How Email Service Provider Behavior & Open Rates Can effect your Marketing Campaign

When it comes to marketing on the B2B frontier, email is the last tool that should be ignored. It has now become more competitive and requires a quality approach. The behavior of email service providers has become important as well. One of the latest additions in this regard is Gmail’s new tabbed inbox.

A lot has been said in regard to how this affects the open rates of emails. Seasonal trends in email are dependent on number of factors. For a systematic analysis, hourly, weekly and seasonal trends need to be taken into consideration.

The new Gmail inbox might bring down open rates, but it remains to be seen if this is a consistent trend.

Nature of tabs

The new Gmail inbox allows users to set up tabs and there are filters associated with it. For instance, users can group their emails into different tabs like Primary, Social and Promotions.

From a business point of view, these tabs can narrow down the exposure rate of emails. The idea is to place the email above the fold and on the main. Now, they would be secluded to the Promotions page with all other ads. Those business owners who want to create personal relationships with their clients may find the change frustrating.

Getting to the Primary Tab

Since the unveiling of the tabbed inbox, business owners would be interested in getting out of the Promotions tab to the Primary tab. It’s going to be tough to manage that initially since Gmail is really good at its filters.

The key element that businesses should focus on is the content. Remember: any mail that comes an ESP (includes list unsubscribe header/links in the content etc.) would be sent either to the Promotions tab or the Updates tab.

There are also easier ways to get this done, perhaps through the experience of someone like Rich Gorman who can really optimize the email marketing process. The idea is that analytic based consultants can manage such marketing campaigns in a better way. They are more aware of the recent changes and how business can adopt to them. Using a consultant can be a stitch in time and provide a competitive edge to the business.

The other way that your mails can stay in the Primary tab is that if your client opted not to include the Promotions tab. This is the only possible loophole that may work for email campaigns. On the other hand, sharing blog content would also be a decent alternative. Content that is not directly promoting your service but suggesting it in a contextual manner is important.

The effect on open rates

How does the new inbox affect open rates?

Stats show that when the Gmail published news about the tabbed inbox at the end of May, there was an increase in the open rates the following week. These figures are however of not much significance–everyone likes a ‘new toy’. The added attention was expected to skew the results initially.

The decline of opening rates has continued for a period of more than 3 consecutive weeks. As time goes by, distinctions can be made on the basis of volume, engagement history and related factors.

The new Gmail tabbed inbox should be checked further for analysis regarding open rates. Only then, a defined trend and alternatives can be established. 

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