Summary
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is a standard designed to display brand logos next to email messages in recipient inboxes, aiming to enhance brand visibility and trust. While it clearly improves email authentication and brand recognition, its direct, measurable impact on bottom-line KPIs such as clicks, conversions, and revenue per send is often indirect and challenging to quantify precisely.
Key findings
- Engagement lift: BIMI is consistently observed to increase email engagement, specifically open and click rates, by fostering greater brand recognition and trust in the inbox.
- Indirect impact on KPIs: While engagement improves, the direct correlation to specific conversion rates or revenue figures is more difficult to isolate and prove. The impact is often indirect, stemming from increased trust and credibility.
- Measurement challenges: A/B testing BIMI’s precise influence on these deeper metrics is technically challenging due to limitations in how email clients support the standard.
- Authentication prerequisite: BIMI requires a robust email authentication foundation, especially a DMARC policy enforced at quarantine or reject, which itself contributes to improved deliverability and trustworthiness.
Key considerations
- Focus on engagement: Prioritize measuring how BIMI impacts engagement metrics, as these are the most directly observable and can then be correlated with broader campaign performance. More on BIMI's impact on engagement can be found in our article: what is BIMI's impact on email engagement metrics?
- Long-term value: Recognize that BIMI contributes to long-term brand equity and trust, which are foundational elements for sustainable marketing success, even if immediate revenue jumps are not always evident.
- Holistic approach: View BIMI as part of a comprehensive email deliverability strategy that includes strong authentication, content optimization, and sender reputation management to collectively improve KPIs. Read about whether BIMI improves email deliverability.
- Leverage available data: While direct causation is hard, studies like Yahoo Mail's BIMI test in March 2018 demonstrate a 10% increase in email engagement, providing empirical support for its impact on initial interaction.
What email marketers say
Email marketers are often looking for clear, quantifiable returns on any new technology, and BIMI is no exception. While they are enthusiastic about anything that boosts engagement and brand trust, the challenge lies in drawing a direct line from BIMI implementation to increased conversions or revenue. They consistently seek clearer forecasting models to justify the investment in this evolving standard.
Key opinions
- Desire for conversion data: Marketers frequently express a desire to see if BIMI's impact on engagement can be directly translated into improved conversion rates or revenue.
- Engagement observed: Many marketers report anecdotal evidence or observed increases in general email engagement, such as open rates and click-through rates, after adopting BIMI.
- ROI justification: The costs associated with BIMI implementation, including VMCs (Verified Mark Certificates), drive marketers to seek clearer metrics for return on investment.
- Forecasting interest: There's an interest in developing predictive models to estimate how a lift in engagement might translate into downstream business results.
Key considerations
- Attribution challenges: It can be difficult to attribute specific lifts in conversion or revenue solely to BIMI, as numerous other factors influence campaign performance.
- Brand trust benefits: While direct revenue links are elusive, marketers recognize that BIMI's role in building brand trust and preventing fraud is a significant, albeit indirect, benefit to the overall marketing funnel.
- Strategic integration: BIMI should be integrated into a broader email marketing strategy that includes clear calls to action and personalized content to maximize its potential for driving conversions. You can also explore what are the costs and steps for implementing BIMI to get a better understanding.
- Engagement as a proxy: Marketers often use improved engagement metrics as a proxy for BIMI's success, assuming that higher engagement correlates with better downstream results. Learn more about good email marketing metrics.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks indicates that they are curious if, with the observed impact on engagement, it is possible to track a subsequent impact on conversion or revenue.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks expresses concern that without a clear impact on final results, such as conversion or revenue, it is difficult to prioritize BIMI implementation due to its associated costs.
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts emphasize that BIMI is a powerful tool for brand authentication and trust. While it clearly influences engagement metrics like opens and clicks, the direct pipeline to conversion and revenue remains a complex area. They highlight the ongoing industry challenge of establishing precise measurement methodologies given the technical nuances of BIMI implementation and A/B testing limitations.
