| Salesforce Marketing Cloud | |
|---|---|
| Their stated threshold | Salesforce's guidance points to bounce rates under 2%. Its deliverability team works with enterprise accounts on sender reputation. |
| What happens if you cross it | Marketing Cloud accounts have assigned support, and list quality problems become a conversation with that team. Enforcement is contractual and managed rather than automated. |
| Where the bounce data lives | Tracking on a job gives the campaign view. For raw data with bounce types and SMTP reasons, query the _Bounce data view in Query Activity or Automation Studio. |
| How bounces are classified | Marketing Cloud sorts bounces into Hard, Soft, Block and Technical. Each has a subcategory and the server's reply. That's finer than most platforms, and you need a query to reach it. |
Bringing the rate down
Each step is an action inside Salesforce Marketing Cloud, in the order worth taking them.
Query the _Bounce data view directly
The tracking screen gives you totals. The data view gives you the category, subcategory and SMTP text per subscriber, which is what actually tells you the cause.
Split Block bounces out of your analysis
A Block category bounce is a receiving server refusing your mail over reputation or policy. Counting it alongside hard bounces makes a sending problem look like a list problem.
Check which data extension fed the send
In Marketing Cloud the sendable data extension is the list. Bounces trace back to whichever import or query populated it.
Build the verification verdict into a send filter
Join the verdict onto your data extension and use a filtered send rather than deleting subscribers. Enterprise data has other owners and deleting rows is rarely yours to do.
Coordinate with the Salesforce CRM side
Addresses usually originate in Sales Cloud or an integration. Fixing the marketing symptom without touching the CRM source means it returns on the next sync.
The mistake people make here
A bounce report mixes two causes that need opposite fixes. Some addresses don't exist. Other times a receiver refused mail it could have delivered. You fix the first by checking the list. The second is a sending problem, and you fix it on the sending side.
Questions people ask
Where does Marketing Cloud store bounce detail?
In the _Bounce data view, reachable through Query Activity or Automation Studio. It holds the category, subcategory and the receiving server's response text, none of which appear on the tracking screen.
What is a Block bounce in Marketing Cloud?
A receiving server refusing your mail for reputation or policy reasons rather than because the address is bad. It needs a sending fix, not a list fix.
Why do tracking and the data view disagree?
They count at different stages and apply retry logic differently. Both are correct for what they measure, which is why the data view is the one to use for diagnosis.