Email automations are a strategy used in every successful email marketing program.
Automations are triggered by the actions or behaviors of your audience. They ideally send them the “right email at the right time,” as a tactic for getting a response. Automated emails may be one-off, or may involve an entire sequence of emails.
The bottom line of why any ecommerce business should care about email automations is that they save you a ton of work by removing the need to manually send emails, and importantly, automations get results. Especially if you use these seven automations we’ve found to be the most profitable.
Understanding the Ecommerce Customer Lifecycle
We’re taking a quick step back here to paint a picture of the ecommerce customer lifecycle. Knowing this is important when devising email strategies because different emails are more appropriate for different stages of that customer lifecycle.
You can see in our diagram below that we’ve broken down the customer lifecycle and included a handful of email automations associated with each stage:
As you can see, there are a lot of potential email automations to set up. It’s fairly common for ecommerce businesses to feel a bit overwhelmed and unsure as to what they should do first, which is why we’re here with the “low hanging fruit.”
There are seven automations in particular that are the most impactful and profitable, particularly early on in your ecommerce email marketing program. We suggest getting these in place first, then looking to add more automations as you grow your results from email.
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7 Profitable Email Automations
We’ve identified these seven email automations to be the most profitable for ecommerce businesses:
#1. Welcome Flow (Welcome Phase)
A welcome email is critical to establish, as it helps to set the first impressions of your business with the customer. Welcome flows start as soon as a person signs up to your email list and usually consist of at least two emails, possibly up to four. Is there a preferred number? We suggest no more than four emails and that you test to see what number of emails gets you the best results.
You mustn’t send just one email, though, because you don’t want to stuff too much information in that one email. If you want customers to take clear, positive action, your email should be easy to follow and not have too many questions.
Some best practices for your welcome flow include:
- Send that first email immediately. Subscribers are used to near-instant responses and often think something is wrong if they don’t get an immediate email.
- Thank the subscriber for joining and introduce them to your brand. Emphasize “what’s in it for them” and tell them what to expect from your future emails.
- Keep it relevant. It’s possible to set up different welcome flows depending on how the customer came to you. For example, if they’ve indicated an interest in a specific product or service, you could have an automated email flow based around that.
- Always have a CTA (call to action). Each email in your welcome flow should only have one call to action to avoid confusing subscribers.
- Use a branded email design. It’s part of helping subscribers recognize you.
Below is an example welcome email from Beardbrand.
#2. Browse Abandonment Emails (Welcome Phase)
Browse abandonment emails are triggered when customers view products or category pages, but don’t add products to the cart. The idea is that, given knowledge of which products or categories the customer has viewed, you may be able to pull them back to your site.
For browse abandonment emails to work, you obviously need an email address. For this reason, you can only send them to people who have given their email address by subscribing, or to a former buyer who is signed in and browsing.
Some best practices include:
- Segment your customers to improve the relevance of your emails. You ideally want to send emails related to the products or categories they were browsing.
- Remind people of what they were looking at on their last visit.
- Use data to personalize emails. For example, in an email, you might show them what they were looking at on your site.
- Show related product recommendations. Perhaps the product they initially looked at wasn’t quite right, but an alternative but similar product may work.
- Include customer reviews. People often look for social proof to back up their decisions. Examples of good reviews can reassure them you’re legit.
Here’s an example from Pact:
#3. Abandoned Cart Emails (Browsing Phase)
Abandoned cart emails are usually sent as a series of 2-4 messages after a shopper has abandoned the cart before going through checkout. The goal of these emails is to encourage the shopper to go back and complete the purchase.
The average abandoned cart rate across all industries is almost 70%. If you can save just a fraction of abandoned carts and convert them into sales, you could stand to make a decent addition to your overall revenue. We include abandoned cart emails among the most profitable you can setup up because; 1. They work, at least if executed well, and 2. You have nothing to lose by trying; the customer has already abandoned the cart.
Some best practices for abandoned cart emails include:
- Send more than one email. Two to four seems to be a good number.
- Time your emails strategically. You don’t want to bombard the customer, but you want to send when they’re more likely to pay attention. The first email should generally be within an hour of abandonment, with a second email 24 hours later. You should spread any third or fourth emails within the seven days afterward.
- Always remind shoppers of what they’ve left behind. Short and to the point tends to be more effective than an essay. Include some benefits of the product.
- Write engaging copy that tempts the customer back. For example, you can play up any factors such as “limited stock” or “exclusive offer” to engage people’s fear of missing out.
