' Looking for an easy way for email recipients to take action on your message, rather than just letting it sit in your inbox? Check out the new Quick Action function of Gmail, offered in the form of a clickable button. They are best for messages requiring interaction rather than your typical mass marketing email campaign.

So is it something you should be putting to work? Well, if you're looking to bring your customers a way to interact without requiring they click away from the inbox, it is. And as many customers don't have time to click your ad but might be interested, it's a great way to keep them happy without your email ending up sitting in limbo in your inbox, eternally waiting for a reply.

How It Works

There are four main actions: one-click replies (confirming a hotel reservation or registration); RSVP response as easy as clicking "yes", "no", or "maybe"; submitting a review to a 3rd party app to a business, like rating a restaurant or shopping experience; and more complicated responses that take you away to another page.

These more complicated actions that lead you to another page feature a button right next to the subject line while the user is in inbox view. You could use these buttons to do things like track a package or check in to a business or flight.

There is certainly value in this service, as the user will appreciate not having to click the email and then scroll through to find the link for the action they need to perform. If checking into your flight requires a few less clicks, great!

Implementing Quick Actions

While the user will love the ease of quick actions, it isn't so easy to add these actions to your emails if you're the sender. You need to add specific code to your email header, also known as a schema, which eventually could be used by other email providers. However, right now, it's exclusive to Gmail accounts.

You can't just add a quick action and start emailing people the email-equivalent of the Staples Easy Button. First, you need to register it with Google. There are rules set forth by Google, such as only using these in transactions rather than mass mailings.

The Google Developer blog talks about the impact of schemas with real life examples. They give the example of Esna, a company already using the new functionality. They send out an email when a customer has missed a call, and provide a Quick Action button that initiates a new call at a more convenient time. Also, Seamless is relying on Quick Actions to collect review data from customers about restaurants they visit.

Worth The Effort

The value of the Quick Action button is obvious. Today, more and more people place a high amount of value on their time. The less time they can spend at the computer, the better. Offering customers a way to respond in one click is just good business!