Got a Lot of Customers with iPhones? Keep Your Emails Short &Sweet

February 10, 2015

Everyone knows that email is getting more mobile than ever before. Thanks to tablets and smartphones, we’re checking our email in line at the grocery store, on the train, while we’re watching TV – practically anywhere we have a moment, we’re looking through our inboxes.

The latest research shows that more than two-thirds of emails are opened on mobile devices. And, depending on what device subscribers are using, their attention spans are going to be a lot different.

That was one of the key findings of the US Consumer Device Preference Report for Q4 2014 – iPhone users are a lot more impatient than Android users.

Is it a demographic thing? Is it different to read emails on an Android than an iPhone? Or are iPhone users just a lot busier?

The Q4 research, which was based on over a million email opens from enterprise companies, shows that, while more than half (55%) of Android users read an email for 15 seconds or more, only 35% of iPhone users do the same.

That’s enough of a difference to really, really make a difference when it comes to sales. So here’s the real question: when do email marketers start designing responsive emails that are different for not just mobile and desktop, but individual devices?

If you know that customers with iPhones are prone to skimming instead of reading, do you design an image-heavy email? If you know more than half of Android users tend to linger on emails, do you add a little more content.

More importantly, how do you do that?

Making Responsive Emails Actually Respond

What this research really shows is that there’s no such thing as an average customer segment. Even if you drill down into different devices, people are using those devices differently. Designing responsive emails means creating emails that respond to the user, not the device.

For that to happen, though, marketers need to start thinking about the context of each individual customer. Contextual marketing is based on creating utility and enhancing customer experience, rather than building a traditional marketing campaign.

Contextual emails can adapt and adjust, in real-time, to a customer’s needs. If an iPhone user opens an email, the email will be short and to the point. But if she opens the email on a desktop later on, the email content will change to accommodate the new screen.

Context can help marketers thrive in a new ecosystem where customers are constantly on the move. Interested in learning more? Join us for our webinar on February 19, “The Definitive Guide to Contextual Marketing.”

Register today!

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