Why Your Emails Need to be Optimized for Mobile Users

According to a study by Experian entitled “Quarterly Email Benchmark Report,” 65% of all emails were opened on a mobile phone or tablet in the last quarter of the previous year, up 11% from 54% in the third quarter of 2015. Many people, especially in the corporate world, will read their emails from their mobile device as part of their morning routine. Others have new email notifications set-up in their phones so they can immediately read incoming emails. Even desktops and tablets can be set to alert users to a new email, many of which will be read on a mobile device rather than opening an email client on the stationary device. All of this is to say how important it is to craft your email messages with mobile users in mind.

1. Avoid Email Pet Peeves

Among the most prevalent of mobile email annoyances are:

• Receiving too many emails
• Receiving irrelevant emails
• Emails that are too small to read
• Links in the email do not work
• Links work but take the user to a page that is not mobile responsive

Any or all of these can turn what could have been a warm prospect into an unsubscribed email user, so be sure to test your emails and any links for compatibility on all devices and platforms.

2. Know Your Audience

Are you a B2B company who provides lighting to the television, radio, and film industry? According to the 2016 Email Marketing Benchmark Report, over 70% of your potential customers are opening their emails from a mobile device, so be sure to cater to them. Likewise for B2B’s who sell goods or services to professionals in real estate (55% of emails opened on mobile), federal and local government (54% of emails opened on mobile), retail (53% of emails opened on mobile), and construction (48% of emails opened on mobile).

3. Devices Matter

It’s no surprise that the Apple iPhone is the most popular mobile platform, and the one credited with the most email opens, at 60% according to Litmus. The next device used for emails is the Apple iPad at 21% with Android devices coming in third at 18%. This means that a collective 78% of emails being read on a mobile device are accessed from an Apple IOS or a version of Android. However, you also need to consider how your emails appear and function in Chrome, Safari, and other popular web browsers used on these devices.

4. Industrial B2B is No Exception

 Industrial, B2B companies are not exempt from these mobile email use developments. Mobile email reads among industrial B2B’s ranged from 25.6% to 34.7% for the months so far in 2016. Although a majority of your email recipients are reading emails on a traditional computer, you can gain an advantage over your competitors if you create emails that users in the 25% to 34% mobile bracket can easily read.

5. Other “Email for Mobile” Statistics

• 29% of users ages 19 to 34 read email on mobile first
• 55% of consumers aged 56 to 67 say they never read email on their mobile first (Adestra “Consumer Adoption & Usage Study”)
• B2C emails get 57% more email opens on mobile than B2B email opens (“National Email Benchmark 2015”)
• 75% of users who read emails from their gmail account (900 million) access their accounts on mobile devices. Remember that other email addresses can be imported to gmail. (Google / TechCrunch “I/O Developers Conference”)
• Responsive design can deliver an impressive 15% more unique clicks for mobile users (Litmus and MailChimp “The Science of Email Clicks: The Impact of Responsive Design & Inbox Testing”)
• Users of Apple devices are among the quickest email readers and spend only about three seconds reading each email so make your intro strong (Movable Ink “US Consumer Device Preference Report: Q2 2014”)
• Android users spend more time at 15 seconds or more viewing each item in their inbox.
• Desktop emails also get an average of 15 seconds to read (Movable Ink “US Consumer Device Preference Report: Q2 2014”)

While there is no “one fits all” rule to creating an email, the more inclusive it is, the more likely it is to succeed. Additionally, all the above sources quoted for statistics expect the number of people accessing email from mobile devices to continue to rise. If you’re not already seeing the impact of it, you’re sure to in the future.

If you are an industrial company who isn’t seeing the type of returns you would like in your email marketing campaigns, contact us.

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