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Do mobile-optimized emails really perform better?

Posted by Chris Gallaher on January 8, 2014

As a smartphone-dependent culture most of us are thankful whenever we don’t have to pinch-to-zoom an email just to read it. We’ve quickly become used to seeing content at a glance. As a result, we tend to ignore emails if the information we expect to find isn’t front and center.

 

 

An important finding from Adobe shows that 79% of users use their smartphones for reading email.1 This is a higher percentage than those who use their smartphone for making calls. Our findings support Adobe’s claim. In a recent email analysis, our mobile open rates are commonly nearing 60% across all major deployments. When reviewing the evidence, it’s clear the vast majority of today’s emails are being viewed on a mobile device. And as a consumer, it’s not altogether shocking when we reflect on the way our own behavior is changing.

 

Beyond these statistics, there remains a larger question for marketers. Do mobile-optimized emails really perform better? The following blog answers this question and shares techniques on how successful email marketing campaigns should be developed for mobile.

 

 

Yes, mobile-optimized emails really perform better

Even more critical than open and click-through rates, the most important email metric is conversions. We recently launched a mobile email campaign promoting a new mobile app. And while we intuitively knew mobile-to-mobile integration was vital to campaign success, we didn’t know just how successful the campaign would be when compared against previous non-mobile optimized deployments.

The results were surprising with conversion rates exceeding 8%. For perspective, conversions were up 300% over the previous effort. The campaign’s strong performance is a clear indication of how consumers expect to be communicated with. Mobile optimization and mobile-to-mobile integration should be considered a best practice. Today’s successful email marketing campaigns always consider viewing and engagement from smart devices.

 

 

4 mobile optimization essentials

When it comes to optimizing emails for mobile viewing, it’s important to keep the customer experience in the forefront of the design. This includes recognizing that emails will be viewed across multiple devices and on varying screen sizes.

Therefore, there are a number of elements to consider:

  • First, ensure emails include response buttons that are large enough to tap comfortably on the smallest smartphone. Think of these as touch targets.
  • Second, use standard call-to-action text links throughout the content to ensure recipients can respond throughout the email.
  • Third, ensure the first call-to-action appears as a button on the first screen. Recipients shouldn’t need to scroll to take action.
  • Fourth, consider using icons to engage and link to primary content. Successful email marketing campaigns typically use visual helpers to drive engagement and increase response.

 

Check out Responsive Design Drives the Future of Mobile to learn more on mobile optimization and successful email marketing campaigns.

 

 

Strongly consider responsively designed landing pages and web resources

Mobile-optimized email campaigns can’t do it alone. That’s why the most successful email marketing campaigns provide a seamless mobile experience. Landing pages, web content and shopping carts all need to keep this in mind.

We recently addressed the challenge of needing to answer a series of complex questions for mobile banking users. The key issue stemmed from there being too much information to effectively deliver within an email.

 

Enter the responsively designed FAQ landing page. When customers tapped the email’s call-to-action, they were seamlessly driven to a responsively-designed landing page with the program’s key FAQs. The campaign’s effectiveness resided in the landing page’s effortless simplicity. The answer to each question could be revealed with the touch of a finger. This gave viewers the information they needed in a way they could easily consume from their mobile devices.

 

Check out Is email marketing worth doing if you aren’t doing email right? to learn more on successful email marketing campaigns.

 

 

Monitor ongoing performance

 

 

Successful email marketers closely monitor mobile email performance to establish benchmarks and uncover opportunities. This includes identifying drop-offs or improvements in conversions, open rates and click-throughs. To add, it’s important to monitor the types of mobile devices customers are viewing from. Knowing this can give your design team important insights, especially when it comes to content prioritization. Ensuring the most pressing content is delivered first is essential for audiences composed mostly of smartphone users.

 

Successful email marketing best practices and the mobile landscape continue to evolve.

 

 

Source:

1. Adobe, 2013 Digital Publishing Report: Retail Apps & Buying Habits

Topics: Email Marketing

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