Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and marketing managers aren't interested in email open rates and don't care what email deliverability is. But CMOs whose emails are getting blocked or end up in the spam folder will be alarmed when they realize that the top of the funnel is shrinking and the damage of poor deliverability to the bottom line.

Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) have no interest in email deliverability.

They probably don’t care about open rates, clicks, bounces, copy, and email design.

I could talk all day about email deliverability and marketing strategy, explaining terms like DNS, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI, but it’s not what marketing managers care about.

They don’t care about IP address, domain, or content reputation either.

What they really care about is the bottom line – the result. And you know what? They’re right!

Budgeting for proactive deliverability

John Wanamaker famously said: ”Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Marketing managers are familiar with the term media waste, but this is often overlooked in email marketing.

I believe that CMOs whose emails are getting blocked or end up in the spam folder will be alarmed when they realize that the top of the funnel is shrinking and the damage of poor deliverability to the bottom line.

Poor deliverability means fewer people see your emails, leading to decreased engagement and missed sales opportunities. This can have a substantial negative impact on your overall marketing ROI.

Email deliverability is often misunderstood, as marketing people assume the email platforms (ESPs) handle it.

Changing the approach to prioritize email deliverability will increase the chances of emails reaching the inbox. Email platforms alone won’t solve deliverability problems. It’s an investment that businesses need to make. Emails that don’t reach the inbox harm the business and the customer experience.

Lost Opportunities

I have seen firsthand how optimizing email deliverability can greatly impact a company’s bottom line. It is better and cheaper to be proactive from a deliverability standpoint. Being proactive means considering deliverability when thinking about email marketing, not just sales and marketing. This requires understanding the changing email ecosystem, where getting emails to the inbox is becoming more difficult. To continue getting a great return on investment from email marketing, investing in deliverability is necessary. This investment includes putting money into hiring the best people and seeking professional deliverability consultation rather than solely investing in technology (ESP and such).

Technology

Modern deliverability relies on the technical setup of your email infrastructure. As a deliverability professional, my goal is to ensure that the organization’s email needs are met by setting up the appropriate technological infrastructure. This may involve setting the infrastructure correctly or adding, replacing, or changing email platforms to meet the organization’s email requirements.

Strategy

Using the wrong email marketing strategy can damage deliverability and lead to low engagement. Gmail, for instance, filters emails based on how engaged recipients are. If engagement is very low, Gmail may view the emails as unwanted and classify them as spam. To boost engagement, it’s vital to analyze and implement the right email marketing strategy with deliverability in mind.

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Focus on deliverability

Email deliverability requires constant attention and monitoring. Even after addressing deliverability issues, it is vital to remain focused on it. Changes or additions to DNS records, adding a new email platform, and more can impact the technical setup and deliverability. Regular monitoring can help detect warning signs in advance and allow proactive measures to be taken.

Google Postmaster Tools allows for basic deliverability monitoring for Gmail dot com domain. DMARC reports assist in setting up the technical aspects and monitoring changes in email authentication and alignment. Additionally, email platform engagement metrics trends can provide insights into deliverability status.

A professional deliverability advisor is a valuable resource who can guide the organization through the process and recommend additional tools, if necessary, to enhance organizational understanding on the subject and improve your deliverability.

Conclusion

CMOs don’t need to be deliverability experts, but they should invest in deliverability to offer a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. Email deliverability is crucial for successful email marketing. CMOs should prioritize deliverability to maximize reach, engagement, and revenue potential. By focusing on best practices and optimizing deliverability, businesses can ensure their messages reach the right audience and enhance the bottom line.