How to Improve Deliverability Rate for the Healthcare Industry

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, email has become an integral part of communication for businesses across all industries, including the healthcare sector. However, healthcare organizations often face challenges when it comes to email deliverability – ensuring that their messages successfully reach recipients’ inboxes. In this article, we will explore the importance of deliverability rate in the healthcare industry and discuss key challenges faced by healthcare organizations. We will also delve into analyzing email deliverability metrics and highlight best practices that can help improve email deliverability specifically within the healthcare sector.

Understanding the Importance of Deliverability Rate in the Healthcare Industry

Deliverability rate refers to the percentage of emails that are successfully delivered to recipients’ inboxes without being flagged as spam or ending up in the dreaded junk folder. For healthcare organizations, maintaining a high deliverability rate is crucial as it ensures that important emails, such as appointment reminders, test results, and patient communications, reach their intended recipients promptly. Failure to deliver these critical messages can have serious implications on patient care and satisfaction.

Leveraging email as a means of communication allows healthcare institutions to stay connected with patients, provide important updates, and facilitate seamless information exchange. However, due to the sensitive nature of healthcare-related content, emails from healthcare organizations are often subject to stricter filtering by internet service providers (ISPs) and spam filters. Consequently, healthcare organizations face unique challenges in achieving and maintaining a high deliverability rate.

Key Challenges Faced in Deliverability for Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare organizations encounter several challenges when it comes to ensuring optimal email deliverability. One of the primary challenges is maintaining a positive sender reputation. ISPs and spam filters perform a series of checks on incoming emails to determine if they are legitimate and trustworthy. If an organization’s email server or IP address has a poor reputation due to previous instances of sending spam or engaging in other malicious activities, their emails are likely to be flagged as suspicious and possibly filtered out.

Another challenge faced by healthcare organizations is the stringent regulatory landscape they must navigate. Compliance with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) imposes specific requirements on how patient information is handled and transmitted. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe penalties and legal consequences. These requirements can impact deliverability since certain email content or security measures necessary for compliance may trigger spam filters.

Additionally, healthcare organizations often deal with large volumes of email, including newsletters, promotions, and administrative communications. Managing these email lists effectively and ensuring the accuracy of recipient data is another challenge. Outdated or incorrect email addresses can result in higher bounce rates and lower deliverability. Moreover, healthcare organizations must also contend with the increasing prevalence of mobile devices for email consumption. Ensuring that email messages are mobile-friendly is vital for reaching a wider audience and improving deliverability rates.

Furthermore, healthcare organizations face the challenge of maintaining email deliverability in the face of evolving technology and changing email client preferences. Different email clients and platforms may have varying rendering capabilities, which can affect the appearance and functionality of emails. Healthcare organizations must adapt their email designs and coding practices to ensure compatibility across different email clients, including desktop, webmail, and mobile applications. Failure to optimize emails for different platforms can lead to poor user experience and decreased deliverability rates.

Analyzing Email Deliverability Metrics for Healthcare Institutions

Measuring and analyzing email deliverability metrics is essential for understanding the performance of email campaigns and identifying areas for improvement. Some key metrics healthcare organizations can track include:

• Delivery Rate: The percentage of emails delivered to recipients’ inboxes.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of emails that were not deliverable due to invalid or non-existent email addresses.
• Open Rate: The percentage of emails opened by recipients.
• Click-Through Rate: The percentage of recipients who clicked on links within the email.
• Unsubscribe Rate: The percentage of recipients who opted out of future email communications.
• Spam Complaint Rate: The percentage of recipients who marked the email as spam.

By analyzing these metrics, healthcare organizations can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their email campaigns and identify areas of improvement to enhance deliverability.

One additional metric that healthcare organizations can track is the Conversion Rate. This metric measures the percentage of recipients who not only open the email and click on links, but also take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Tracking the conversion rate can help healthcare institutions determine the effectiveness of their email campaigns in driving desired outcomes.

Another important metric to consider is the Engagement Rate. This metric measures the level of engagement and interaction that recipients have with the email content, such as scrolling, hovering, or spending a certain amount of time reading the email. By tracking the engagement rate, healthcare organizations can assess the effectiveness of their email design and content in capturing and retaining recipients’ attention.

Best Practices for Improving Email Deliverability in the Healthcare Sector

To overcome the challenges and improve email deliverability in the healthcare sector, there are several best practices that organizations can implement:

• Establish a Good Sender Reputation: Implementing proper authentication protocols, such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC), can enhance sender reputation and credibility.
• Follow Email Compliance Regulations: Adhering to email compliance regulations, such as HIPAA, ensures the secure transmission of sensitive patient information while also building trust with ISPs and recipients.
• Regularly Clean and Update Email Lists: Regularly reviewing and cleansing email lists by removing outdated or inactive email addresses can lower bounce rates and improve deliverability.
• Optimize Email Content: Crafting engaging and relevant email content not only enhances user experience but also helps avoid triggering spam filters. Using clear subject lines and avoiding excessive use of capital letters, symbols, or suspicious attachments can improve inbox placement.
• Personalize and Segment Email Campaigns: Tailoring email content based on recipient preferences and characteristics can lead to higher engagement rates and improved deliverability. This can be achieved through targeted segmentation, where emails are sent to specific groups based on demographics, medical conditions, or other relevant factors.
• Ensure Mobile-Friendly Emails: Optimize email templates for mobile devices to cater to the increasing number of recipients accessing emails on smartphones and tablets. Mobile-friendly emails improve readability and user experience, thereby enhancing deliverability.

By implementing these best practices, healthcare organizations can significantly enhance their email deliverability and ensure that critical messages reach their intended recipients. However, improving deliverability is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation to changing industry trends and technological advancements.

Continue reading in Part 2.

Implement Email Authentication: In addition to implementing authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, healthcare organizations can further enhance email deliverability by utilizing email authentication services such as BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification). BIMI allows organizations to display their brand logos in the recipient’s inbox, increasing brand recognition and trust.

Monitor Email Engagement Metrics: Tracking email engagement metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates, can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of email campaigns. By analyzing these metrics, organizations can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize future email deliverability.