Thursday, November 22, 2012

Making the right eDelivery choice for 2013

eBilling and eStatements: What are your paperless options for 2013?

When it comes to electronic delivery of documents to your consumers and business customers, you have three choices: build your own self-serve portal (and mobile website or app), use a third party consolidator, or deliver them via email.

Let's examine the pros and cons of each:

Option 1: Internet Banking/Biller Direct website:

Definition: A self-serve website that is run by a Biller or Bank that typically offers document presentment, payment and other customer service functions.

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Option 2: Consolidator portal:

Definition: A third party provider that undertakes to consolidate numerous bills, statements and other electronic documents into a single central location, so users can enjoy the convenience of accessing all these documents via a unified website.

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Option 3: Electronic document delivery via email:

Definition: The delivery of electronic documents as email attachments.

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So what is your plan?

We suggest you re-examine your goals and objectives carefully and ask the following questions:
  • Is your current offering going to bring you the paper suppression numbers you need in 2013 and 2014?
  • If you add another channel, will it help you achieve these numbers?
  • Have you asked the 70%+ of customers still getting paper what electronic option they prefer?
  • Are you geared for the smartphone growth explosion?

More important than what to do, is which to do first, (If you already have Internet Banking or a self-serve portal then it makes this decision much easier).

After 5 to 7 years of lackluster paper suppression results, isn't it time you did something different?

My challenge to you: What's it going to take to get your company to 60% paper suppression?

Garin Toren
striata.com

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Part 4 - Improve deliverability: Essential technical setup

Throughout this series I have shared tips and tools you can use to help enhance your email deliverability. In this final instalment, I would like to take you on a journey 'behind-the-scenes' and discuss some of the technical set-up associated with deliverability.

When it comes to sending bills or marketing via email, they are rarely sent from the same domain/server where the 'FROM' and 'reply-to' addresses exist.

Consider the common scenario where company X utilizes the services of an email service provider (ESP). The IP address of the server that attempts to deliver the emails is owned and operated by the ESP, with no administrative link back to the company whose emails are being sent to outside mail exchangers.

To use an analogy, the company is using a third party courier to deliver its correspondence and it may be an unknown entity to the recipient. It is therefore necessary to use technology to prove that the courier has permission to send the package.

In the world of email, there are two accepted methods of proving that this relationship exists: SPF and DKIM.


SPF

Sender Policy Framework (SPF)


SMTP, the protocol for email, was designed so that any computer can send an email to any other computer on the Internet. While this created an open, easy-to-use system, it also relies on the sender to be honest enough not to send a mail claiming to be from somewhere else.

As we know this is not the case and spam is almost always sent from one party pretending (or spoofing) to be someone else.

SPF was designed as an anti-forgery system and provides a way for a receiving email server to verify that the sending mail server has permission to send the email.

When selecting an ESP, it is very likely that they will send emails from their servers using your FROM address. It is for this reason that you MUST give the ESP permission to send emails using your FROM address (and domain name).

This is achieved by a simple DNS entry on your domain which lists the approved senders of your emails, including your internal mail servers.

While SPF deals with the permission to send emails from an ESP on behalf of a domain, there is a second level of authentication that deals with the ownership of the actual email message.

DKIM

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)


A common problem with nefarious email senders is that details of emails, such as the FROM address and entire contents of emails are often forged so that they appear to be generated and sent from a legitimate source.

DKIM controls this problem by making use of sophisticated cryptographic techniques in order to create a unique signature for every sent email.

In the courier analogy above, this is the same as the physical package being stamped with a keyword that only the actual sender could have possibly known, verifying that they are the actual sender and not a third party.

While DKIM signs the email going out; a DNS entry must be made on the FROM address domain in order to allow the receiving mail server to verify that the signature has been created from a trusted source. An ESP will assist with generating keys, as well as the required DNS entry.

The two methods described cater for the delivery of the message, but do not provide information on who is TRYING to spoof emails, nor do they allow a directive to the receiving mail server on what to do if they encounter spoofed or forged messages.

DMARC

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC)


Allows the domain owner the ability to be notified when forged messages are being sent to ISPs. This identifies campaigns in the email environment that are acting against the reputation and best interests of the company. Reporting is available in simple formats which can be evaluated in the case of spoofed or forged emails being sent out.

