Ben Rogers of Inboxroad on Reliable Email Delivery for Marketers

Ben Rogers of Inboxroad tells us about e-mail deliverability, marketing strategy and e-mail software tools.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Ben Rogers: All things considered, everyone is doing well. Being an Irishman based in the Netherlands, it hasn’t been ideal logistically, but the main thing is everyone is safe and healthy, and that’s what matters the most. We have been lucky in the Netherlands as restrictions were significantly less than other EU countries for the most part…  

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Inboxroad.

Ben Rogers: I relocated to the Netherlands 2 years ago with a luxury retail sales background craving a new challenge. I transitioned to SaaS sales at Wish, helping them set up in the UK & Irish market. 

I was put in touch with our founder Symen Jansma, and he offered me an exciting opportunity too good to turn down. Together our challenge was to build a successful sales strategy with the goal of expanding our business at Inboxroad. Fast forward nearly 2 years, we have achieved significant growth.  

Inboxroad was born out of a small email marketing company. After purchasing our own advanced SMTP server, we decided to market our product and help other businesses improve their email deliverability and generate higher ROI. 

How does Inboxroad innovate? 

Ben Rogers: A personal approach is one of our core values at Inboxroad. In an industry dominated by companies hiding behind software and dashboards, we strive to be the most personal SMTP relay solution on the market. 

We work closely with our clients, helping them to improve their email deliverability. Instead of expecting our customers to open up tickets, we solve their problems proactively. Every Inboxroad customer has a point of contact they can reach out to when needed. Furthermore, at Inboxroad, our account managers send personal weekly reports regarding our clients’ sending, so instead of getting lost in numbers, we give actionable advice.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Ben Rogers: We are very privileged to be a Saas company, which means we don’t see the same effects as brick and mortar businesses. I especially feel for the hospitality and travel industry, and it’s very sad to see what’s happened the last year. 

Financially, we have had a successful year despite the pandemic. With everyone working from home, I think more people are sending emails than ever before. Believe it or not, email activity in the US is up 15% since the pandemic started.

Did you have to make difficult choices regarding human resources, and what are the lessons learned?

Ben Rogers: Not per se; however, we did have a colleague leave us in August. At first, this was a daunting prospect- the idea of remotely inducting a new employee sounded like climbing Everest. Thankfully, we have cool heads here and prepared for this change sufficiently. We now have a fantastic new addition to the team – our new email expert Daniel based in Spain. 

If anything, it also expanded our human resources capabilities, as we now have a global team all based within the EU.

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient? 

Ben Rogers: As mentioned previously, we work very closely with our customers. Needless to say, customer relationship management is very important to us. We are planning to expand our customer success team this year. In our business, it can take time to build up a client’s email sending reputation, working hand in hand with our customers is vital for success. We currently use Pipedrive for our customer relationship management. 

Your final thoughts?

Ben Rogers: Email deliverability is increasing in importance. It is an undiscovered gold mine for many marketers. At Inboxroad, we strive to help marketers explore the world of deliverability and see positive results in their campaigns. 

Additionally, our blog has many posts on email marketing strategies, email deliverability and insights from experts in the field. 

Your website?

https://inboxroad.com/