My definition is simple:
It's the degree to which your emails reach recipients, how quickly they reach them, and how well they show up in recipients' inboxes. Everyone wants the highest email deliverability possible. You, me and the rest of the world. That it's the best thing since sliced bread seems clear as day. But why? It may appear like just another in a long line of metrics that are all absolutely-no-debate-totally-necessary for the success of your business. The reason becomes clear if we zoom out.
In its latest 'State of Email' report from 2021, Litmus shares some interesting numbers.
Email marketing budgets are swelling. 37% of brands are increasing their budget and only 1.3% are cutting back.
79% of marketers rank email as one of their top three channels.
This is reinforced by the fact that according to the 2020 edition of the same report, email has a solid return on investment (ROI) of 36 to 1.
No wonder the number of emails sent just keeps growing and growing. Today, well over 300 BILLION emails are sent every day!
Source: Statista
Email is a digital tsunami that you'd better surf on top of.
If we shift the focus back and look at a 'normal day' at a company, we can put these (huge!) numbers into context. Here are just a few examples of the role email plays in a modern marketing mix.
We use email as a channel to:
Deliver receipts, purchase and delivery confirmations.
Newsletters
Share offers
Inform customers about changes in terms and conditions or price increases
Send gated content (ebooks, webinars, reports etc.)
So it's no wonder that email is an important channel and a fundamental function of any MA/CRM system. Given the role of email in the mix, the danger is that, like hot summer days, you take them for granted. You notice them when they are no longer there... but by then it's too late. Email is such a given that we can't relate to it without stopping and thinking - like the fish that can't see the water it's swimming in.
So what happens if you've been unlucky or misbehaved? A low deliverability means that:
They are relegated to trash cans, spam categories and other corners of recipients' inboxes
They are de-prioritized and don't arrive as quickly as you and your customers expect.
Not being able to rely on your ability to send emails is a marketing failure. In other words, it's a disaster. Low deliverability can be caused by a number of things. Irrelevant communication that is not appreciated by the recipients, low credibility of the domain you are sending from or poor list hygiene - can all be reasons.
In the next part, I'll tell you what marketers need to think about to design communications that help, not hinder, reach. Read the post here.
Have a good time!