How Do Your Clients’ Email Results Stack Up Against These Statistics?

BY Kathy Crosett
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Consumers are feeling overwhelmed by the tidal wave of email directed at them. Walls are going up to protect both personal and businesses email inboxes. Twenty percent of emails do not reach the intended recipient. Is there anything you can help your clients do to ensure that more of their email messages are delivered?

In the 2017 Deliverability Benchmark report from returnpath​.com, analysts describe the path a typical email message takes. Once it leaves the server your client is using, the message travels to the ISP gateway that protects the recipient’s inbox. Any suspicious characteristic in the email is enough to have the message blocked from further consideration. Next, the email is subjected to the rules of the spam filter. Here, details about the sender’s reputation and the content of the message are scrutinized. At that point, your client’s message could end up in the spam folder and will never be read. Only those messages that pass the spam filter successfully reach the inbox.

This year, email inbox placement rates have improved in the U.S. In Q3 2016, 73% of email made it to the inbox and 8% landed in the spam folder. This year, in Q2, 77% of messages arrived at target inboxes and 8% went to spam. While U.S. marketers saw increases in deliverability rates, they are still below the international average of 80%.

Analysts also measured the 12-​month average rate for inbox placement by major industry. The industries with the highest placement rates include banking & finance (94%), distribution & manufacturing (92%), and travel (90%).  It’s also worth noting that the automotive (+11%), insurance (+13%) and technology/​software/​internet (+10%) sectors had the biggest increases in inbox placement during the past year. On the other hand, apparel (-8%), computers & electronics (-6%) and household & home improvement (-6%) companies had the biggest declines in email inbox placement rates.

Your clients face plenty of challenges getting consumers to read their email messages. But, long before that, they must ensure that their messages are getting delivered. They can test campaigns by sending email messages to individuals at their own businesses to be sure they’re getting through. Other important steps include authenticating the email domain by enabling Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM). Sendgrid​.com notes that doing so lets ISPs know your clients are who they say they are, and they will be more likely to let messages through. Remind your clients to be careful when crafting email subject lines and avoid using spam-​associated phrases like “FREE!!!” or “Pay down debt now.”

As email campaigns for the holiday season are about to launch, talk with your clients about cleaning up their act to improve outcomes.


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