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Trend 3: Email etiquette is becoming increasingly crucial to gaining consumer trust
Companies can only improve their email marketing performance in the long term if their customers truly trust them.

It's well known that consumers dislike clickbait, yet some marketers claim that sensationalist headlines and thumbnail images are the only way to get their content seen. While this may be true on social media platforms (a topic for another article), email remains a channel entirely determined by the sender and receiver. Only companies control what they send, and consumers control country email list what they delete, open, read, and click on.

Brands should be conscious of this responsibility. The Capterra Advertising Preference Study* shows that 34% of consumers would report a company that uses a misleading subject line in a marketing email.

Companies that promise something in the subject line that they fail to deliver in the email itself quickly lose consumer trust. Readers are less likely to engage with the email, may delete it, or unsubscribe, and risk losing them as future customers after this negative experience.

At the same time, brands that use clickbait in their email communications risk fines and legal consequences if their activities are reported and proven to be dishonest.

In comparison, 26% of German consumers would report a company that uses a misleading subject line in a marketing email.

Two common email mistakes that cause customers to lose trust in your brand
1. Promise things that never become reality

While sensationalist or misleading claims in subject lines may work for a single campaign and increase open rates, they rarely pay off in the long run. They damage consumer brand trust and cause readers to unsubscribe or ignore future emails. Make sure you set clear customer expectations early on and consistently maintain them throughout the entire journey.

2. Not respecting customers’ data protection decisions

Chances are, some of your existing customers choose to unsubscribe from your emails, or they never explicitly opted in to them. When SMBs ignore this choice and send unsolicited marketing emails, they demonstrate that they either don't know how to handle data properly or don't respect their customers' choices. Once your customers give you their contact information, always be clear and transparent about when, why, and how you will communicate with them.