Wall décor retailer Dezign with a Z recently began optimizing its email newsletters for mobile devices in a move designed to help the brand reach more consumers who are on-the-go and checking their email through a smartphone.

The online retailer chose European email solution provider Mailify, which has recently been expanding its services to the United States. Through Mailify?s solution, Dezign with a Z can send out its regular email newsletters, as well as promotions, offers and deals, to subscribers that will be more easily consumed on their mobile devices.

?Our mobile traffic as a whole is starting to increase, and conversions from that traffic are beginning to grow for us as well, so being able to connect with our customer via their mobile device is definitely a key part of our overall marketing strategy.? said Paula Lavaud, CEO of Dezign with a Z. ?Even putting conversions aside for a moment, we know that people are glued to their tablets and phones every day, so part of our strategy is just making sure that they are seeing our brand image on a regular basis. 

?This plants a seed in their minds, so that when they do have a need for our products, they?ll come to us first, so long as our content is presented in a user-friendly way, we are building loyalty and brand recognition among our customers, which at the end of the day, will contribute to sales growth. Because of Mailify?s platform, we?re able to do all that.?

Mailify introduced its email platform to the U.S. in early December 2014. 

The solution uses responsive email marketing software that is programmed for businesses of many kinds and is already being used by more than 20,000 clients in Europe. 

Mailify?s platform uses custom-coded responsive email templates that adapt to any screen, from smartphone to tablet to desktop. It also considers several aspects to best reach clients? audiences, including geo-location and A/B testing.

Through the platform, Dezign with a Z can pinpoint its readers? locations throughout the world and track email opens, clicks and the overall reach of the newsletter on social media.

With the help of A/B testing, Dezign with a Z can find out what works and what does not when it comes to subject lines and content.

Mailify operates on a ?freemium? basis, which allows clients to download and test drive the software for free before making a decision.

Mailify also includes other design features within the software, including multi-language capabilities, email domain address autocorrect to catch data entry typos and traceable results. 

The email marketing software?s interface offers Cloud technology to stock images and quickly collaborate and share files with others as well as the availability of live interactive human support.

Although an old concept, brand marketers are reevaluating their email platforms to accommodate mobile devices, as well as adding contextual relevance each time they reach out to consumers and the right number of times to reach out.

Lululemon is one of those brands.

While the success of email programs heavily depends on relevancy to the consumer, athletic wear brand Lululemon recently deemed mobile optimization as being the main key at the Email Marketing Summit at eTail East 2014 in August 2014. 

In addition to mobile optimization and relevancy, measuring revenue based on the number of emails sent is the best way to gauge success in email efforts, a Lululemon executive said at the conference. The executive added that a good number to aim for is anywhere from three to 10 percent of revenue per email sent (see story).

Another brand going through this reevaluation process is Maritz.

Maritz Travel Meetings and Incentives hoped to offer a mobile-optimized and frustration-free experience for its guests using email in a recent effort to drive more online engagement. 

The subsidiary of Philadelphia-based travel agency Maritz leveraged Moxie's email solution system in August to streamline the process of customer inquiries by directing them to the appropriate Maritz agent, which will aim for a better customer experience and accommodate tech-savvy business travelers. The Moxie platform was further chosen because of its database of metrics built to handle business deals more timely via mobile (see story).

Similarly, Dezign with a Z realizes the prevalence of the mobile channel, leading the marketing team to opt for mobile-optimized experiences to better appeal to its audience.

?The fact is, everyone has a mobile device, and these days, more and more people are using those devices to check their emails,? Ms. Lavaud said. ?So there?s a pretty high likelihood that when we send an email to our customers, it?s going straight to their tablets or cell phones. 

?Since Mailify puts such a heavy emphasis on responsive email marketing, we can ensure that our email campaigns are being well received by our customers, regardless of which device they use to open their emails,? she said. ?It?s all baked right into the system, so it?s extremely easy to implement our campaigns, without spending any extra time worrying about formatting different emails for different devices.?