Gmail Tabs and its impact on Email Marketing

In our last lecture we learned a lot about the do’s and don’ts of email marketing. The new Gmail tab email filtering system has caused many companies to review their email marketing campaigns, but perhaps not all is lost. Most companies have indicated that there has been no measurable decline in the ability to reach potential customers.  In fact, many have adopted strategies to proactively deal with this change.

I have received emails from numerous retail stores providing me with a step-by-step guide to “star” their emails so they begin to appear in the primary tab. Additionally, the subject line and sender line switch has forced senders to ensure that their sender name is short and highly recognizable since it is the only thing that is visible when the tab is inactive. Many companies believe that this shift may even reduce competition since it no longer forces offers and promotions to compete with social media and personal messages. Additionally when users specifically click on the Promotions tab it is because they are interested in a particular offer resulting in high conversion rates. 

Perhaps the most important thing for companies to remember during this process is that while Gmail is a popular email client, 35% of all emails are opened via the iPhone or iPad which does not display the new tab filtering system.