ABILITY TO RECALL EMAILS IS IMPORTANT

[Eliza_Tan]

When we make mistakes in emails, Marketo should allow us to recall emails. I think it's really important.

[SanfordWhiteman]

"Recalling" emails over the public internet has never been, and will never be, possible... and all-caps can't change that.

You're probably confusing public SMTP with a feature of private messaging systems such as Exchange, Notes, etc. where the client can request the server revoke access to other client mailboxes before they're viewed. You have no such control over my own inbox.

[Jamie-Carey]

Hey Sanford, I can understand why someone may be upset due to an email sent out with a mistake. We should all remember what that feels like. Your reply to Aliza comes across condescending because you tone policed her-It's important to maintain a friendly community. It would be more helpful to explain how Marketo doesn't have control over recalling an email-it's a common request.  I can appreciate you know the answer here though.

[Dan_Stevens_]

Jamie - most people that post here on the community are doing so to resolve an issue, ask for help, figure out why something doesn't work in Marketo, etc.  This community topic is no different.  All Sanford said was using ALL-CAPS isn't going to help resolve the issue (with a smiley face emoticon to make it clear that this is just a friendly reminder on proper community etiquette).  I didn't find it condescending at all.  He then clearly stated the technical reason why this is technically not possible using an email platform like Marketo (vs. a closed system like Exchange/Outlook). 

[Jo_Pitts1]

Eliza,

Adding to Sanford Whiteman​'s (accurate) comments about the fact that SMTP has no support for message recall, and therefore neither can Marketo, what this speaks to is the need for great processes.

In the past I have run teams where we had checklists which had to be filled in and signed off by two people.  We didn't let the 'filling in' be with initials or ticks (way to easy to run through a list going tick tick tick), but with actual outcomes (so screen shots from device tests, names used to test personalisation, etc.).  We'd then send internal test emails to the account service team , and then external test emails to the client which also had to be signed off with whatever process they felt appropriate before the campaign would be allowed out the door.  This got us very close to perfection, but even then mistakes happen.

The trick is to have a process that acknowledges that mistakes happen and speaks to what you will do in that instance; making sure you have a copywriter available to craft an apology/retraction/whatever is needed, making sure you send campaigns at a time that means you have resource to build the audience and get the next email out the door (with all the testing and sign offs you'd normally do) if there is a SNAFU to be dealt with, and potentially resend the original email to a different audience if needed.

Regards

Jo

[Grégoire_Miche2]

My vision of this one:

"If you have never sent an apology email to your database for a previous email error, you have not really started email marketing" You can quote me on this!

@Eliza Tan,

It will not solve your problem, but I can guarantee with all my experience (8 years on Marketo, 20 years as a Marketer, a CMO and a Marketing consultant) it has happened or will happen to every one who is seriously using high-level IT tools to send emails to large audience.

Believe that everyone in the community understands your frustration because we have all been there or are afraid of being there in the future.

-Greg

[Balkar_Singh]

This really summarizes this up very well. We're working in a pretty unstructured environment, and there could be lot of ways to get into errors. While the intention is never to make errors, experimenting involves it. We've seen Marketo's domain issue, and a serious production down time last year. We do see giants making errors. While the discussion is hot, we do know the examples of companies who sent a preference center email to records who unsubscribed. There's a common theme in all these mistakes. These are big brands - Marketo, Honda, Amazon - which also suffered a cloud networking issue about a year ago. These are all followed up by apologies, and rectification efforts.

[Grégoire_Miche2]

Balkar+

To the point that learning how to write a good apology email should be part of any email marketing 101 course

-Greg

[SanfordWhiteman]

Couple of weeks back, I got an apology from our cololocation provider saying, "In a recent email, we revealed customer information, which is against our policy."

Curious about what they meant, and figuring it had to do with sending corporate information to us over (unencrypted) SMTP, I went searching in my trash. I found the message and realized what they meant: they'd CC'd hundreds of their customers' technical contacts, so I instantly knew a huge chunk of their customer base (some of whom were quite prestigious, which was cool!).

Now there's something you don't have to worry about w/Marketo. 

[Justin_Eichelb1]

While I agree that at face value, Eliza's question is focused on wanting to recall emails after the Marketo campaign has completed the send process and the the emails are officially sent.

But, what about the timeframe when the Send Email flow step is processing and sending the emails?

I know you can abort email programs, but can you abort Send Email flow steps, mid-step?

Here's my example.  A few years ago, a guy on my team calls me up and says "I think I sent it."  My gut hit the floor.  It was a program template of "lorem ipsum dolor" text in the email.  I looked at the campaign and I could see the Results still trying to send the 250K emails.  And I could do nothing to stop it from completing. 

As far as I know, Marketo still does not have an abort feature there.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

You can have process all you want. As Gregoire and Jo said, mistakes will be made. But maybe, we can minimize the damage if we are aware soon enough.