From Open Rates to Engagement: Evolving Email Marketing with Dynamics 365

Digital marketers have long relied on email open rates to measure campaign success.

But with evolving privacy settings and changes in how modern email clients handle images, this once-reliable metric is now less dependable.

In this post, we’ll explore how to rethink your email marketing metrics using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights.

Why Open Rates Are Losing Reliability

Open rates track the percentage of recipients who open an email using tracking pixels. However, changes in email client behaviors are affecting the accuracy of this metric. Here’s what you need to know:

• Image blocking: Many clients now block images by default, causing opens to go unregistered.
• Preview panes: Some email clients display emails in preview mode, falsely registering them as opened.
• Privacy updates: Apple’s iOS 15 automatically opens all emails, inflating open rates.

These trends show that marketers need to adapt and explore alternative engagement metrics.

Measure Engagement More Effectively

In the evolving world of email marketing, focusing on multiple engagement metrics is crucial:

• Diversify metrics: Don’t just rely on open rates. Track click-through rates, conversions, and ROI for a more holistic view.
• Implement email authentication: Using DMARC, SPF, and DKIM improves email deliverability and sender reputation.
• Leverage alternative metrics: Use coupon codes or UTM parameters to track conversions directly from emails.

Improve Engagement With Personalization and Segmentation

Effective engagement goes beyond metrics. Here are strategies to boost interaction with your campaigns:

• Personalization and segmentation: Tailor your emails to recipient preferences and behaviors using Dynamics 365’s segmentation tools.
• Expand messaging channels: Consider adding SMS to your outreach. With a 98% open rate, SMS can significantly increase engagement.
• Optimize content through testing: Use device analytics and click heatmaps to refine your email designs and content, ensuring they work well across different devices.

• Use your own data: Rely on first-party data such as transactions and in-store visits that can be collected using a customer data platform like Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data.

Conclusion

Although open rates aren’t going away, they’re becoming less reliable. Fortunately, Dynamics 365 Customer Insights offers the tools you need to track more accurate metrics and improve your email marketing strategies. With these insights, you can continue delivering impactful campaigns while respecting user privacy.

Next Steps

Not yet using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights? Start your free trial today!