The email silly season (Black Friday/ Cyber Monday) is almost here and it’s never been more crucial that your email infrastructure can handle the traffic peaks of this season. This year, we saw Rule Communications make the switch to Halon Engage to ensure they could meet these high-traffic peaks and deliver email on-time. It’s true that the success of email campaigns, delivery, and inbox placement during these events hinge on one critical factor: whether your email infrastructure is up to the task. Here are some questions to ask yourself during this time. 

1. Can my email infrastructure handle large traffic volumes?

During this season, businesses send out a staggering number of emails to announce deals, remind customers of upcoming sales, and offer exclusive discounts. Without robust email infrastructure, managing this high volume can become a logistical nightmare. A high-performing email infrastructure ensures that your emails are sent out efficiently and in a timely manner, preventing bottlenecks that could delay your communication and cost you potential sales. Consider this: every email that successfully reaches a customer's inbox is a chance to build trust and foster loyalty. But what happens when emails fail to deliver? Apart from direct revenue, there’s also a lost opportunity cost in building a relationship with your audience.

2. Does my email infrastructure have the ability to scale on-demand? 

The sudden surge in email activity during Black Friday and Cyber Monday requires an infrastructure that can scale seamlessly to handle the peaks. Your system must be capable of expanding to accommodate increased email volume without sacrificing performance. Auto-scalable infrastructure prevents crashes and delays, ensuring that your campaigns run smoothly, regardless of the load.

3. Can my email infrastructure ensure delivery on time? 

The battle for consumers' attention during these shopping events is fierce, with inboxes flooded by promotional emails. Even the most compelling offers are worthless if they don’t reach the customer’s inbox on time. A reliable email infrastructure guarantees timely delivery, ensuring your messages are seen when they matter most. Timely delivery leads to better visibility, increased engagement with your campaigns, and, ultimately, higher revenue.

4. Does my email infrastructure offer me real-time analytics and reporting? 

With emails buzzing around left, right, and center, you need real-time analytics that you can rely on to make data-driven decisions on the fly. A powerful email infrastructure (like Halon) will provide you with a dynamic user interface allowing you to easily extract relevant data and gain actionable insights that you can use to improve your sending capabilities. This is especially crucial during this period when brands attempt to reactivate inactive users or ‘stale lists’ who haven’t engaged throughout the year. This surge in traffic can pose challenges for deliverability teams, making it essential to have complete visibility into email performance to quickly identify and resolve issues as they arise. 

5. Will my email infrastructure protect me from the latest email attacks? 

An increase in email traffic typically creates a higher risk of phishing attacks and fraud. A secure email infrastructure with proper authentication protocols, such as DKIM, SPF, and DMARC, is essential to protect your brand’s reputation and your customers’ data. Compliance with regulations like GDPR is also critical to avoid penalties and maintain consumer trust.

6. Can I trust the overall customer experience? 

Ultimately, a reliable email infrastructure contributes to a positive customer experience. Delayed or undelivered emails can frustrate customers and lead to missed sales opportunities or inundated support desks. By ensuring timely, accurate, and relevant communication, you not only drive sales but also build stronger customer relationships and brand recognition.

Email infrastructure is not just a technical necessity but a strategic asset. Investing in robust, scalable, and secure email infrastructure ensures that your campaigns reach the right people at the right time, driving sales and fostering customer loyalty. As you prepare for these major shopping events, it’s time to ask yourself: is my email infrastructure setting me up for success?

Curious to know more? Take a look at how Rule Communications met their client’s increasing demands during high-pressure periods such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.