So it's been QUITE the week in revenue news — and yet, one story popped off like no other — and we're not talking about the coronation of a new Slack CEO (more on that here).
For those just now joining LinkedIn, or the revenue world, here's a real quick primer:
Outreach sent out a teeth-jitterin', tension-headache-inducin' email indicating that Google and Yahoo are (seemingly aggressively) puttin' the VICE GRIPS to SPAM. More on the details later.
What you need to know first is that the whole revenue world was left shook. 😱
Now, to help y'all calm the hell down (and make use of these +10 years of email marketing experience I've just got sitting here, molding on my desk) this week we're going to focus on this for a deeper dive than usual.
Yes, yes... we're adding to the OVERWHELMING CHORUS OF L/I HOT TAKES with our own... But this time, we're going to focus on what this means more broadly for Revenue teams moving forward...
We're calling it something more chill, more moderated...
The Spamocalypse is Nigh! AHHH!: RevOps, Brace for Impact! AHHH! 🦖❗️☄️ (5 Insights)
Before we get into the meat, I just want to start with the fact that, for email clients, this has been both a long time coming, and an obvious result of the way we've treated outbound for decades.
Email, in its own way, is very much like a Petri dish for GTM.
And not without good reason: Often, it's one of the first places you can go to test out new messaging, positioning, segmentation, personalization strategies, etc. and see obvious, fast, and decisive results.
Truly, A/B testing was made for email, and until Apple's iOS15 gummed up the works, most of the engagement metrics email marketers saw until then were fairly reliable and clear.
Also important to note: Email is also one of the shadiest places known to humankind. It is one of the most — if not THE most — abused of the channels.
It's a favorite for black-hat marketers, charming African princes, and the like.
And even your typical everyday marketer has been known to play fast and loose with a relatively toothless CAN-SPAM Act and/or try silly little tricks that quickly fade once the public catches on.
(Remember when one of the "email hacks" circa-2014 was to add "Sent from my iPhone" to the bottom of your emails? Just to like... make it seem like your email was more personalized and not some mass email blast? Remember that?)(noreply@PepperidgeFarm.com remembers. 👴)
The ease and utility of capital-E Email has meant for years, what happens there is a fantastic bellwether for what could (and likely will) happen to not just other outbound less painless channels, but to the Internet as a whole.
That means if your revenue team is relying on the Internet right now, you should probably pay close attention to this story because it's not an email issue. It's a saturation issue. Because with the advent and propagation of content-for-no-cost gen A.I., this problem is coming for your inboxes, your social channels, your inbound SEO, and eventually not too far into the future your cold-calling (and more).
Saturation is the new devil we white-hat marketers are set to battle on the fields of Gog and Magog.
And while Google and Yahoo are clearly signaling it's time to do something drastic, marketers will do their thing and find ways to get around the checks, exploit the algos, and so forth, until everything is just a bombed out husk of robots timing their "Just resurfacing this" re-floats against a few tactful breakup InMails.
So that said...
Without further ado, here are some things you can (and likely should) take away from this whole Outreach thing, that extend far beyond lil ol' email.
1) Behold, The Power of Complaints 🌪️
Outreach's email showed you have to keep your spam complaint rates lower than Lil Jon — WHAT?! – we're talkin'.3% low.
Gone are the days when positive engagement rates were the golden metrics. Now, it's all about keeping those negative sentiments down. (OKAY!) One thing we can glean from this is that negative sentiment will become far more powerful an indicator across all channels. Are your ads getting flagged on Facebook? Are people reporting your SMS outreach? It's not too much of a stretch to assume that a sad-face emoji will come with far more gravitas moving forward. (YEAH!)
2) Scaling Back is the New Black 😎
While the new spam rules are certainly zeroing in on anyone dispatching over 5,000 emails per day, they also signal the need for Revenue teams to reign in it a little bit all around, mk? The spray-and-pray world is thankfully on it's way out. Let's say your ABM list is 100 people. Wouldn't it be better to hit 5 at a time instead of putting all of your revenue eggs in basket and blast 100 all at once? The cap itself shows that using smaller, more focused cohorts for testing will be the the new normal – a silver lining.
