Hopefully you have already read my previous blog entry on this subject [see Why Do Electronic (email) Survey Response Rates Seem so Low? I Have a Theory, and a Way to Help Improve Them.]. This next tip I will keep short and sweet. Consider this fact as researched by the ESP (email service provider) EmailLabs: 69 Percent of Business to Business (B2B) Subscribers Frequently or Always Use a Preview Pane; 45 Percent Rarely or Never Download Images

This fact means that you have very few lines for them to read before they make a decision. Make those lines count! Consider carefully that top 10% of your email. Is your company logo, a piece of stock photography or some puffy copy really the most important communication you want to have with that 69 percent?

I know it’s hard to do (I have fought designers on this issue for years). But you have to hold your ground and fight for that 10% of real estate. Let them do whatever they want in the bottom 10%, but you absolutely must make your first impression space matter. Tell your readers right there why their feedback matters to your company and how much you value it. Tell them exactly how much time it will take them to do your survey. You are fighting for that next action and that next click. And at this point, that’s all that matters.

Terence Fugazzi, VP Demand Marketing, Allegiance