- Either offer an incentive or remind customers of any incentive they are yet to use (e.g., “remember, you get 20% off your first order with us.”)
Here’s a simple example from The RealReal:
#4. Checkout Abandonment (Browsing Phase)
Checkout abandonment emails are very similar to cart abandonment, except they’re triggered when a shopper abandons part-way through checking out. Why do people do this? There are a few key reasons to glean from Baymard Institute, including:
- Surprise charges in the checkout (such as high shipping or taxes).
- Forcing shoppers to create an account to checkout (tip: never force account creation. Offer guest checkout then suggest they create an account after checkout).
- Preferred payment method not available.
- Lack of trust in the brand or website.
- Checkout process is too complex.
Best practices for checkout abandonment emails are similar to abandoned cart emails, with the inclusion of a link straight back to the checkout to make it easy for the person. If you’re offering any incentive (such as free shipping), make sure this is automatically applied to avoid re-abandonment.
#5. Post Purchase Emails (Post Purchase Phase)
Post-purchase emails are automations triggered by a purchase. A series of emails will typically include a transactional email that sums up the customer’s purchase and lets them know what to expect next. They may include promotional emails too, perhaps encouraging the customer to sign up for rewards (if they haven’t already)
One strategic aspect of post-purchase emails is that they don’t have to be purely transactional. They can be used to help encourage people back to your website, ensure satisfaction with your product by providing key information, enhance the customer service experience, and lay the groundwork for reorders.
Some best practices include:
- Use post-purchase emails to elevate your brand. Don’t simply use a generic or default template from an email platform.
- Use post-purchase emails to convey trust. Be open and honest about anything that impacts the customer, such as delays.
- Show appreciation toward the customer. It could be a simple thank-you, perhaps including something about the impact of their purchase (if applicable), or you might even make a thank-you offer.
- Send out educational emails where appropriate. These can include tips on how to get the best from the product or service.
- Promote your loyalty program – encourage people to join.
Here’s an example from Dossier:
#6. Cross-sell/Upsell Emails (Post Purchase Phase)
Cross-sell and upsell emails aim to increase the revenue you make from the customer. The idea is to offer them something related to the product they chose (a cross-sell), or an upgrade for the product they bought (an upsell).
These emails are usually sent seven to thirty days after purchase, giving the buyer time to receive their initial order and see its value. For example, clothing retailers might send “complete the look” emails to suggest items that go with the piece a customer already bought.
Some best practices include:
- Always personalize the cross-sell or upsell. It must be relevant to the customer.
- Test your emails and subject lines. Find combinations that deliver results.
- Suggest complementary items or an upgrade.
- Consider your email timing. For example, let’s say you’d like a customer to upgrade to a subscription for a product they bought. It makes sense to give them time to try the product first.
Here’s an example from The RealReal, using the subject line “Your top finds” and basing the content on previous purchases:
#7. Customer Winback Emails (Retention Phase)
Customer winback emails aim to draw back past customers who haven’t purchased in a while. This strategy is a profitable email automation because you already know the person has shown enough interest to make a purchase. It tends to be easier to get someone to make a second purchase than to encourage their first.
You’ll need to establish a threshold to determine an appropriate time to send a winback email. As a general rule, customers who haven’t interacted in six months are definitely inactive. Many businesses will want to send emails earlier, but it’s worth testing to figure out what works best for you. This path is often product dependent. You wouldn’t expect frequent engagement if you sell big-ticket items such as large appliances.
Some best practices include:
- Use an engaging subject line. Various studies have found improved engagement with subject lines such as “we miss you …” or “It’s been a while.”
- Experiment with the number of emails you send. We’d say send at least two, but it may work for you to send more.
- Make an irresistible offer, or share compelling content.
- Always personalize the email. You know the customer’s past behaviors, so use that to send relevant messages.
Here’s an example from TeeSpring:
Conclusion
Email automations are vital to successful email marketing programs for ecommerce businesses. They allow you to reach more people automatically, rather than inconsistent one-off campaigns or manual emails.
While you can send several possible automated emails, the seven highlighted above are the “low hanging fruit” for ecommerce businesses. They are the most profitable to set up, especially early in your program, and you can expand them later.
Do you need help with creating and setting up impactful email automations? SmartMail is here to do it for you. Click here to schedule your free consultation.
Next Step: If you’re ready for a fabulous email campaign that brings in a whole new audience, check out our guides:
How to start an email campaign or what’s the difference between an email campaign and an automated email setup
