If you think the salutations of your e-mails are the least important part—think again. According to a study done by Boomerang, ending emails with Thank You and other variations actually boosts response rates, and for email marketers, responses are a key indicator of success.
Why Ending Emails with Thank You Matters
Boomerang recently surveyed 350,000 email threads, and found that three different variations of Thank You receive the highest response rates (see Figure 1). Out of the emails surveyed, eight particular email closings were identified as the most popular. ‘Thanks,’ ‘regards,’ ‘cheers,’ ‘thanks in advance,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘best,’ and ‘kind regards’ were the most prominent email endings found in the survey. While the baseline of email responses in the survey was 47.5 percent, the top eight email closings all received response rates over 50 percent.
Source: Boomerang
Even though the top eight most frequently used email closings had a higher response rate than the baseline for the survey, ‘thanks in advance,’ ‘thanks,’ and ‘thank you’ received the highest response rate (see Figure 2). While the main content of emails is still important, is it possible email marketers are so focused on driving sales that they’ve forgotten they’re communicating with actual humans? It seems so.
Customers respond better when they feel appreciated, but email endings can do more than cultivate an appreciative sentiment between customers and email marketers. By ending emails with thank you, email marketers can actually enhance the customer journey. And an enhanced customer journey translates into better business success.
Source: Boomerang
Bottom line: Ending emails with thank you and other versions like it works, enticing recipients to respond and further engage with your brand. Here’s another question, though: Saying thank you seems simple. Why does it work so well?
Ivy Shtereva, director of marketing for Yes Lifecycle Marketing, attributes the higher response rates to gratitude. “Everyone likes to be appreciated, and a ‘thank you’ does just that.” Ivy believes email marketers send such a high volume of emails they forget to consider closing their emails with a personable ending. Boomerang’s study is proof email recipients (consumers) respond at a higher rate when the email closing makes them feel appreciated.
In Conclusion
Email is an inevitable form of communication used in every industry today. And for email marketers, it’s the lifeblood of their business. But in order to gain the traction email marketers need to be successful, they have to get responses. And getting responses is as easy as typing two simple words to close out emails. Thank you.
