Why Your Customers Aren't Seeing Your Emails (And How Much It’s Costing You)
Imagine this: You’ve spent the morning putting together a detailed quote for a big renovation job in Ascot. You hit send, feeling good about the price. Three days go by. No reply. You call the client, and they say, “Oh, I never got it.”
You check your sent folder. It’s there. But on their end? It’s sitting in the 'Junk' folder next to a dodgy inheritance scam from overseas.
This isn't just a minor tech glitch. For a Brisbane business owner, this is a disaster. If your emails aren't landing in the main inbox, you aren't just losing 'engagement'—you’re losing cold, hard cash. You’re losing the time you spent writing that email, and you’re losing the customer to the guy down the road whose emails actually show up.
In the last year, Google and Yahoo (who handle most of your customers' email accounts) have cracked down hard. They’ve introduced new rules. If you don't prove to them that you are who you say you are, they will block you. Period.
At Local Marketing Group, we’ve seen dozens of local businesses—from plumbers in Coorparoo to boutique shops in Paddington—wonder why their digital marketing stopped working. Usually, it’s because their 'digital reputation' is in the bin.
This guide is going to show you how to fix that. We aren't going to talk about 'protocols' or 'authentication' in the way a computer geek would. We’re going to talk about how to make sure your business stays out of the spam folder so you can make more money.
The Three Digital 'ID Cards' Your Business Needs
Think of the internet like a high-security building. To get into your customer's inbox, you need to show three different types of ID to the security guard (Google). If you don't have them, or they look fake, you’re kicked out.
1. The 'I Am Who I Say I Am' Stamp (SPF)
This is the most basic one. It’s essentially a list that tells the world: "These are the only services allowed to send email for my business."
If you use Outlook for your daily emails but use a different tool to send out your newsletters, you need both on the list. If you don't have this set up, Google thinks someone is impersonating you. It’s like a stranger trying to use your credit card at the pub—if the signatures don't match, the transaction gets declined.
2. The Digital Wax Seal (DKIM)
Back in the day, kings would drop hot wax on a letter and press their ring into it. If the seal was broken, you knew the letter had been messed with.
This works the same way. It’s a bit of hidden code that travels with your email. It proves to the customer's email provider that your message hasn't been intercepted or changed by a hacker midway through. It gives your email a 'verified' status.
3. The Instruction Manual (DMARC)
This is the most important one that most Brisbane businesses completely ignore. It tells Google what to do if an email fails the first two tests.
Without this, Google has to guess. And lately, Google’s guess is usually "throw it in the bin just in case." By setting this up, you are taking control. You are telling the world: "I take my business security seriously, and you should trust my emails."
Is Your Current Setup Wasting Your Money?
I’ve seen business owners spend thousands on fancy email templates and professional photography, only for those emails to have a 0% chance of being opened because the 'plumbing' behind the scenes is broken.
If you are paying for an email service but your messages are going to junk, you are literally throwing money away. You need to look at your email platform costs not just in terms of the monthly fee, but in terms of 'deliverability'—which is just a fancy word for "actually getting into the inbox."
Most 'free' or cheap platforms make this very hard to set up. They want you to stay on their basic settings, which often means you’re sharing a 'reputation' with thousands of other businesses. If one of those other businesses is a spammer, your emails get punished too. It’s like living in a block of flats where one neighbour is always causing trouble—eventually, the cops start looking at everyone in the building suspiciously.
How to Check if You Have a Problem Right Now
You don't need to be a tech genius to see if you're in trouble. Here is a simple 2-minute test:
1. Send a test email: Send a standard business email to a personal Gmail or Outlook account that you (or a friend) own. Don't send it to yourself at the same business address. 2. Check the 'Junk' folder: If it landed there, you have a major problem. 3. Check the 'Promotions' tab: If you’re a service business (like a lawyer or an electrician) and your quote landed in 'Promotions', that’s also a problem. You want to be in the 'Primary' inbox. 4. Look for the 'Warning' signs: Does Gmail show a little red padlock or a message saying "this sender could not be verified"? That’s the kiss of death for your sales.
If you find your emails are being hidden, don't panic. It’s fixable. But you need to act on it before Google decides your domain name is 'toxic'. Once you’re on a blacklist, it’s a nightmare to get off.
The Real Cost of Being 'Too Busy' to Fix This
I hear it all the time from business owners in suburbs like Milton or Fortitude Valley: "I’m too busy running the crew to worry about DNS records and digital signatures."
