Final answer:
IP warming is a critical step in transitioning to a new email service provider, like Marketing Cloud, to maintain a strong sender reputation. It generally takes four to six weeks for IP ramp-up, during which email volume is gradually increased. This process cannot be bypassed due to historical deliverability success and is essential for avoiding spam filters.
Step-by-step explanation:
When migrating a large retail company's email operations to Marketing Cloud, it's essential to consider proper IP warming to maintain the integrity of the company's sender reputation. IP warming is a deliberate process of gradually increasing the volume of mail sent through a new IP address.
This is done to establish a good sending reputation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Important factors to articulate proper IP warming include:
- IP ramp-up takes four to six weeks to be able to fully send to all 3 million customers. This is a recommended timeframe to build the sender's reputation without triggering spam filters.
- IP ramp-up is important to establish a positive sender reputation. This process helps in minimizing the chances of being marked as spam and improves deliverability.
It's worth noting that even though the company has not experienced deliverability issues previously, a new IP address does not inherit the sender's historical reputation.
Therefore, IP ramp-up cannot be bypassed based on past deliverability performance, and the idea of migrating to pre-warmed IP addresses might accelerate the process but should be approached with caution and proper strategy to ensure ongoing deliverability and reputation.