Spectinga

Spectinga runs an online marketplace for used heavy equipment. It is a fast-growing startup. The first product was shipped by an agency a few years ago, and engineering decisions have driven the growth since.

A lot of that growth runs through email. Buyers and sellers act on a marketing email, click, and come back to trade. Then revenue fell by 30% and stayed there, on a business spending around £100,000 a month. No one could see why.

The revenue came from email clicks, so we looked at the email. A developer had switched Spectinga to a new transactional email provider, and nobody had warmed it up or pointed the DNS at it.

Found the cause

The revenue came from email clicks, so we read the email. The junk rate had gone through the roof.

Traced the change

A developer had moved Spectinga to a new transactional email provider. Nobody had warmed it up first.

Fixed the DNS

Aligned SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the new sender, so mailbox providers could authenticate it.

Warmed the sender

Built volume up gradually so the new provider earned a reputation instead of tripping spam filters.

Restored inbox placement

The marketing emails started reaching the inbox again, where people actually open and click.

Watched the click rate

The click rate returned within the week, and the revenue followed it.

Deliverability is plumbing. When half the revenue runs through it, a quiet provider switch is not a small change.

Back in the inbox.

• 30% of revenue gone while the emails sat in junk.
• < 30 min to lay out the path to the fix.
• < 1 week for the click rate to return to where it should be.