Should I correct typos in existing email addresses in my CRM and what are the best practices for handling email typos in Fintech signups?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from HubSpot Blog recommends using a confirmation email field in signup forms, where users have to enter their email twice, reducing the chances of typos.
Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests implementing a filter that accepts only the most common domains (e.g., gmail.com, yahoo.com) and alerts the user if they enter a less common domain, prompting them to double-check their address.
Email marketer from Reddit r/emailmarketing suggests that instead of correcting typos, segmenting those potentially incorrect addresses and sending a re-engagement campaign asking users to confirm their information is a better practice.
Email marketer from Kickbox advises against automatically correcting emails and to use real-time email verification and double opt-in as the right strategy to get valid and engaged contacts.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises against correcting typos in email addresses in a CRM, suggesting that some users may intentionally provide incorrect addresses. Reaching their proper address could lead to spam complaints and potential exposure to spam traps, as these users never opted into the program.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog advises that correcting email typos in a CRM is generally not recommended without explicit consent from the user, as it could violate privacy regulations. Implementing a double opt-in process is the best approach.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that in regulated FinTech scenarios, if an email fails, one should fall back to other channels like SMS, or even paper, for compliance purposes.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that many typoed domains can be phishing domains, therefore checking if the domain has a valid MX record isn't a suitable approach. Instead they would like to filter the top 300 domains or use a form with email and email confirmation fields.
Email marketer from Litmus highlights the importance of data security and privacy regulations (like GDPR) in handling user data. Correcting typos without consent could violate these regulations, emphasizing the need for opt-in confirmation.
Email marketer from MarketingProfs suggests using progressive profiling where you collect essential information first, and then ask users to confirm their email address later, reducing friction during the initial signup process and enabling typo correction.
Email marketer from StackExchange answers that while you can check if an email address has a valid MX record to verify the domain exists, this will not catch typos within the local part (before the @ symbol) and could also falsely validate phishing domains. Therefore, use with caution in a wider method.
Email marketer from NeverBounce recommends implementing a tiered approach: real-time validation during signup, followed by periodic cleaning of the existing CRM data to identify and address any lingering issues.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce suggests using an email validation service to detect and correct common typos in real-time, improving data quality and preventing deliverability issues. They also warn of fake and disposable emails.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks emphasizes that typos in email addresses, especially for fintech companies, pose a security risk and a customer protection issue, potentially leaking personal identifiable information (PII). She suggests that typos leading to deliverable mail are worse because they leak PII.
Expert from Email Geeks highlights that one cannot assume that typos only occur on the domain side and/or lead to undeliverable mail. If there are significant problems on the domain side, there would be similar problems on the user side.
Expert from Word to the Wise responds with recommending a combination of tools which are used to check email validity. Using tools which check for MX records, syntax and common typos.
Expert from Spam Resource responds by pointing out it's better to not correct typos in email addresses, especially in financial sectors because this will flag regulatory issues.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC 5322 provides the technical specifications for email address syntax, which can be used to validate the format of email addresses during sign-up, helping to identify some types of typos. This can be used in conjunction with other methods.
Documentation from Google reCAPTCHA informs that using CAPTCHA technology on sign-up forms can help prevent bots from submitting large numbers of invalid or typo-filled email addresses, contributing to cleaner data.
Documentation from Mailchimp recommends using confirmed opt-in to ensure email addresses are valid and users have actively agreed to receive communications. They suggest this method prevents typo issues.
Documentation from Twilio SendGrid advocates for real-time email validation during signup to catch typos and invalid formats, preventing incorrect data from entering the CRM in the first place.
Documentation from OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) explains input validation techniques. These are essential for sanitizing input data from users to prevent security issues such as typos, invalid characters and injection attacks and help ensure integrity of data.