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Palpable ennui
Put any group of senders together and the conversation invariably turns to discussions of how to get email delivered to the Inbox. There is an underlying flavor to most of these conversations that is quite sad. Many senders seem to believe that the delivery of their email is outside of their control and that since the ISPs are difficult to reach that senders are stuck. The ennui is palpable.
I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth!
Senders are not passive victims of the evil ISPs. In 99% of cases, delivery problems are fully under the control of the sender.
Mail being deferred? Mail being blocked? Mail being delivered to the bulk folder? Senders do NOT NEED TO CALL THE ISP to fix most of these. Tickets do not need to be opened nor do personal contacts need to be employed. You can resolve the vast majority of problems with data you already have.
You’re right, of course, but…how do we (as an industry) help those individual senders get past palpating their ennui? What will jar them out of their comfortable illusion?
One thing I’ve been semi-successful doing with clients is just agreeing with them, but offering them solutions and suggestions to move forward “while we’re waiting for the ISP to respond.”
From my perspective the leadership of the particular group is stuck in the mindset of waiting for guidance and direction from the ISPs. The individual senders are looking to the leadership for guidance and are getting the message that there isn’t anything they can do for themselves.
I am hoping by telling the individual senders they are not powerless and they don’t have to wait for someone to tell them what to do while showing them the things they can do right now, they will have that moment of realization.
It may work, it may not work. I am an optimist, though.