No email Fridays compress communication window
By Jim Kinkade
Over the past several Fridays, while researching
the latest email-related information online, I
have run across a new movement gaining popularity
in corporate America that could impact bulk email
message communications. "No email Fridays" are
quickly becoming popular in big business, with
the latest participant being Intel, the chipmaker.
Participating companies are asking their employees
to refrain from using email on Friday –
instead promoting communication via the telephone
or face-to-face contact. As this movement becomes
more popular among businesses, email marketers
may need to take it into consideration when scheduling
mass email marketing campaigns.
In many businesses, email dependence is so bad
it is sometimes seen as counterproductive. Sloughing
off work on other co-workers, avoiding people
and conducting personal business all contribute
to companies getting fed up with email. Some email
users are going so far as to file for email bankruptcy
just to get a handle on all their incoming email
messages.
While none of the companies mentioned in a recent
Wall
Street Journal article are making an email
ban mandatory, non-essential emailing by employees
is discouraged. This will mean less time for a
corporate contact to have his or her nose buried
in their inbox. As email inboxes are ignored,
so are the messages inside.
According to eROI, Email Marketing Statistics
By Day and Time (July 2007), "The highest open
rates (read rates) during Q2 2007 were Wednesday
(27%), Monday (26%) and Thursday (26%)." So is
Thursday the new Friday? While the number of larger
companies currently practicing "No email Fridays"
may be few right now, the movement may sweep the
corporate world just as the Friday casual dress
code did some 20 years ago.
Email marketers should already be taking this
movement into consideration when sending email.
Common sense dictates that while your email may
be important, it might not be important enough
for a busy person to deal with while waiting for
the weekend to show up. The "No email Fridays"
movement is merely one more reason to start your
email campaigns earlier in the week.
So, as corporate America contemplates taking
a day off of email on Fridays, email marketers
may want to do the same by calling for a "No email
campaigns on Friday" program. Marketers could
then use the occasion to get ready for their own
weekends. –Arial Software
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