Are follow-up surveys considered transactional emails and what are the best practices?

Key findings

• Legal ambiguity: Under the US CAN-SPAM Act, surveys are not explicitly listed as transactional messages. This means their classification often depends on how broadly transactional or relationship messages are interpreted (Kickbox Blog).
• Purpose matters: An email is considered transactional if its primary purpose is to facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction the recipient has already agreed to (Shopify, InboxArmy).
• Personalization is key: For a survey to lean towards transactional, it typically needs to be highly personalized and specific to the recipient's particular purchase or interaction, not just a generic product. For example, asking 'Did you receive the specific item you bought?' may be closer than 'Are you happy with the service we provided?'
• Recipient vs. sender benefit: If the primary benefit of the email seems to be for the sender (e.g., collecting testimonials for marketing), it is more likely to be classified as commercial, even if the information is also used internally for improvement.
• User expectation: Regardless of legal definitions, users generally expect to be able to opt out of any email that isn't essential to a service they're actively using. Sending unwanted emails can lead to complaints and poor sender reputation.

Key considerations

• Consult legal counsel: Given the legal complexities, especially for US-based operations under CAN-SPAM, it is crucial to consult a legal team for definitive advice regarding specific use cases.
• Always provide opt-out: To maintain a healthy sender reputation and avoid spam complaints, it is a best practice to include a clear and easy opt-out mechanism, even if the email might technically qualify as transactional.
• Segmented opt-outs: If possible, offer granular opt-out options (e.g., 'opt out of future product follow-up messages') rather than a blanket unsubscribe that stops all communication, including potentially essential transactional messages. This can affect how account update emails are classified, for instance.
• Prioritize user experience: Focus on what benefits the recipient. Unwanted emails, regardless of legal classification, lead to spam reports and damage sender reputation, which can affect all your email deliverability, including other transactional emails.
• Check with your ESP: Your Email Service Provider (ESP) may have their own policies regarding survey emails and their classification. Understanding their stance can help avoid compliance issues and potential blocklisting, particularly if you separate transactional and marketing emails.

Key opinions

• User choice is paramount: Regardless of legal classification, recipients should always have the option to opt out of any mail they receive, especially if it's not a core transactional notification like a receipt or shipping update.
• Personalization impacts perception: Surveys specific to a user's unique purchase or interaction are more likely to be perceived as transactional, while generic surveys are clearly marketing.
• Avoid disgruntling customers: Marketers who don't provide an opt-out for surveys, even if they lean on the broadest legal definition of transactional, risk alienating customers and increasing spam complaints.
• Focus on user benefit: The user's perspective should always take precedence over what the sender wants. If a survey doesn't clearly benefit the recipient (e.g., through direct feedback on a critical service), it's more likely to be seen as unwanted promotional content.

Key considerations

• Implement segmented opt-outs: Where possible, allow users to opt out specifically from follow-up survey messages without unsubscribing from all essential communications, a practice that many companies can facilitate.
• Proactive spam prevention: Ignoring user desire for opt-out can lead to increased spam complaints, which in turn can lead to domain or IP blocklisting, impacting overall email deliverability. Monitor your domain reputation closely.
• Developer implications: Developers dislike having to implement urgent suppression lists and investigate email history due to legal threats stemming from unwanted emails.

Key opinions

• Opt-out is paramount: Experts universally agree that recipients should always have the ability to opt out of messages, even if they are technically classified as transactional. This prevents unwanted emails from becoming spam complaints.
• Legal vs. ethical: Beyond strict legal definitions, the 'right thing to do' often involves prioritizing the recipient's experience, providing choice, and ensuring the email primarily benefits the user, not just the sender.
• CAN-SPAM's narrow scope: For US regulations, the CAN-SPAM Act's definition of transactional or relationship messages is specific, and surveys generally do not fit neatly into these categories unless they directly confirm or facilitate a prior transaction.
• Impact of internal use: Using survey data solely for internal purposes (e.g., product improvement) does not automatically make the survey email transactional. If the sender disproportionately benefits, it could still be seen as commercial.
• ESPs' stance matters: An Email Service Provider's (ESP) internal abuse desk often classifies surveys as non-transactional, thus treating them as marketing emails subject to opt-out requirements. This can affect how you segment your sending infrastructure.

Key considerations

• Distinguish between transactional and marketing purpose: Even if a survey is related to a transaction, its underlying purpose (e.g., brand promotion vs. direct support) determines its classification. This impacts whether you can send to unsubscribed users or if promotional content is permissible.
• Understand legal definitions: While not providing legal advice, understanding the specifics of regulations like CAN-SPAM is vital. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides guidance on what constitutes a transactional message.
• The 'giggle test': A simple way to discern commercial intent is the 'giggle test': if the follow-up survey makes you smile because it implicitly promotes or benefits the sender, it's likely commercially aimed and not transactional.
• Maintain sender reputation: Prioritizing user experience by offering opt-outs and respecting preferences contributes to a strong sender reputation, which is crucial for all email deliverability, transactional or otherwise.

Key findings

• Action-triggered: Transactional emails are defined as automated messages triggered by a specific action taken by the customer, such as a purchase or account creation (Klaviyo, Shopify, InboxArmy).
• Direct relation to user action: They contain information directly related to the user's action, like order confirmations or payment failures (Netpeak Journal).
• CAN-SPAM's omission: The US CAN-SPAM Act does not specifically include surveys in its definition of transactional messages, meaning they are not automatically exempt from unsubscribe requirements (Kickbox Blog).
• Common survey integration: Despite legal nuances, survey emails are commonly sent as part of transactional flows, particularly after purchases or support interactions, to collect feedback (MailerSend, Zoho Zeptomail).

Key considerations

• Primary purpose analysis: When determining if a survey is transactional, assess its primary purpose. If it's mainly for market research, testimonials, or lead generation, it leans commercial. If it's to confirm service or product functionality essential to a past transaction, it may lean transactional.
• Avoid promotional content: To maintain transactional status, avoid including any promotional content, advertisements, or marketing upsells within the survey email. Mixing commercial content with transactional content risks reclassifying the entire message as commercial.
• Clear identification: Ensure the email clearly relates to a specific, previous user action. General customer satisfaction surveys, while valuable, may not meet the strict transactional definition. Delighted blog recommends follow-up immediately for web, sales, or customer service interactions.
• Regulatory adherence: Always refer to the specific definitions provided by regulatory bodies like the FTC (for CAN-SPAM) or similar authorities in other jurisdictions to ensure compliance and avoid issues with email deliverability.