It's about quality now, not quantity, folks.
3) It’s a Unification Thang 🤝
This isn't just about one tool or platform. These rules cover all emails from your domain. So, you'll need to be the master puppeteer, pulling strings across all platforms. But even more importantly, this ain't merely a tools thing. Everyone on the GTM team, from sellers to marketers, needs to be in the loop across ALL the channel — we can pretty much assure you that this means you're going to need to focus more on your time and energy on tightening up and unifying your teams.
4) Automation: Oh, You're Not Off the Hook Either 🎣
All of your outbound automation is going to need a serious audit. Yep, this includes your automated "hello" and "forgot your password" emails.(Make sure these auto-missives are also playing by the rules.) (Don't worry, most aren't cold-hearted enough to spam-flag a password reset... I hope). Get ready to put a fine-tooth comb through all of the low-quality, high-volume stuff you've got going out.
5) Community Led Growth's Stock Just Went Up 📈
Yes, it seems the era of cold outreach was always on borrowed time. With the rise of AI-generated content, the quality of outbound channels has taken a hit, leading to what some might call an "enshittification" (pardon my French 🥖) of the digital realm.
Trust is a rare commodity these days, especially among the email-averse younger generations. That means building a community is one of the surest paths forward. Despite the tightening grip on email marketing, there's a beacon of hope: building your own community. It's about creating content that's not just spammy fluff, but genuinely valuable, considerate, and on-point.
This isn't a shortcut; it's about fostering real trust in your brand.
In the end... The revenue game ain't just about reacting to changes; it's about anticipating them. And this... this one was pretty clearly coming. I mean, have you seen your inbox lately? Geez.
So, it's time to really start thinking philosophically: what's next on the revenue horizon? Will A.I. take over?
Here's the hard truth: channel saturation isn't just an inconvenience; it's the new world. Our beloved internet is overflowing with content, and standing out is getting tougher and tougher. This isn't a time to mourn; it's a time to innovate. Appreciating and understanding this saturation is crucial. We need to strategize not just based on what works now, but on carving new paths in the crowded digital jungle. Think outside the inbox (💅)– are there unexplored channels or underutilized formats that could be your next big win?
Maybe!
Chatbots, personalized landing pages, interactive content – the list goes on. Each of these tools offers unique ways to engage with your audience and deliver value. And here's the kicker: when used creatively, they can complement your other efforts, not just compete with them.
So get out there and get innovating!
Rawr!! 🦖
Strategy and Insights (Abridged for this week)
- DEAR LORD, WRITE IT DOWN ✍️: Eddie Reynolds spittin' fire here as he emphasizes the crucial importance of a well-defined and documented sales process in RevOPS to ensure efficient slash successful customer acquisition.
- BUSTED & UNTRUSTED HEALTH SCORES 😷: Kevin Chiu discusses the near-unanimous agreement among top execs that the "Health Score" metric used in customer success platforms is fundamentally broken and ineffective, despite being widely used and considered essential, pointing to a pretty significant disconnect between what is perceived as valuable in theory and what actually proves useful in practice at the executive level.
- TALK TO THE PEOPLE 🎙️: Weflow founder Philipp Stelzer highlights the DESPERATE NEED for RevOps teams to regularly talk with both potential and lost customers here, emphasizing that understanding their experiences and decision-making processes is crucial for refining your sales strategy (basically just like how product managers interact with users to improve their products 🙃).
- BONUS: 'THEY WILL LEAVE YOU' ✌️ Rishi Sood has a great point: If a "Head of Revenue Operations" fulfills EXTENSIVE responsibilities across MULTIPLE business areas and plays a VITAL role in executive decisions... ummm they effectively function as a COO... and you'd better make 'em feel like it in other ways. (Say... with MONEY!)
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And that's it for this week!
We'll be back next Thursday night with more news, tips, and far fewer Spam references.
Thanks for reading — remember you can always reach out to us at hello@gorattle.com for any questions, comments, concerns, or literal spam recipes (it's actually pretty delicious if you fry it).
