Automated Email Marketing
Email marketing automation is a useful digital marketing tool that increases customer retention, and ignites customers to take action. Here at GSATi we are happy to offer this service to our clients, and this blog will focus on giving insight to the various types of automated emails a brand can use to reach its goals. From abandoned cart email series, to new customer email series, and others in between, automated email marketing is proven to be the most common digital communication channel, and the most effective in building and sustaining customer brand loyalty. What sets this contemporary method apart from the traditional one-to-one business email format, however, is that these services do the work for you, and reach an even larger target audience in less time. Below we will dive-deeper into 7 different types of automated email marketing so that you can decide which method would work best for your respective company.
To further analyze this topic, we referenced the Shopify article “7 Email Automation Ideas that Keep Customers Coming Back” by John McIntyre, marketing writer for Shopify.com. It is only right that we give credit to McIntyre, as the content in this summary comes from his original research and ideas.
Abandoned Cart Email Series
Research shows that around 81.4% of online shopping carts are left abandoned by the potential consumer, negatively impacting company gross profit. However, this is where automated abandoned cart emails come in and help.
Notice the term, “series,” in the marketing phrase. When using this method, it is essential to note that it is not particularly effective to send just ONE email reminder to the customer regarding their unfinished shopping experience. Rather, corporate communication teams should ensure they create an email campaign comprised of MULTIPLE emails in order to effectively reach and motivate the consumer. In fact, Shopify experts recommend that these emails are sent at strategic times and focus on specific initiatives. For instance:
Email 1: Send 24 hours later and remind shopper of what they left behind.
Email 2: Send 48 hours later and address hesitations with solutions.
Email 3: Send 72 hours later and offer a discount or incentive.
However, like all marketing campaigns, this method may not work for every company. It is essential to review a campaign’s analytics in order to determine what # email consumers typically buy from, its successes and failures, and to know what elements to tailor in future abandoned cart campaigns to make them more effective.
Welcome Email Series
A welcome email is the initial email a customer receives when they sign up for your company’s mailing list. Research shows that welcome emails have a significantly higher open rate, than other promotional emails. Specifically, welcome emails are opened 45% of the time, while others are opened around 18% of the time, deeming welcome email series as a useful tool in digital marketing. Here are a few different types of welcome emails that are commonly used within the industry:
Email 1: Welcome new subscribers.
Within this email, your company should welcome new customers, give insight into the brand, and how it differs from the rest within your respective market, and lastly, explain what shoppers will gain from adopting the brand, and essentially what they should be excited for.
Email 2: Give users an incentive to purchase.
This type of email ensures that an incentive, such as a coupon, or discount code is actually given to the subscriber. It is recommended to attach a Call to Action on the email that takes the consumer to the website or page of choice in order to redeem the incentive your company is providing.
Email 3: Set the right expectations.
Within this form of email, the company will explain to the consumer what they should expect from the brand. This email series looks towards the future and helps ensure that consumers will stay on the mailing list and interact with future emails. In fact, these promises can vary from promo codes, to exclusive content, and more. Overall, you just want to communicate how consumers will benefit from staying subscribed.
Email 4: Connect with subscribers on other channels.
Company’s may use these emails as a platform to link other communication channels such as social media. By introducing these other profiles to subscribers, and connecting with them on other social platforms, your company will be able to build stronger connections and relationships with its stakeholders, and will provide more opportunities to stay “top-of-mind.”
Email Nurture Series
Email nurturing series allow companies to guide shoppers through each phase of a sales cycle. For instance, not every shopper is willing to purchase during their first interaction with the brand, but may be willing to in the future. Therefore, how do we ensure that these potential customers are still addressed and communicated to? Simple. Lead nurturing. Below are a few examples regarding what these lead nurturing emails can focus on.
Email 1: Educate subscribers.
Email 2: Help subscribers get to know your brand.
Email 3: Tell a story about an employee or customer.
Email 4: Integrate customer site behavior into email.
New Customer Email Series
New customer email series are vital as you are able to start a relationship with the shopper which will hopefully lead to “lifelong loyalty and brand advocacy.” These customer email series strive to ensure that the customers continue to have a positive experience when interacting with your brand, and in return, will continue purchasing from your organization. According to our Shopify source, a new customer email series comprised of six emails is the most successful, and here is its timeline:
Email 1: Send to new customer immediately and welcome them to the brand community.
Email 2: Send to the new customer 3 days after Email 1 and check-in with the customer gain an understanding of how there experience went.
Email 3: Send to the new customer 2 days after the product or service was scheduled to arrive and ask them if this task was fulfilled and if they have any questions or concerns.
Email 4: Send to the new customer 4-5 days after Email 3 to ask for feedback regarding your company’s product or service.
Email 5: Send to the new customer 5 days after Email 4 and offer an incentive or discount on products or services they are interested in or that are similar to what they have historically purchased.
Email 6: Send to the new customer 1 day after Email 5 and remind them of the incentive, or discount and tell them when this specific offer expires.
Repeat Customer Email Series
Repeat customers have an active role in generating sales and profit for businesses. In fact, repeat customers are already familiar with your brand’s values, missions, products, and services, and essentially like them, and keep coming back for more. With this, it is evidently easier to build an email series targeting this audience, because you know their demographics, wants, and needs, and know how to tailor the marketing of your products and services to show how they can meet these needs. This series is typically comprised of two emails which are shown below.
Email 1: Send to the repeat customer 2 days after product or service should have arrived and check-in and gain an understanding of how their experience went.
Email 2: Send to the repeat customer 4 days after Email 1 and recommend a product or service based on the customer’s preferences you are now familiar with because of their shopping history with your brand.
Ecommerce Email Receipts
Email receipts are extremely popular amongst online shoppers. In fact, they have an open rate of 70.9%. Therefore, this means that email receipts are not only mandatory to send, but they also can serve as a platform where other promotional information can reside.
Specifically, these email receipts should include order information such as a transaction number, name/photo of the purchased product(s), shipping details, how to contact support, and payment information. Then, if wanted, can include the additional information referenced earlier such as links to social media platforms, videos, and other products and services your brand thinks the customer would like and interact with.
Re-engagement Email Series
Overtime, subscriber’s engagement with your brand may deteriorate. By implementing re-engagment email series, brands are able to remind subscribers of its products and services, as well as the qualities that made the customer adopt the brand initially. Re-engagment email series will help your brand identify those who are still interested, yet needed a little nudge, from those who are completely inactive. Below is an example of that types of emails should be included within this specific series.
Email 1: Begin with a reminder.
Email 2: Follow up with an amazing offer.
Email 3: Inform subscribers that you’re going to delete or unsubscribe them soon.
Email 4: Unsubscribe inactive users.
Other Email Marketing Tips & Tricks
If you are interested in learning more, please review the reference below which includes additional links on this topic and its themes in greater detail.
References
https://www.shopify.com/blog/57720581-7-automated-email-campaigns-that-win-customers-and-keep-them-coming-back
