Permission is important, but it might not be enough. The relationship a mailer has with the recipient is the critical factor in determining whether a message will be considered spam or not. Despite the extent of permission, if a consumer doesn’t see value in the message and if they don’t respect the relationship they have with the mailer, they are more likely to report the message to their service provider. Conversely, if they do see value in the e-mail message, and/or they do respect that relationship, they are less likely to report it as spam.
Mailbox providers have the responsibility of acting on our customer’s behalf and we primarily use abuse reports in making decisions about deliverability. Those abuse reports also go a long way in determining the reputation and credibility of a mailer. That reputation and credibility has long lasting effects beyond a particular e-mail campaign.
To achieve the highest possible deliverability, mailers should focus on achieving the highest possible satisfaction with the e-mail message. Deliver content that is timely, appropriate and valuable to the recipient. Carefully analyze abuse reports to identify trends of dissatisfaction and address those issues with better information at signup, preventing false registrations or launching campaigns with a tighter focus. Mailers should avoid using “tactics” to get e-mail delivered; acting like a spammer will simply get mail blocked. The real value of e-mail is in the response. Customer satisfaction is an important consideration in getting the desired response.
