SoloRiff

How to sell to CTOs at E-commerce companies in France

CTOs in e-commerce companies in France are primarily measured on system uptime and performance metrics. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of how technology impacts customer experience and operational efficiency. Acknowledging their challenges with integrating new platforms or managing legacy systems can make your message more compelling.

Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 578 e-commerce company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.

What actually hurts

  • system downtime
  • integration compatibility
  • legacy system management
  • customer experience issues

The playbook

  1. 01

    Identify recent platform migrations

    Use LinkedIn or company press releases to find e-commerce companies that have recently migrated to new platforms like Shopify. This indicates they may be looking for tools that can enhance their new setup, making them more receptive to your outreach.

  2. 02

    Highlight integration challenges

    Craft your message to address common integration issues CTOs face when adopting new e-commerce solutions. Mention specific pain points like API compatibility or data migration to show you understand their struggles.

  3. 03

    Leverage industry events

    Research upcoming e-commerce conferences or webinars in France. Mention these events in your outreach, as CTOs often seek solutions that can be discussed in the context of recent trends or innovations presented at these gatherings.

  4. 04

    Reference competitive pressures

    In your follow-up, reference how competitors in the e-commerce space are adopting innovative technologies. This can create a sense of urgency, prompting CTOs to consider your solution to avoid falling behind.

  5. 05

    Suggest a tailored demo

    When reaching out to book a call, propose a demo that focuses on specific features relevant to their recent platform changes. This shows you are willing to invest time in understanding their unique setup and needs.

Can e-commerce companies even receive your mail?

We measured the DNS of 578 e-commerce companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.

1–10 employees
19.6%
11–50
31.4%
51–200
51.3%
201–1,000
65%
1,000+
67.5%

Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.

The gap is the finding: 19.6% of 1–10-person companies against 67.5% of the largest — 48 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.

Where does your domain sit?

Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.

How this was measured

Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.

DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.

Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.

Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.

Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.

The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

Subject lines that fit

  • Improving your e-commerce uptime
  • Solutions for seamless platform integration
  • Stay ahead of e-commerce trends

Questions

Why do CTOs in e-commerce ignore outreach about new technologies?
CTOs often prioritize urgent operational issues over new technology pitches. If outreach does not address immediate pain points like system downtime or integration challenges, it may be overlooked. Tailoring your message to highlight solutions for their current issues can increase response rates.
What factors influence a CTO's decision to adopt new e-commerce solutions?
CTOs consider integration ease, potential ROI, and how new solutions can enhance customer experience. They also weigh the impact on existing systems and resources. Understanding these factors can help you position your offering more effectively.
How can I stand out to a CTO in the e-commerce sector?
To stand out, provide insights into industry trends and demonstrate a deep understanding of their specific challenges. Sharing case studies or examples of how similar companies have successfully implemented solutions can also capture their interest.
What common objections do CTOs have to new technology?
CTOs often express concerns about integration with existing systems, potential disruptions during implementation, and the learning curve for their teams. Addressing these objections proactively in your outreach can help alleviate their concerns.

Or have it run itself

SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.

Try it on your site