Email marketing is a popular way of getting in touch with your customer base. As per a 2020 Statista report, the global users of the email were estimated to be 3.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit 4.3 billion users in 2023.
So, what is email marketing exactly?
Email marketing is a strategy where emails are sent out strategically to people on your email list. It could be in the form of promotional emails, transaction emails, and lifecycle emails — basically the idea is to reach potential customers and drive traffic to your website.
Promotional emails inform your customers about new product launches, special discount emails, season deals, latest blog posts, etc.
Transaction emails send specific emails to your subscribers when they subscribe, when their order has shipped, etc.
Lifecycle emails are emails sent automatically which upsell products, welcome return customers back, etc.
“4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing.”
State of Email Report, Litmus Study.
You can keep your email marketing strategy simple by limiting it to sharing useful information with users via monthly newsletters. Or you could send specifically targeted and personalized emails that get triggered by certain actions on your website.
These methods of email marketing increase the conversion rates of customers and help generate revenue for the business. Thus, if you have an eCommerce store, having an email marketing strategy should be your top priority, and leveraging email marketing automation is the way to go about it.
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Quick Navigation
- Benefits of Email Automation
- Email Automation Tips to Drive eCommerce Engagement
- Tip 1. Send welcome emails
- Tip 2. Personalized Cart Abandonment Emails
- Tip 3. Automated Emails To Get Product Reviews And Feedback
- Tip 4. Product Recommendation Based On The Latest Purchase
- Tip 5. Re-engagement Email Campaign to Win Back Lost Customers
- Tip 6. Show, Don’t Tell
- Tip 7. Send Exclusive Deals
- Tip 8. Reminder Emails
- Tip 9. Automated Up-sells And Cross-sells Campaign
- Tip 10. Take Advantage of Transaction Emails
- Drive excitement through automated emails
Benefits of Email Automation
Here’s discussing the top 5 benefits of email marketing automation.
Customer retention
Personalised emails help build credibility and long-lasting relationships with your customers. Sending them a welcome email from the minute they subscribe to guiding them with purchases and transactions, sending thank you notes, and birthday emails are effective strategies to gain the favor of your customers.
When customers who have not visited your website in a while return, sending them a welcome back email always works.
Customers also abandon their carts for a variety of reasons. Having an algorithm in place to invite them back will help generate revenue.
You can also inform users of the latest offers and discounts through emails. Here’s an example of the clothing brand H&M sending out promotional emails:
Loyalty programs
Email automation can be used to reward loyal customers through exclusive deals and loyalty programs. This further helps in driving customer loyalty and retention.
Take the example of Myntra’s “insider” points that provide customers purchase benefits:
Here’s another example:
Regular feedback
Automated emails can be critical in assembling valuable feedback after every transaction. You can set it up for customers to participate in surveys to rate their shopping experience. This also provides proof that will help you increase the conversion rate later.
Check out Flipkart’ automated feedback form:
Here’s another example of Myntra’s feedback survey:
Order status
The first thing customers always do after making a purchase is checked their email, to check the status of the purchase. Hence, transaction emails are one of the main aspects of email automation. Apart from this, customers can also track their orders through automated emails sent to them at different stages of the delivery process.
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Brand awareness
Word of mouth marketing helps increase the mailing list. Email automation can be used to send exclusive deals to loyal and new customers based on referrals. This helps increase brand awareness and also keep your customers engaged.
Here’s how the popular cosmetics store Faces Canada aims to retain customers through exclusive discounts and offers.
10 Email Marketing Automation Tips to Drive eCommerce Engagement
Send welcome emails
Receiving welcome emails from eCommerce businesses has now become a universal aspect. Customers now expect a welcome email in their inbox the moment they subscribe to a listing or make a purchase.
In most cases, a welcome email is usually the first point of contact between an eCommerce business and the customer.
When you send an email, you first have to phrase it in a way that does not end up in the spam box. Because people never check their spam and instantly delete them. Secondly, emails have to be personalized according to the customer. This can be tricky in the beginning because it is the first email, but if you have an age group it will help simplify things.
Some customers may prefer emojis in their email whereas some may not. A typical subject line may even send some rushing towards the unsubscribe link. Thus, you have to tailor your emails keeping the interest of your readers in mind.
Relevant Read: Get complete guide on user interface design guidelines
Personalized Cart Abandonment Emails
It is very common for people to find the products they intend to buy, only to abandon the cart before completing the checkout process. There could be many reasons. Either they lost interest in the end, got distracted, or just were not sure about completing the purchase.
Sending a personalized cart abandonment email is a gentle way of reminding the customer that they have not completed their purchase yet. That gentle nudge might just be enough for them to complete the purchase.
Automated Emails To Get Product Reviews And Feedback
Creating a unique shopping experience where we guide the shopper to complete their purchase is one thing. But what happens after? Did they end up using the product, or was it a gift? Did they like it? How was their experience with using the product? Are they satisfied, or could there be further improvements?
These are all extremely vital questions every brand needs to have answers to directly from the customers. These important questions lead to a make-or-break deal, which directly has an impact on customer retention and ultimately revenue.
