What are considered good email marketing metrics for open and click rates in B2B, and what other metrics should I focus on?
Summary
What email marketers say15Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Content Marketing Institute states that segmenting email lists based on demographics, behaviour, or purchase history improves email relevance and engagement. Targeted emails that address specific needs and interests result in higher open and click rates.
Marketer from Email Geeks highlights the importance of tracking "Unique Opens" in Sendgrid to avoid inflated stats and suggests measuring Click to Open rates for a more accurate performance assessment.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that in B2B marketing, a click rate over 1% or 2% is considered very good.
Email marketer from Quora user explains that in B2B email marketing, success goes beyond basic metrics. It's about generating qualified leads and nurturing relationships. Look at the number of demos booked, RFPs received, and ultimately, the impact on the sales pipeline.
Email marketer from Reddit user on r/emailmarketing explains that beyond open and click rates, deliverability metrics like inbox placement rate, spam complaint rate, and domain reputation are essential. Inbox placement rate indicates the percentage of emails landing in the inbox versus spam folder, while spam complaint rate measures the proportion of recipients marking emails as spam.
Email marketer from Smart Insights highlights the importance of defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for email marketing campaigns. Besides open and click rates, marketers should monitor conversion rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. These KPIs help gauge the overall effectiveness of email marketing efforts.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that anything under 30% might indicate a problem, while anything over 50% is uncommon and a 5% click rate depends on the specifics.
Email marketer from Reddit user on r/marketing suggests that for B2B email marketing, focusing on metrics such as lead generation, qualified leads, and customer acquisition cost (CAC) provides a clearer picture of ROI than just open and click rates. These metrics directly correlate with revenue and business growth.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that good email marketing metrics extend beyond open and click rates. Customer lifetime value (CLTV), conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI) are crucial for assessing the long-term impact of email campaigns. Focusing on these metrics helps align marketing efforts with business goals.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises to ask for feedback directly by encouraging people to reply to the email to have a more human engagement.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign highlights the importance of automating email marketing reporting. Automated reports save time and provide a consistent overview of key metrics, including open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and revenue generated.
Marketer from Email Geeks agrees that the open rates are really good and asks about the content and call to action of the emails.
Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that to improve email engagement, marketers should focus on segmentation, personalization, and relevance. Segmenting the email list based on demographics or behaviours, personalizing messages with the recipient's name, and delivering content that addresses their specific interests help drive higher open and click rates.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor emphasizes that email open rate benchmarks vary depending on the industry and audience. For B2B, a healthy open rate typically falls between 15% and 25%, while click-through rates range from 1% to 5%. Engagement metrics like replies and forwards are also valuable indicators of content relevance.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that open rates are meaningless except for trending, and that a decrease might indicate a problem. They also say that open rates can decrease simply because the ESP is filtering bot opens better.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks responds to a marketer's concern about a 50% open rate by saying most people would love to have this percentage and asks about click rates.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that defining success in email marketing requires a focus beyond open and click rates. Factors such as conversions, revenue, and customer lifetime value are more indicative of actual business impact. Focusing on these metrics ensures campaigns align with business objectives.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests focusing on other metrics like improving clicks, time spent on site, or A/B testing emails.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that open rates are only really useful when looking at the aggregate for month-over-month comparisons. Open rates are a broken and useless metric because they rely on a tracking pixel being requested by a computer which can happen in many different ways or even not happen at all.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that while open and click rates offer a general overview of engagement, focusing on metrics like conversion rates, customer acquisition cost, and ROI can provide a better understanding of your email marketing ROI.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Sendinblue shares that analyzing email campaign metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates is crucial for assessing campaign performance. Additionally, monitoring unsubscribe rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints helps maintain list hygiene and sender reputation.
Documentation from Google Analytics shares that integrating email marketing with Google Analytics enables marketers to track website behavior after recipients click through from emails. Metrics such as bounce rate, pages per session, and conversion goals help assess the quality of traffic generated from email campaigns.
Documentation from Litmus answers that beyond opens and clicks, email marketers should track metrics like email client usage, read time, and device usage. Analyzing email client usage helps optimize email rendering, while read time provides insights into content engagement. Device usage helps inform mobile optimization strategies.
Documentation from Email on Acid emphasizes that ensuring email accessibility and proper rendering across devices is crucial. Use tools to test how emails appear in different email clients and focus on responsive design to accommodate various screen sizes.
Documentation from Mailchimp shares industry email marketing benchmarks, noting that average open rates vary significantly by industry, with some exceeding 30%. Click rates generally range from 2% to 5%, and bounce rates should ideally remain below 2%.