Habeas Success Story: BizRate

BizRate.com Adopts the Habeas Sender Warranted Email Service (TM) toProtect Integrity of Core Email Newsletter Program
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BizRate.com, one of the internet's largest product search engines, began its email newsletter program in 2000 as a vehicle for subscribers to gain the information they want about specific products and services, and as a marketing platform that enables BizRate's advertisers, primarily retailers, to reach a specific audience. BizRate sends out six customer newsletters on a regular basis, including the BizRate Special Offers Newsletter, which is emailed to millions of customers each week.

In keeping with the company's customer service philosophy, subscribers must use a confirmed opt-in subscription process. When a subscriber first provides permission to become a newsletter subscriber, an email is sent to the subscriber. This email asks the subscriber to confirm they wish to subscribe. Despite this use of permission- and verification-based subscription practices, some customers still weren't receiving their newsletter, because their Internet Service Provider (ISP) was mistakenly filtering it as spam.

"We could see that our subscription-based email newsletters were getting tangled up in the myriad spam filters deployed by ISPs and enterprises to stop malicious email," says David Weinrot, vice president of direct marketing and promotion for BizRate.com. "Since partnering with Habeas, and adopting the Habeas Sender Warranted Email Service, we've solved this problem and we're seeing an impressive turnaround in deliverability."

Habeas Sender Warranted Email: BizRate's Passport to Deliverability

Anti-spam systems simply block email that is likely to be unsolicited. The Habeas Sender Warranted Email Service takes the opposite approach; it confirms email legitimacy and ensures BizRate's newsletters reach those customers who've requested them. BizRate inserts special x-headers containing the Habeas Warrant Mark into its outbound email. This mark, licensed from Habeas, certifies that the email is not spam because it meets Habeas' stringent compliance requirements.
BizRate is also part of the Habeas Whitelist, a DNS-based Internet Protocol (IP) address listing of Habeas licensees. The Habeas Whitelist enables ISPs and anti-spam solution providers to easily check the veracity of Habeas Compliant Email, and ensures that spammers who try to spoof the system cannot use the Habeas Warrant Mark.

The result: ISPs and spam filters recognize BizRate's Sender Warranted email and let it through without a hitch.

"The Habeas team is great to work with, and the Habeas Sender Warranted Email Service is a straightforward and easy-to-understand technology," says Weinrot. "It does exactly what it says it will, and I no longer need to stay awake at night worrying about delivery. Plus, because Habeas reviewed and certified our email practices, use of the Habeas Warrant Mark in our email confirms that BizRate is using best practices for its email communications. Habeas helps establish and protect our reputation with both our advertisers and our subscribers, and enables them to use the language they wish in their marketing messages."

Habeas also assists BizRate with its receiver relationships. For example, if a delivery issue occurs, Habeas becomes part of the BizRate team, working quickly with ISPs and gateway postmasters to assert BizRate's reputation as a legitimate mailer.

Since partnering with Habeas in December 2003, BizRate has experienced impressive results. "After adopting the Habeas Sender Warranted Email Service, our third-party auditor indicated that our delivery rate increased 25 percentage points," notes Weinrot. "This means that our customers are receiving the shopping newsletters they've requested, while our advertisers are reaching a larger audience with more compelling offers."