Have you ever thought “I hope this prospect does not open my email right away!” Probably not, it’s a very counter-intuitive thought unless you’re operating some sort of weird time capsule email service.
Email is a popular communication channel because it gives consumers the flexibility to choose when they want to engage with the brand or publisher sending the message – there isn’t much pressure, which may be the case if a telemarketer calls a customer or a television commercial is allotted a specific time window. While it’s good that the sender gives consumers this pressure-free way to engage with them, brands do want their emails opened in a timely fashion. Most companies are placing a high priority on relevance, which means email messages might not be timely if they aren’t opened until two days after they are sent.
This is why mobile has grown to be such a dominant player in the email landscape. Mobile devices generally use push-screen notifications to alert owners when they get a new message, which can greatly improve recipient response time. People will not be forced to read the email, but at least they’ll know it’s there, and senders can capitalize on this by leveraging stronger email titles to encourage readers to open them.
Three hours is the mobile window
A recent report Knotice found that smartphone users tend to open emails more quickly than tablet and desktop email readers. According to respondents, approximately one-third of mobile phone users open emails sent to them within three hours. For tablet and desktop users, that figure is much closer to 20 percent. Across the next 12 hours, open distribution across all three channels tends to peter out.
For advertisers and publishers alike, the key takeaway here is that mobile is king if they are trying to send highly relevant and timely email messages to consumers. Smartphone users tend to open communications much more quickly than their desktop and tablet counterparts, which can have a significant impact on campaigns and newsletters.
At the same time, it also stresses the importance of mobile optimization. If emails are not designed for the smaller screen sizes of phones, publishers and advertisers may miss out on that three-hour timing window where mobile is king. Smartphones have had a major impact on the way consumers communicate with brands, it’s critical companies respond to the opportunity in kind.
