The Critical Importance of QA

For the uninitiated, email marketing might seem like a straightforward endeavor. You just write an email and hit send, right? How tricky can it be?

The truth is that email campaigns can be remarkably complex. From making sure sends are rendered correctly in every email client to confirming that all the information inside an email is correct, locking up an email campaign for the best user experience is complicated business. 

We talked with the head of Ingredient’s quality assurance department, Joel Gulledge, about the critical importance of QA, what the process looks like at Ingredient, and why it’s so essential that marketers have a dedicated QA department. 

High level, describe what QA does.

We test and troubleshoot issues for web and email related to display, responsiveness, functionality, performance, and accessibility. We’re always asking ourselves — is this deliverable providing the best user experience possible?

One of Ingredient’s specialties is email marketing. What would you say to someone who might be thinking, sending emails … how hard could it be?

Email campaigns can be quite sophisticated and complex, especially when you start thinking about things like audience segmentation, dynamic content, and delivery. 

It’s very important that we test those things and get them right because, unlike other channels where you can always go back and make updates, you can’t do that with email. Once it goes out the door, it’s gone. There’s no second opportunity to fix something and that’s especially critical when deploying specific offers to the most relevant audiences.

What are some common issues you run into? And how do you test for them?

When building html email, there are often display issues with rendering depending upon which desktop email client or mobile device is being used. Other issues we look for include making sure dynamic content populates correctly for the intended audience. When we implement fixes, it’s critical to re-test for regression issues, and we use a variety of tools to test and troubleshoot those issues before we schedule the email.

What does that look like in practice? 

The QA team at Ingredient works closely alongside our developers to build and deploy test versions of emails across os/email client configurations, so we’re able to receive those emails exactly as an end user receives them. Using a number of tools, our QA analysts and developers troubleshoot any issues that may occur before the final deployment of an email marketing campaign. Our mission is to build emails right the first time, every time.

Why is having a dedicated QA department important?

One thing that sets Ingredient apart is our serious approach to all MarTech and development projects. By bringing MarTech QA fully in-house and standardizing our QA practice, we own all our testing efforts, and we can push for best practices for the agency, for our clients, and especially for end-users. 

Having a dedicated QA team strengthens the work our developers do because they aren’t solely responsible for testing their own work. QA analysts identify and correct any weaknesses with the build and interaction.

I know from talking to you around the office that you love QA. Why? 

I love having the developers’ backs. And I love having the creatives’ backs. I’m super excited about the fact that every single digital deliverable comes across our desk and we have an opportunity to strengthen it,  improve it, and get it to a better place for the end-user. I love taking that ownership and the challenge that comes with it. Ingredient does remarkable marketing work and I’m so proud to be a part of this team of teams!

Want to learn more about our QA process — or any of our specialities? Give us a shout at hello@ingredient.mn.