Handheld Mobile vs. Computer: How Do You Check Your Email?
In the age of the BlackBerry and iPhone, the sky is limit to where you can access your email (and even that will soon be possible). I came across an article on MediaPost that discusses the issue of email marketing in this new era of alternative ways to check your email. The article debates whether email marketers should want their recipients to use handheld mobile devices to read email, or if they should just accept the change in email viewing practices and adapt to it. This is a very important issue to ponder since not all emails can be correctly viewed by a handheld. Therefore, some email marketers argue that they do not want people to open their mail via BlackBerry because they may not see what they want them to see. In addition, since part of the message may be disabled, the user may not be able to sign up for the offer, open an account, or make a purchase which is ultimately the objective.
On the flip side, the counterargument is that instead of fighting the use of handhelds for email usage, email marketers should accept the change, and make all emails compatible with mobile devices. The BlackBerry and iPhone provide it’s users with quick access and convenience. For the person on the go, which many BlackBerry and iPhone users are, checking email via computer can be a hassle. The article states that according to a Marketing Sherpa study, “64% of key decision makers are viewing your carefully crafted email on their BlackBerry’s and other mobile devices”. Therefore, this argument supports the idea that email marketers need to “get with the times” and work around the convenience and lifestyle of the consumer, because in the end the consumer’s best interest is their own best interest.
This article raises a very interesting question: Should email marketers accommodate the changing consumer? Or should email marketers keep what they know works?
Personally, I agree with the argument that email marketers should change with their consumer. With the constant expanding of technology, people have become used to convenience and now expect it. The consumer is out for their interest only, and is not concerned with how difficult a job it may be for the email marketer to get emails out to them. The email marketer needs to accept that fact, and create a strategy around convenience for the consumer. Once that is put into plan, I believe the email marketer will see a positive return from the consumer.
Posted on 5/29/2008 by Emily Meyer in Lead Generation
1 Comment to “Handheld Mobile vs. Computer: How Do You Check Your Email?”
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In the age of the BlackBerry and iPhone, the sky is limit to where you can access your email (and even that will soon be possible). I came across an article on MediaPost that discusses the issue of email marketing in this new era of alternative ways to check your email. The article debates whether email marketers should want their recipients to use handheld mobile devices to read email, or if they should just accept the change in email viewing practices and adapt to it. This is a very important issue to ponder since not all emails can be correctly viewed by a handheld. Therefore, some email marketers argue that they do not want people to open their mail via BlackBerry because they may not see what they want them to see. In addition, since part of the message may be disabled, the user may not be able to sign up for the offer, open an account, or make a purchase which is ultimately the objective.
On the flip side, the counterargument is that instead of fighting the use of handhelds for email usage, email marketers should accept the change, and make all emails compatible with mobile devices. The BlackBerry and iPhone provide it’s users with quick access and convenience. For the person on the go, which many BlackBerry and iPhone users are, checking email via computer can be a hassle. The article states that according to a Marketing Sherpa study, “64% of key decision makers are viewing your carefully crafted email on their BlackBerry’s and other mobile devices”. Therefore, this argument supports the idea that email marketers need to “get with the times” and work around the convenience and lifestyle of the consumer, because in the end the consumer’s best interest is their own best interest.
This article raises a very interesting question: Should email marketers accommodate the changing consumer? Or should email marketers keep what they know works?
Personally, I agree with the argument that email marketers should change with their consumer. With the constant expanding of technology, people have become used to convenience and now expect it. The consumer is out for their interest only, and is not concerned with how difficult a job it may be for the email marketer to get emails out to them. The email marketer needs to accept that fact, and create a strategy around convenience for the consumer. Once that is put into plan, I believe the email marketer will see a positive return from the consumer.
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Robert James Reese | June 16, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
True, but the marketers shouldn’t be too quick to abandon tried and true methods. Although they should indeed branch out and experiment with mobile technology, they should continue to deliver emails tailored to traditional inboxes, and compare the analytics from the two different methods to see which is performing better.