MRI Casino Marketing Blog
No Static At All

When the internet first arrived in the American household, cell phones were also beginning to rise in popularity. The idea that the two would eventually become intermingled seemed like a futuristic dream. Today, however, nobody bats an eye at a phone that has high-speed internet access and the demand for mobile content is rising.

The Rise of Mobile-Only Users

According to a survey from Pew Internet, 34% of mobile internet users did most or all of their browsing on a phone, not a desktop or laptop. The numbers are even higher in certain demographic groups: 50% of mobile internet users aged 18 to 29, 43% of African American mobile internet users and 60% of Latino mobile internet users do most or all of their internet browsing from their phone.

When it comes to email-specific tasks, the numbers are similar. According to Litmus, 51% of all emails are opened on a mobile device. Almost half of all American internet and email users are doing most or all of their interaction from a phone. If you're still not designing email messages that are optimized for mobile, you're leaving a lot of people behind.

You Can't Please Everyone

Or can you? While a graphics-heavy message with lots of clickable text and buttons might be great for a desktop user, trying to interact with these messages on a small mobile screen is like trying to write a text message with mittens on. In fact, depending on which report you read, up to 50% of mobile advertising clicks are accidental. Fat fingers, anyone?

Creating different static layouts for desktop and mobile devices is messy work and it doesn't always pan out. Mobile devices come in a variety of sizes, from ultra-small phones to 20-inch tablets and it's nearly impossible to accommodate them all with a static design. A responsive design, or one that automatically generates the best view from a single design based on the user’s device, would accommodate everyone.

A Responsive Case Study

Let's take a look at how the conversion to responsive email worked for Crocs shoes. The first test of the responsive vs. static designs measured the number of opens and the number of clicks for three versions of the same message: a static desktop version, a static mobile version, and a responsive design. Of the three groups, the design that performed the worst was the static mobile version. The top performer was the responsive design.

The second test tossed out the losing static mobile version and measured both clicks and engagement. Not surprisingly, the responsive design showed a 7.66% increase in the click-to-open rate and an 8.82% increase in engagement over the desktop version. Responsive for the win.

Make it Work for You

You've seen all the numbers and you're ready to make the leap to responsive design. It will take a bit of time and a little trial-and-error for you to get your design perfected. The good news is that once you've got it down you can prepare new campaigns quickly without having to reinvent the wheel with each message. The final step will be to measure your results so you can find out what's working and what needs to be trashed.

In our next post, we'll talk about some specific things you can do to make responsive design work for you. We'll cover how to plan your email campaigns ahead of time so you're not always under the gun, we'll talk about how to prioritize your offers, give a few tips for optimizing your content for responsive layouts, and discuss specific things you should be looking for while you monitor the results of your new layout.

https://litmus.com/blog/mobile-opens-hit-51-percent-android-claims-number-3-spot , http://www.degdigital.com/blog/the-benefits-of-responsive-email-design-a-crocs-case-study/ , http://www.emailmonday.com/mobile-email-usage-statistics