Automated emails for product reviews are one thing while collecting feedback requires a more personal touch. The customers will help you understand the direction your eCommerce business is heading in.
It is a great idea to create an email list based on permissions. These emails include checkboxes where the customers can choose which type of emails they wish to receive, and how often they wish to receive it.
Relevant Read: WooCommerce plugins you should use
Product Recommendation Based On The Latest Purchase
Based on the latest purchase, most eCommerce businesses recommend products to increase revenue. This can be done in two ways. Firstly, by-product recommendations and secondly, by a cross-selling technique called “frequently bought together” where different products are clubbed together.
In terms of product recommendations, customers are highly focused on their main purchases. Educating them about something that would complement their original purchase will help them make an informed decision, thus, increasing order revenue.
The “frequently bought together” cross-selling technique is all about package deals that inform the customer about other relevant products they could buy, apart from the main purchase. This helps them save time and increase your eCommerce business’ revenue.
Relevant Read: Guide on digital marketing strategy for new startup
Re-engagement Email Campaign to Win Back Lost Customers
Every eCommerce business has inactive customers in the email lists who have vanished, in terms of not making a purchase or not visiting the website for months. Chances are that this set of customers is already familiar with your brand, so it would be easier to win them back in comparison to strangers.
Re-engagement emails usually consist of personalized messages and offer a customer just cannot refuse. It could be a free item, a discount or perhaps a chance to win something. Such incentives should clearly be displayed in these types of emails.
eCommerce businesses can even take a relationship-focused approach, with titles like “We Miss You!” serving as reminders that the customer has not interacted with you in a while.
Show, Don’t Tell
You should always give picture recommendations when giving customized product recommendations based on the customer’s most recent purchase. The best way to do this is by convincing the customer to purchase the product through educational content. Otherwise, the customer will just view your business as an aggressive salesman, which will damage relations.
Apart from pictures, educational content could include information about the product. For example, it could be centered around the best ways to use the product or anything that leaves a positive imprint on the customer’s mind. This will eventually make them purchase the products.
Send Exclusive Deals
Loyal customers should be highly valued as they are a big source of revenue generation for eCommerce businesses. These customers not only buy products but also recommend the same to other people as well which has a positive impact on sales. They are pretty much ‘ambassadors’ of the eCommerce brand they are loyal to.
To show them that they are valued, it is a good idea to send them exclusive deals in the form of freebies, coupons, or discounts.
Exclusive deals may not be limited to only loyal customers. It can also be sent to new customers after they have made a purchase. They will be able to use it the next time they decide to buy something.
Reminder Emails
Ignoring emails or forgetting to check them is a common event. This is where reminder emails come into the picture. They are useful in situations where customers have not used the coupons your eCommerce business might have sent them. It could also be related to free trials or deadlines for flash sales which they have not bothered to check.
Sending a reminder email with a catchy subject is important to get the customers to purchase discounted products. The subject could be as simple as “You have a few days left to avail this offer”. This will help increase revenue for the business.
Automated Up-sells And Cross-sells Campaign
Up-sell and cross-sell automated campaigns require little to no effort, yet have a positive impact on sales. Upselling is about suggesting upgrades to the product the customer already intends to buy. This raises the average order value.
In this scenario, the customer has already decided to buy the product. We just have to show them relevant upgrades at the right time. If done efficiently, it will help increase revenue and build on your relationship.
Upselling focuses on boosting order value and encouraging the customer to buy a higher value product. In contrast, cross-selling entails giving a suggestion that is related to the original item. For example, if you buy a burger, a cross-selling query could be “Would you also like to purchase some fries with that?”
Take Advantage of Transaction Emails
Transaction emails are connected to actions triggered by a customer when they access the eCommerce website. Some examples include emails sent after a product is purchased, shipment of the product, and, finally, the delivery as well.
Personalized transaction emails are the result of every customer’s behavior. Thus, it is a great way to increase revenue.
Drive excitement through automated emails
Every customer is different and unique. Hence, the one size fits all approach is redundant. Through your emails, it is very easy to convince the customers that they are unique and important to your business.
How? For example, giving a certain section of customers, preferably your loyal ones, creative sneak peeks for upcoming product launches would be a great idea. This will build excitement amongst them and convince them early on to buy the product. What’s more, chances are they will spread the word and bring you more customers as well.
This is a great way to accelerate the marketing goals you have in mind plus bring in revenue.
Automated email marketing has a lot of potential for generating revenue for the eCommerce business. They take a big burden away as emails do not have to be sent manually for every action. Different types of emails automatically get sent when customers’ actions trigger the algorithm.
When emails are personalized and tailored differently for every age group of customers, they have the potential to deliver amazing results. There are many types of transaction emails that can be sent depending on the scenario which drives up sales and even brings in new customers!
So, get working on your email marketing campaign today!
If you need help in setting up your eCommerce store and growing its revenue, contact our team of marketing and expert developers.
Rajamanickam Rajan is the director at Skein Technologies, a leading IT solution company in India. He has 10+ years of experience in developing application using IBM Worklight hybrid, native applications for IOS and Android systems.
