How to Ensure Your Emails Won’t Get Blocked following New Requirements from Google and Yahoo – April 2024
Take action before April 2024
Every email counts in the competitive world of biotech. As a biotech company, you rely on email to communicate with business partners, stakeholders, and clients.
With stricter email requirements coming into place from Google and Yahoo in April 2024, are you at risk of having your emails flagged as spam or blocked entirely?
This article aims to explain the upcoming changes, what they mean for your company, and how to prepare. Please note that we are not email providers.
What exactly is changing? Making email better and safer
The new requirements aim to make the internet safer and more user-friendly. These changes aim to combat the growing problem of spam and email fraud. Phishing emails can be especially risky for biotech companies, potentially leading to data breaches and financial losses.
Google and Yahoo are taking steps to ensure only legitimate emails reach your customers and relations. This will make email safer for everyone while protecting your company’s reputation. Mass mailings will also be required to offer an easy way to unsubscribe from unwanted emails.
Not just your company email
It is essential to understand that these changes apply to all forms of email, not just your company’s regular email communication.
If your company sends newsletters, autoresponders, marketing campaigns, or other bulk emails through a separate platform, you should know that these emails must also comply, regardless of the platform used.
While the vast majority of these platforms are keenly aware of the changes and have often made all necessary preparations, depending on the situation, your IT department may still need to take additional steps to integrate these changes for your company fully.
What could happen if you don’t comply?
The most significant risk of not implementing these requirements for your company email is that your emails won’t be delivered, and platforms such as Google and Yahoo could flag your company as an offender. Your outgoing emails may be in spam folders or even blocked altogether.
February 1st 2024, marked the start of the first phase for these new requirements. This phase serves as a habituation phase, and, as of yet, there are no serious repercussions for non-compliant email. But starting April 1st 2024, this will change, and emails that don’t meet the new guidelines may get blocked from that moment on.
At first, only a small percentage of all non-compliant emails will be scrutinised. In the months ahead, that percentage will gradually increase. Other significant email providers, such as Microsoft, are expected to follow suit.
What biotech companies can do now?
The key takeaway is that if your company hasn’t done so yet, now is the time to ensure your email services comply with the new requirements.
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into technical details, as that is best left to your IT specialists and because each situation is different.
Tactically, the best course of action for your biotech company is to gather a full list of all email platforms your company uses. At a minimum, this will comprise your regular email hosting. It is likely your company will also use one or more platforms for newsletters and other forms of mass email communication. Also, remember that your company website also sends emails for contact forms, email notifications, etc.
Once you have completed the list, your next step would be to contact each of the companies and inquire if they are ready for these new regulations and which steps, if any, you need to take to align and integrate this fully for your company.
Your company may use more than one domain. For example, you may use separate domains for ‘Sales and Marketing’ and for ‘Investors and stakeholders’. You may also use different domains for the USA, Asia, and Europe. In these cases, please follow these steps for each domain.
Consider consulting with an IT professional if you need clarification or have concerns. They can help you understand the new requirements and ensure smooth email communication.
Taking action before April 2024
By taking steps before April 2024, you can ensure your biotech company’s emails continue to reach the inboxes they need to. Remember, we’re here to be a helpful resource, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
For those interested in learning more about the technical aspects, we recommend checking out this helpful resource: https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126