Deliverability is one of the most important—but often overlooked—aspects of a strong email marketing strategy. Especially for healthcare and healthtech companies where communication with clients, prospects, and partners is key, ensuring your emails reach the inbox is essential.
With major platforms tightening spam filters and security protocols, businesses need to stay ahead of evolving requirements. That includes authenticating your domain, protecting your sender reputation, and complying with industry standards to maintain deliverability and credibility. Following these steps isn’t just about better email performance—it’s about safeguarding your brand and strengthening your communication channels.
What’s Changed in Email Protocols
The rules governing email deliverability have become more stringent. Internet service providers and email platforms are increasingly prioritizing security and relevance, using AI to filter messages and block unverified senders. Protocols like SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) are now the standard for ensuring that your emails are both legitimate and trusted.
This shift has major implications for organizations that rely on email as a communication channel. It’s not enough to send informative, well-designed content—you also need to meet the technical standards that email providers are enforcing to protect users from phishing and spam.
Setting Up Email Verification the Right Way
Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC isn’t difficult, but it does require collaboration between your marketing and IT teams. The first step is to identify who manages your domain and ensure they understand how your CRM or email platforms—like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or GetResponse—connect to your domain’s DNS settings.
From there, they’ll need to add and validate specific records that verify your identity as a sender. Once these protocols are in place, your emails will have a much better chance of bypassing spam filters and landing in your recipients’ inboxes.
How Long Does It Take?
If your domain team is responsive and your systems are relatively simple, these verifications can often be implemented within a few hours. For more complex infrastructures or external IT teams, it may take several days to coordinate access, update DNS records, and test deliverability.
What matters most is taking the time to do it right—because the risks of skipping this step are significant.
The Risks of Skipping Email Verification
Without proper verification, your domain is vulnerable to spoofing and phishing attacks. That means someone could send emails pretending to be your organization—damaging trust and potentially exposing your audience to fraud.
Even if your emails are legitimate, a lack of verification could send them straight to the spam folder. That means lower engagement, fewer conversions, and missed opportunities to connect with key stakeholders. For organizations operating in the healthcare space, where compliance and reputation are everything, these risks are too great to ignore.
A Foundation for Long-Term Trust
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aren’t just technical jargon—they’re essential tools in maintaining secure, effective communication. They show email platforms that your messages are safe, legitimate, and worth delivering. That reliability becomes part of your brand and builds trust over time.
Now is the time to ensure your systems are up to date and aligned with these new standards. Working closely with both your IT and marketing teams can help ensure a smooth implementation, keeping your outreach effective and your reputation intact.