Key opinions
- A/B testing difficulty: Experts agree that precise A/B testing for BIMI's impact on revenue and conversions is technically difficult due to how email clients handle the standard.
- Engagement feedback: Client feedback consistently points to an increase in general email engagement after adopting a BIMI logo.
- No direct revenue data: While engagement improves, there is currently no widespread, definitive data directly correlating BIMI implementation to a significant lift in conversions or revenue.
- Measurement evolution: Measuring the full success of BIMI is an evolving challenge that the email industry continues to address as the standard matures.
Key considerations
- Trust as a core benefit: BIMI's primary value lies in enhancing brand trust and visual recognition, which are critical elements for long-term subscriber engagement and deliverability.
- Indirect ROI: The return on investment for BIMI should be considered not just in immediate clicks or conversions, but also in reduced phishing risks, improved brand reputation, and better inbox placement. Find out more about the business value of implementing BIMI.
- Industry resources: Experts advise consulting resources like the Valimail blog post on measuring BIMI impact to navigate the current limitations in direct A/B testing.
- Deliverability improvement: Implementing BIMI, which relies on strong authentication like DMARC, contributes to stricter email practices that can improve overall deliverability and reduce the likelihood of being placed on a blacklist or blocklist. Explore how BIMI improves deliverability and reduces blocklisting.
Expert view
Deliverability expert from Email Geeks observes that precise A/B testing of BIMI's impact is challenging due to existing technical limitations, particularly the lack of selector support in many email environments.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks states that numerous clients have reported a noticeable increase in engagement following the successful implementation of a BIMI logo for their email campaigns.
What the documentation says
Documentation and authoritative resources on BIMI primarily highlight its technical specifications, its role in email authentication, and its benefits for brand protection and visibility. While some studies point to a lift in engagement, these sources typically acknowledge the complex nature of directly correlating BIMI to advanced KPIs like conversions and revenue, often framing it as a crucial component of a broader trust and deliverability ecosystem.
Key findings
- Brand visibility: BIMI's core function is to allow brands to display their official logo in the inbox, enhancing brand recognition and user trust.
- Engagement proof: Early pilot programs, such as those conducted by Yahoo Mail, have shown measurable increases in email engagement (e.g., open rates) after BIMI implementation.
- DMARC dependency: Successful BIMI deployment requires a robust DMARC implementation with a policy set to either quarantine or reject, underscoring its foundation in strong email authentication.
- Standardization efforts: BIMI represents an industry-wide effort to standardize visual trust indicators, aiming to benefit both senders and recipients by reducing email fraud and improving user experience.
Key considerations
- Evolving adoption: The full impact of BIMI is also dependent on its continued adoption by email clients and mailbox providers. Learn about which email clients actually support BIMI.
- Indirect contribution: While documented increases in engagement exist, documentation often positions BIMI as a contributor to a chain of positive events, rather than a sole driver of direct conversions or revenue.
- Technical prerequisites: Documentation clearly outlines the technical requirements, including DNS records and Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs), that must be met for BIMI to function correctly. Have questions? See our common questions and answers about BIMI.
- Trust as a metric: The enhancement of trust and reduced impersonation risks, while hard to monetize directly, are significant benefits highlighted in technical documentation and industry standards.
Technical article
Official documentation from Mailchimp explains that BIMI works to standardize the display of brand logos, which serves as a crucial visual indicator for consumers to verify email authenticity and avoid fraudulent messages.
Technical article
A study published by Practical Ecommerce on Yahoo Mail's BIMI test in March 2018 documented a 10% increase in email engagement, suggesting a direct link between BIMI and recipient interaction.
Related resources
15 resources
Related pages
What is BIMI's impact on email engagement metrics?
Does BIMI improve email deliverability?
What are the costs and steps for implementing BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)?
What are common questions and answers about BIMI email authentication?
Understanding the business value and ROI of implementing BIMI
Will BIMI and stricter email practices improve deliverability and reduce blocklisting?
How to increase email click through rate [step by step guide]
Why your emails are going to spam in 2024 and how to fix it
A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM
Which email clients actually support BIMI?
