vietnamese businesses learn?

Many businesses in Vietnam are still doing email marketing manually: write - send - measure - then repeat. This approach is not wrong, but it lacks speed and scalability.

Meanwhile, with the support of AI and CRM, you can completely automate 80% of the workload, from writing content, designing to sending emails at the right time.

That is the direction that GTG CRM is helping Vietnamese businesses apply.

GTG CRM – Email Builder integrated with AI: When data, creativity and automation meet

GTG CRM is not only a customer management tool, but also a smart marketing assistant, helping businesses turn data into real action economic.

With the AI-powered Email Builder, you can build campaigns like Astana Hub without a large marketing team:

1. AI suggests content and optimizes subject lines

GTG CRM's AI system can suggest titles, opening paragraphs, and calls-to-actions that are appropriate for each campaign objective (welcome, promotion, customer care, etc.).

Language is fine-tuned to reduce spam rates and increase visibility in the main inbox.

2. Create emails quickly – right target, right file

Whether sending marketing emails or engagement emails, GTG CRM has ready-made templates to suggest professional layouts . Just select, add content and send – no need to redesign from scratch.

3. Connect directly to Automation – send to the right person, at the right time

GTG CRM's Email Builder does not work alone. It is closely linked to the Automation module, allowing you to set up a series of automated email scenarios: from nurturing new leads, reminding events to reactivating old customers.

Therefore, businesses can save time, improve efficiency and reduce the risk of spam. In particular, GTG CRM provides an email open rate report (Open Rate) - an important indicator that helps marketers measure the level of customer interest and optimize the time and content sending in the next campaigns.

Conclusion

The story of Astana Hub is not only about the success of a startup center, but also opens up a direction for any business that wants to renew its communication strategy. Email marketing is never outdated - only the old way makes it lose its value. With AI and CRM, Vietnamese businesses can completely: Send to the right person, at the right time, with the right message; Personalize the experience at scale; And turn each email campaign into an opportunity for long-term, sustainable connection.