Leading Healthcare Services Provider Achieves
100% Delivery to Hotmail/MSN with Return Path Certification.

Industry: Healthcare

Product: Return Path Certification

A leading health services provider relies on email to promote their message to their database of returning and potential customers. Despite their ability to improve their overall deliverability, they still had trouble obtaining optimum deliverability at Window’s Live Hotmail and MSN domains. Their delivery rates to these domains fluctuated between 60-70%, with the remainder getting junked in the bulk folder. As these domains represented a significant portion of the email list, it became imperative to increase their delivery rates so that they could realize an increase in response.

Solution

Since this provider’s main delivery issue focused on Hotmail and MSN, it was determined that the Return Path Certification program would greatly add to the success of their email program. The Return Path Certification program hosts a performance-based whitelist for those whose email reputation and best practices identify them as world class senders.

MSN as well as thousands of other ISPs and filtering solutions rely on the Return Path Certification to determine if they should block or filter email. Members that are accepted to this program as a Certified sender become part of a strong network of trust and therefore, receive preferential treatment to over 1.8 billion inboxes. In addition to the ultra high-delivery rates typical of the program, this health services provider would also be entitled to receive a series of special privileges associated with the program if accepted as a Certified sender. This includes:

• Images and links automatically enabled at Hotmail/MSN thereby enabling their email to be viewed exactly how they intended
• A universal “unsubscribe” button to prevent spam complaints and keep their reputation metrics high
• No hourly throttling limits enabling timely delivery of all of their email at any time without restriction

As a Return Path Platinum-level client, this health services provider recently overhauled their email program by implementing the best practices Return Path recommended. In doing so they improved their email sending reputation with ISPs, reduced complaints, and became eligible to apply for Return Path Certification.

Results

This health service provider was accepted to the Return Path Certification program in May 2008. Once accepted to the program, their delivery rates to Hotmail and MSN domains jumped from 60% to 100%. To date, their delivery rates to Hotmail/MSN remains at 100%.

Customer Feedback

“Since working with Return Path we’ve been able to improve our reputation and consequently our overall deliverability, but we were still having trouble at Hotmail/MSN – a key domain for us. The benefits of being part of the Return Path Certification program immediately provided us with 100% deliverability to Hotmail/MSN and that deliverability rate has remained consistent since our acceptance.”
- Manager, Consumer Marketing, Product and Channel