Email management / Marketing

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Email Management / Marketing

Email management in the company: How CRM, teamwork and technical details like DKIM, DMARC and SPF increase efficiency

Emails are still one of the most important means of communication in companies – both internally and externally. However, the increasing flood of emails can become a challenge, especially when it comes to exchanges within teams, support and technical security. Thoughtful email management is therefore crucial to ensure both efficiency and security. In this article, we look at how customer relationship management (CRM), team collaboration, support email handling and key technical measures such as DKIM, DMARC and SPF can help optimize email management.

1. e-mail management in conjunction with CRM

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system helps companies to manage and improve the relationship with their customers. Emails are a central component of communication in this context. A well-integrated email management system in combination with a CRM enables better traceability, personalized communication and more efficient processing of customer inquiries.

Advantages of integrating e-mails into CRM:

• Centralized communication: All email communications with customers are stored directly in the CRM system, so you can access the entire history at any time. This not only helps with tracking inquiries, but also ensures that no important information is lost.

• Automation and follow-up: Automations such as follow-up reminders, personalized emails and trigger-based actions can improve customer communication and retention. For example, an email response or confirmation is sent automatically without the need for manual intervention.

• Customer data and segmentation: With a CRM system, you have direct access to important customer data such as purchase history, preferences and interactions. This information can be used to create customized email campaigns that are better tailored to the customer’s needs.

• Reporting and analytics: CRM systems offer comprehensive analytics and reporting that allow you to measure the success of your email communication. You can find out how many emails have been opened, clicked on or replied to and thus continuously optimize your strategy.

2. edit emails in a team

In many companies, several people work on the same email communication, be it for sales, customer care or support. Efficient email management in a team requires tools and strategies that enable easy collaboration.

Tips for teamwork when processing emails:

• Shared mailboxes and email delegation: Tools such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Outlook offer functions for shared mailboxes. This means that several team members can access the same email account to process and reply to emails. This ensures that everyone is up to date and no requests are overlooked.

• Email tagging and prioritization: To coordinate processing, emails should be tagged or prioritized. For example, an email can be marked as “urgent”, while others are treated with less priority. This helps to structure tasks and clarify responsibilities.

• Automation and templates: The use of email templates for frequent inquiries can significantly increase efficiency. Automated responses for standard questions or FAQs take the pressure off the team and enable a faster response time.

• Communication tools for exchange: For smooth collaboration, it is helpful to use communication tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. These offer the option of communicating directly via email without leaving the email inbox and enable quick coordination within the team.

3. process support emails efficiently

In the support sector, fast and precise processing of emails is of the utmost importance, as customers are usually looking for quick solutions to their problems. A well-structured email management system is crucial here to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.

Optimization of the processing of support e-mails:

• Ticket systems: A ticketing system such as Zendesk or Freshdesk helps to systematically process support emails. Each request is converted into a ticket, which is given a unique ID that makes it possible to track the status of the request. This allows you to ensure that no request is lost and that all tickets are processed on time.

• Categorization and prioritization: By sorting support emails by category (e.g. technical problems, price inquiries, complaints) and prioritizing them by urgency, you can ensure that important requests are processed immediately and less urgent requests are answered within a reasonable period of time.

• Automated responses and knowledge bases: Many support emails often concern the same topics. Automated responses or access to a comprehensive knowledge base can help answer standard queries quickly, allowing support staff to focus on more complex queries.

• Escalation processes: There should be clear escalation processes for particularly difficult or unresolved support requests. This ensures that critical queries are forwarded to the right expert in order to find a quick solution.

4. technical details: DKIM, DMARC and SPF

In addition to the efficient processing of emails, it is also important to deal with the technical aspects of email management, especially with regard to email security. Measures such as DKIM, DMARC and SPF help to ensure the integrity and authenticity of your emails and minimize the risk of spam and phishing attacks.

What are DKIM, DMARC and SPF?

• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM is an authentication mechanism that enables email recipients to check whether an email actually originates from the specified domain and whether the content has been changed during transmission. It is a digital signature that is attached to every outgoing email.

• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): DMARC is a security policy that helps email recipients determine whether emails originate from an authentic source. It is based on SPF and DKIM and specifies what should happen to an email if it does not pass authentication (e.g. reject it or move it to the spam folder).

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF helps to verify that the server sending an email is authorized to send emails on behalf of the specified domain. This protects against forged emails and prevents third parties from sending emails in the name of your company.

Why are these protocols important?

• Phishing protection: DKIM, DMARC and SPF make it more difficult for cybercriminals to spoof emails on behalf of your company, reducing the risk of phishing attacks.

• Increased deliverability: Emails that are authenticated by these protocols are less likely to end up in the spam folder, which improves deliverability and makes communication with your customers more secure.

• Trust and security: Implementing these security measures shows your customers that you take their data seriously and protect their communication with your company.

Conclusion: Holistic email management for greater efficiency and security

Well thought-out email management is more than just replying to messages. The integration of CRM systems, efficient teamwork when processing emails, structured support management and attention to technical security aspects such as DKIM, DMARC and SPF help to significantly improve both the efficiency and security of email communication. Companies that optimize these factors not only benefit from better customer loyalty and increased productivity, but also from a secure and trustworthy communication channel.

5. e-mail marketing with automation function

Now that every user has to log in with their e-mail address everywhere and at all times, and the daily exchange of information also works primarily via e-mail, the old but tried and tested e-mail marketing is the ideal solution. Over the course of time, it has been expanded to include various automation functions and thus offers a cost-effective way to stay in contact with your customers.

Email marketing with email automation is an effective strategy for addressing customers in a targeted and personalized way. Automated workflows allow companies to send predefined emails based on the recipient’s behavior or interests. For example, welcome series, abandoned cart reminders or follow-up emails after a purchase can be triggered automatically. This not only saves time, but also increases the relevance and therefore the likelihood that recipients will respond to the emails. Targeted segmentation and dynamic content can strengthen customer loyalty and sustainably improve the conversion rate.

Example:

You send a customer an email with birthday wishes (automatically, of course). This email also contains a link to a new blog post, or to a promotion or similar. Depending on how the customer reacts, our automation also reacts. If the customer clicks on the link, we assume that they are interested and can send corresponding emails (with a time delay). If he does not click, we assume he is less interested – in this case we can send other emails (e.g. with an even better offer, an even more aggressive campaign, etc.).

This means that customers can easily be moved from one automation to another and (automatically) processed accordingly.