E-Mail Deliverability Package

Objective

The Email Deliverability Package provides a structured assessment and optimization of a customer's email deliverability and outbound trust posture across Retarus Transactional Email. It identifies the technical, reputational, and operational factors affecting inbox placement, and assesses the trust and authenticity signals that strengthen recipient confidence — delivering a concrete roadmap to improve and sustain both.

The service is designed to:

• assess the customer's current deliverability posture across all relevant dimensions

• validate email authentication configuration (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI)

• analyze sender reputation and identify reputation risks

• review sending list quality and hygiene practices

• evaluate IP and domain sending strategy

• assess outbound trust and authenticity options, including message signing where applicable

• provide prioritized, actionable recommendations to improve inbox placement and recipient trust

The objective is to give the customer a clear, evidence-based picture of their deliverability and outbound trust posture, and a validated path to higher, more stable inbox placement.

Typical Customer Scenarios

The service is particularly suitable for customers with:

• declining or inconsistent inbox placement and rising spam-folder rates

• high-volume transactional or campaign sending requiring stable deliverability

• recent or recurring blacklisting or reputation incidents

• authentication gaps (incomplete SPF, missing DKIM, no enforced DMARC)

• uncertainty about shared vs. dedicated IP strategy

• a need to strengthen recipient trust and message integrity for business-critical application email

• no structured deliverability review since go-live

Scope of Services

Authentication Review
Assessment of the email authentication foundation, including:

• SPF record completeness and correctness

• DKIM signing configuration and key setup

• DMARC policy, alignment, and reporting status

• BIMI readiness assessment where brand indicators are in scope

Reputation & Sender Score Analysis
Assessment of sender reputation and the factors driving it, including:

• sender score and reputation indicators

• complaint rate and spam report analysis

• sending volume consistency and frequency patterns

• blacklist status review across major blacklist operators

• spam trap exposure risk

List Quality & Hygiene Assessment
Review of distribution list quality and operational hygiene, including:

• bounce handling and suppression practices

• hard/soft bounce rates and thresholds

• consent and opt-in practices (incl. double opt-in)

• unsubscribe handling and list maintenance

IP Strategy & Sending Architecture Review
Evaluation of the sending architecture, including:

• shared vs. dedicated IP assessment against volume and quality profile

• domain and subdomain sending strategy

• channel separation for transactional vs. promotional sending

• role-based sender address handling

Content & Sending Strategy Review
Assessment of practices affecting deliverability, including:

• sending frequency and campaign prioritization

• content and subject-line factors influencing spam classification

• attachment and formatting risk factors

Message Signing Assessment (where applicable)
Evaluation of digital message signing for outbound application email, including:

• assessment of whether S/MIME message signing is appropriate for the customer's use case

• benefit evaluation — integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiation for business-critical application email, and increased recipient trust

• prerequisite and constraint check (German datacenter requirement, S/MIME certificate from a Certificate Authority)

• recommendation on adoption and the path to implementation

Typical Coverage Areas

The assessment covers authentication posture, sender reputation, list quality, IP and domain strategy, content and sending practices, blacklist exposure, and — where relevant — outbound message signing. The exact focus is aligned with the customer at kick-off.

Deliverables

• Deliverability Assessment Report — findings across all assessment dimensions

• Authentication Configuration Review — SPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI status and identified gaps

• Prioritized Deliverability Roadmap — actionable recommendations sequenced by impact, including a message signing recommendation where assessed

Delivery Options

Customer Responsibilities

The customer is responsible for providing:

• access to relevant sending configuration, DNS, and authentication records

• sending statistics, bounce, and complaint data for the assessment period

• sending list availability for hygiene assessment

• relevant technical and operational stakeholders for sessions

• timely implementation of identified prerequisite actions

Assumptions & Limitations

The service provides assessment, planning, and optimization guidance. The following are out of scope:

• implementation of recommended configuration changes (separate engagement or Professional Services Contingent)

• implementation of message signing — certificate procurement and configuration are a separate effort

• ongoing deliverability monitoring (available via Professional Services Contingent)

• dedicated IP warm-up preparation (available as a separate package)

• legal or regulatory advice on email marketing compliance (GDPR, CAN-SPAM, country-specific) — these remain the customer's responsibility

• guaranteed delivery outcomes — inbox placement depends on list quality, content, recipient engagement, and ISP behavior, which are outside Retarus' direct control

Message signing availability is subject to current platform constraints, including datacenter region and certificate requirements, which are validated during the assessment.

Outcome

After completion, the customer receives:

• an evidence-based view of their current deliverability and outbound trust posture

• a validated authentication and reputation baseline

• a clear recommendation on message signing adoption where relevant

• a prioritized roadmap to improve and sustain inbox placement and recipient trust

Format & Scope