Can the iPhone increase email marketing ROI?

The iPhone has certainly changed how consumers look at the mobile Internet and at their communication in general. But can it also change how email marketers plan and execute that next campaign? It likely should according to a recent study from Marketing Sherpa.

by Kristina Knight

Their researchers found that more email marketers are paying attention to mobile campaigns. In 2007 more than 60% of emailers said mobile campaigns didn't influence their decision making but in the 2008 Email Marketing Benchmark Guide only about 33% said the same thing. With more emails paying attention to the mobile, they need to know how to best attract the mobile user.

How can an email campaign targeted to a smart phone users (whether that user is on an iPhone or another device)?

First by the image quality. Unlike standard mobiles, smart phones have better image rendering and users don't have to turn "images on" in order to see the products featured.

Second, with a smart phone, users can enlarge or decrease the typeface of an ad for better reading. Rather than being "stuck" with a font or size that is hard to read, users can easily change increase or decrease the size. If the copy is easier to read it stand to reason that more users will, in fact, read it.

Third, segmentation could become much easier. Though it is hard to target only iPhone or Blackberry users now, it is becoming simpler to tell which phones are being used after a campaign is over. This can help marketers better target ads for future campaigns. If Responder 1 engaged via an iPhone, emailers can use a test campaign to see if that user will engage and how they will engage on a future campaign.

More than 3.7 million American users are on the iPhone and more than 400,000 Europeans.