Does Marketo continue to send to hard bounces

[Jamie_Barclay]

does MarlKeto continue to send to hard bounces or are they unsubscribed? Also are continual soft bouces ever converted to hard bounces / unsubscribeD (and when)?

[Devraj_Grewal]

Jamie,

Marketo will continue to send to hard bounces unless you mark them as "email invalid". Also in regards to soft bounces, Marketo will not automatically convert soft bounces to hard bounces, they leave that discretion up to you.

For instance, I have implemented that 3 soft bounces will register as "email invalid" and 1 hard bounce will register as "email invalid". Thus, Marketo will not email these leads. You can build a soft bounce threshold by bringing in the trigger "email bounces soft: minimum number of times: 3" and the filter "email invalid: false" and the flow will be "change data value: email invalid: true".

Also make sure you implement a process to uncheck "email invalid" if the email address is changed.

[Josh_Hill13]

This is managed under

Email Suspended=T and Email Suspended Date when a lead hard bounces. However, only some hard bounces are logged here for a 24 hour hold. Once that hold is over, the two fields DO NOT CHANGE, but Marketo releases the email address for use. Some bounce codes are permanently set to Invalid. As Devraj says, the best method is to build a set of batch flows to manage this for your needs. Typically:

• Any Hard Bounce=>Email Invalid=T
  • actual spam or blacklist responses can be blocked first, but I prefer to block all HB.
• 3x Soft Bounce=> Email Invalid=T OR I will often suspend for 30 days, but if they do it twice, then it is invalid.

[Dory_Viscoglio · Accepted solution]

In addition to what Devraj and Josh have outlined above, I would take a look at the hard bounce reasons that you're seeing. Sometimes they will give you insight into clients who are blocking your emails, improperly entered email addresses, or larger issues that you're having with your overall deliverability. These messages can be very helpful in diagnosing issues.

[Jamie_Barclay]

All of your insights are incredibly valuable.  I will be looking into this.  Thank you