I get it. You’ve got staff to manage and jobs to finish. But look at the numbers:
Lost Quotes: If you send 20 quotes a month and 3 go to spam, and your average job is $2,000—that’s $6,000 a month you’re potentially losing. Wasted Marketing: If you’re trying to turn new enquiries into sales through automated emails, but those emails are never seen, your marketing budget is being set on fire. Damaged Reputation: When a customer asks for an invoice and it doesn't arrive, they don't think "Oh, his SPF record must be misconfigured." They think "This guy is unorganised." It makes you look like an amateur.
Step-by-Step: How to Protect Your Business Emails
If you want to do this yourself, or if you want to know what to ask your 'IT guy' to do, here is the checklist.
Step 1: Audit Your Senders
Make a list of every service that sends email on your behalf. This usually includes: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 (your main email) Your website (contact forms) Your accounting software (Xero or MYOB for invoices) Your marketing tool (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, etc.) Your booking system (ServiceM8, Calendly, etc.)Step 2: Update Your 'List of Allowed Senders' (SPF)
You need to go to your domain registrar (where you bought your website name, like GoDaddy or Namecheap) and add a specific line of text to your settings. This line must include every service from Step 1.Warning: You can only have ONE of these records. If you have two, they both break. This is the #1 mistake I see Brisbane businesses make.
Step 3: Turn on the 'Digital Keys' (DKIM)
For every service on your list, you need to go into their settings and find the 'Email Authentication' section. They will give you a couple of lines of code. You copy those and paste them into your domain settings. This tells the world: "Yes, Xero is allowed to send my invoices, and here is the digital key to prove it's really from me."Step 4: Set Your 'Security Policy' (DMARC)
This is the final piece of the puzzle. You add one more line of text to your domain settings. Initially, you set it to 'none', which just means "watch what's happening and tell me if anyone is failing the tests." After a few weeks, once you’re sure everything is working, you change it to 'quarantine' or 'reject'. This tells Google: "If an email looks like it’s from me but doesn't have my ID cards, throw it away. I didn't send it."Why Most 'IT Guys' Get This Wrong
Most general IT support companies are great at fixing your printer or setting up your laptop. But they aren't marketing experts. They often set these records up to be 'good enough' for one-on-one emails, but they don't think about your marketing tools or your website forms.
We’ve seen cases where an IT company set up Microsoft 365 perfectly, but accidentally blocked the business's website from sending lead notifications. The owner wondered why the 'Contact Us' page stopped working for three months. They lost dozens of leads because the 'plumbing' wasn't looked at as a whole system.
Beyond the Tech: Making Sure People Actually Open Your Emails
Once the technical stuff is fixed and your emails are actually hitting the inbox, you still have to get people to click.
Google is smart. If you send 1,000 emails and nobody opens them, Google thinks, "Clearly, people don't want this," and they’ll start putting you in the 'Promotions' or 'Junk' tab anyway. This is why it’s vital to stop paying for emails nobody opens.
You need to keep your list clean. If someone hasn't opened an email from you in six months, stop sending to them. It’s hurting your reputation with Google and making it harder for your active customers to see your messages.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s the priority list:
1. Fix your SPF record today. It’s the most likely reason your quotes are going to junk. 2. Make sure your website forms are working. Go to your website, fill out your own contact form, and see where the notification ends up. If it’s in spam, your 'digital ID' is broken. 3. Check your Xero/MYOB settings. Make sure your invoices aren't being flagged as spam. There's nothing worse for cash flow than a customer who 'never got the bill'.
The Bottom Line
In 2024 and beyond, you can't ignore the technical side of your business. Google and Yahoo have moved the goalposts. If you want to stay in the game, you have to play by their rules.
Fixing your email authentication isn't about being 'trendy' or 'tech-savvy'. It’s about making sure that when you do the work to find a lead, write a quote, or send an invoice, that effort actually results in money in your bank account.
It takes a bit of time to set up, and it might cost you a few hundred dollars to have a professional do it for you. But compared to the cost of losing just one or two big jobs in a year? It’s the best investment you can make for your Brisbane business.
Need a hand getting this sorted?
At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in the 'boring' stuff that actually makes businesses money. We don't care about fancy buzzwords; we care about your phone ringing and your invoices getting paid. If you want us to take a look at your email setup and make sure you're actually reaching your customers, we're here to help.
Get in touch with us at https://lmgroup.au/contact and let’s make sure your emails are working as hard as you do.