In addition to reporting, DMARC also allows the domain owner to instruct the ISPs on how to deal with a message that has been forged. This may be as liberal as allowing the messages into the inbox, or in the case of companies who are targeted in spam and phishing campaigns to instruct the ISP to delete any emails that do not have a valid DKIM signature.

In our example, SPF and DKIM acting as the mechanisms to authenticate emails equate to the security practices that can be used in the real world, such as ID badges to help prove association and stamps or barcodes to prove authenticity.

DMARC is the last link to the chain and can be compared with a receptionist who is responsible for receiving and distributing all incoming packages. By having a prior knowledge and relationship with the senders of packages and a list of defined rules on what to do when packages are not delivered from a courier with a suitable ID. This also includes packages that don’t have the correct packing slip - this person could take action depending on the circumstance.

Thanks for joining me on this exciting journey of email deliverability. I hope that you have found the deliverability blog series interesting and useful!

If you haven’t had a chance to download our new deliverability white paper '7 steps to better email deliverability', then you can do so now, simply click here.

Alex Papadopulos
striata.com

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Part 3 - Improve deliverability: Your email has been delivered, now will it be opened?

Now that you've figured out how to get your email past the predictable technology based filters (as discussed in part 2 of the deliverability blog series),  you have to deal with something way more complicated - your customer. 

The average corporate user receives about 75 emails per day, with an increasing amount being read on mobile devices. Considering that 20% of these emails are probably spam, your number one objective is to ensure that your company’s email is opened, read and that the relevant action is taken.


email-process

Your email should always have a specific purpose, whether that is a call to action to click a link to make a purchase, view an account or simply to convey important information. There are a number of key areas where you have an opportunity to grab the recipient's attention and also take advantage of understanding how customers are interacting with your emails.

It is paramount to get as many emails opened as possible, not only for the obvious reasons applicable to the consumer but also for your reputation at an ISP. Opened emails are trusted more than frequently deleted (or emails marked as spam) and the higher the rate the greater the chances of inbox penetration and inbox placement.

What to remember about first impressions?

Three key elements of your email are the subject line, FROM address and pre-header. Email recipients make split second decisions and will instantly delete or send mail to the junk mail folder if they consider it to be spam.  As these are the first points of this instant evaluation, it’s important to get it right.

Here are some tips:

  • The FROM address should be recognizable and easy to read, for example name@companyname.com is often a better match than unknownname@department.division.company.com or donotreply@domain.com
  • A subject line should accurately portray the content of the email and not mislead customers in any way, so avoid using cryptic subject lines to ‘trick’ them into reading an email, it’s a sure way to lose their trust - if you are sending out payment confirmation emails for example, a subject line such as 'We have received your payment' is sufficient  
  • Have a call to action in the pre-header and be very clear about the purpose of the email. The pre-header is seen alongside the subject line in most email clients and devices and is your first piece of content that can be used to entice positive action. 

Always remember that testing variations of the above is extremely important because often, one combination will result in a higher open rate compared to another and there is no logical reason why.

Layout can also influence click rate

Recipients also base their decisions purely on the overall look and feel of the email. Does the mail display correctly in their browser, email client or mobile phone? Do the images take too long to load (if at all)?  Is the important information or call to action in the appropriate location?

The creative design of an email can be likened to photography. An aesthetically pleasing and flowing layout will be the difference between your message being received or totally overlooked.

As with subject lines, testing different layouts is important and is compounded by the fact that email clients often change the way they render emails. 

For more advice on how to structure the perfect email, be sure to download our new deliverability whitepaper '7 Steps to better email deliverability'

what-you-should-test

It may be open, but have they interacted?

After achieving your perfect layout, ensure that the call to action in your email is clear.

Placing too much copy before an action link or button will undoubtedly result in readers not even getting to it. Conversely, one large button saying “CLICK NOW” may be too intrusive. It’s a delicate balance between a pleasant looking layout, relevant information and a strong call to action.

In conclusion

Email deliverability is a complex subject but there are great tools in the market today that can help you get the most out of your emails. We discuss these tools and strategies in our new deliverability white paper '7 Steps to better email deliverability', click here to download it.

Next week is the final installment in this series. I will be taking you behind-the-scenes and discuss some technical stuff you should know about deliverability

Alex Papadopulos 
striata.com