Hello @BridgetNZ ,
One important difference when comparing open rates between MailChimp and HubSpot is that the MailChimp platform does not offer bot filtering features, but the HubSpot platform does. Bot behavior happens when security or privacy software clicks on a link for security reasons or pre loads all images, including the open tracking pixel for secuirty or privacy reason. In MailChimp, all loaded open tracking pixels and clicks will be reported in your engagement metrics. In HubSpot, these non human engagements will be filtered out when the platform can identify that the opens or clicks did not come from a human recipeint. Here’s an exmaple of what that can look like when comparing the platforms side by side:
- Your brand sends 100 messages using MailChimp, which does not offer bot filtering technology. 50 contacts have their tracking pixel loaded, and MailChimp reports a 50% open rate.
- Your brand sends 100 messages using HubSpot, which does offer bot filtering technology by default. 50 contacts have their tracking pixel loaded, but we detect that 20 of these loads were due to a bot that auto loaded all of the images in the message including the tracking pixels. The HubSpot platform filters out/does not report on the 20 bot opens, and HubSpot reports a 30% open rate.
Security software is common in the B2B space, and non human opens and clicks can enflate your engagement rates when they are not filtered out of your reporting. With Apple’s Privacy Protection Features, professinal and consumers have the choice to mask their legimate human opens if they opt into using the privacy features and use their email with a compatible Apple device.
Open metrics have never been a completely reliable method to gauge true human engagament, and we expect to see more privacy focused features from other providers in the future that will continue to degrade the reliability of open tracking. We suggest shifting your focus on metrics that are a more reliable indicator of success with deliverability. These metrics include click and click-through rates, as well as monioring for signs of negative engagement such as bounces, unsubscribes and spam complaints.