“Just send me an email”.
How many times have you used or heard that phrase?
I bet it’s a lot, from sending an email with information about something fun and exciting, like a concert, up to sending important details in writing – like a bank account transaction – an email can and will save the day.
In fact, email addresses have, in many ways, replaced giving out our home address, telephone number or other types of personal information.
And with good reason, seeing as it’s cost-effective and can generate a lot of revenue (3800% ROI, to be exact)
Does that mean that ecommerce stores should use email marketing automation techniques, in order to drive more revenue and sales and see their conversion rate reach new heights?
Of course, it does!
But what kind of email marketing automation techniques do ecommerce stores really need? That’s what we aim to pinpoint in this article. So, here we go:
1: Turn your customers into brand ambassadors
Yes, this can and should be done, seeing as your customers are the driving force behind your revenue and conversion rate. So, don’t be above making them into ambassadors for your ecommerce store.
And while there are a few ways to go about that, there is one foolproof way that can help you grow your customer base, first and foremost: Referral marketing.
Many email marketing and automation platforms like Moosend, which is a great Mailchimp alternative, can give you this option.
All you need to do is include a little button that will enable your customer to do just that. You need nothing more than a nice offer and a clear, concise call to action (CTA). Like this:
Or this:
Both emails have a little button that makes it super easy for the user to share the email, and they’re also giving something back, in the form of a discount or freebie.
These elements help the user act as a brand ambassador-and get a little something back, while they’re at it. And no user will act as a brand ambassador if they don’t like the product to begin with.
And the brand gets a lot out of that specific email marketing technique, as it’s heaps and bounds more affordable than reaching out to influencers in your niche alone.
2: Welcome them
Yes, the traditional welcome email can go a long way, and people have grown accustomed to it, from the moment they sign up. In fact, they’re expecting it.
So, make sure not to prove them wrong, using this tried-and-true technique. It makes prospects feel like they’re part of the family like they were expected to come, even.
Therefore, a welcome email has absolutely nothing to do with selling, especially that hard sell that you may think you need to go for.
This is absolutely uncalled for, nowadays, seeing as there are new trends coming and going when it comes to sales, but there is a staple: People need to feel pampered. Valued. And you can’t make someone feel pampered or valued if you’re trying to make quick money out of them.
According to Oberlo, welcome emails have a very high open rate. So, why not just give that a shot? Maybe you can boost your endeavors a little it with a discount code.
3: Remind them of their cart
It’s a fact, people abandon their carts way too often and for various reasons. Sometimes, the shipping costs are too high and some other times, all they need is a little push to help them go through with their purchase.
Whatever the reason, the statistics speak for themselves:
A staggering 79.17% of people abandon their shopping carts. So why not send an email and ask them why?
The more engaging the email, the better. And as always, you can send a discount to help you break even, seeing as the high extra costs are what drives people away from a purchase, as the graph below shows:
4: After sales service
No matter what the person ended up purchasing, you should always without a doubt offer after-sales service, in the form of a follow-up email at least.
Following up a sale is a great way to show your customers that you care-a great way to enhance the experience and make sure that everything went as smoothly as you and your customers would’ve hoped.
And even if this didn’t happen, it’s a great way to show that you care enough to make things right and actually offer something in return, that you’re there to actively listen to the complaints and get feedback, in order to develop better services and support.
You can never go wrong with a follow-up email, so it’s very important that you use it.
5: No promo, please
This one falls under the category we discussed before: You can’t be too promotional and you can’t be too confident.
Remember, you may know what you’re selling, but your prospects don’t. So, it’s only fair that you let them know and educate them. This is what your content should aim to do.
Try to be as non-promotional and conversational as possible. The best salespeople, after all, are those who can befriend the customer and not those who are going in for a quick sell. Even if they score that quick sell, there is no way the customer will come back to them.
This is why your emails need to educate, answer questions and fill up holes and not sell or promote anything. So, instead of telling your customers why your product is great, tell them what it can do for them in the long run.
Those interested will see the value, and these are the people you want to have as buyers, as they can easily become repeaters.
If you manage to create content that will be doing just that: educate without being salesy (and therefore, spammy), then you’ve got it, and you should really look into the next category as well.
6: Upsell and Cross-Sell for maximum revenue
Yes, you should do just that! You see, when someone purchases an item they love, they will be far more likely to want to combine it with something similar or with complementary properties.
You can implement cross-selling techniques both online and offline (check how, here), but now we’re interested in the emails that you can send in order to achieve your goal.
These emails can be sent at any point after one makes a purchase and they’re honestly too enticing to back down from:
This is a confirmation email that lets the user know about their upcoming order. The tone is friendly, there’s no pressure involved and honestly, it reminds me of the way in-store salespeople speak, when they’re going about that wonderful type of customer service, where you feel pampered and valued indeed.
You can either send an email like the aforementioned one, or you might as well send one after the purchase is made, that will include a little something for that customer. It could be a discount voucher or that “refer a friend” button I mentioned before.
Another type of email that will help with your upsell and cross-sell endeavors would be a follow-up email to recommend products from the same category.
If, for example, a customer decides to buy shaving foam and you’ve got a category for men and a category for women, you might as well let them know that you can cover pretty much any need, with an email.
7: Keep ‘em loyal
Loyalty emails are a thing and you should definitely implement these and make them a part of your strategy.
The reason behind this is that loyalty emails aim to create a special type of bond between you and your customer, that goes beyond discounts and savings.
These emails are not in for the sell (hard sell or otherwise), but they are here to help with achieving your goals and reaching your KPIs as much as those emails that offer discounts and promotional offers.
You can send your customers a life event email, for example. Their birthday or the first time they made a purchase with your store is a fantastic way to keep them active and give them a super-personalized reason to interact with your brand.
I don’t think it gets more personalized than that, really. Remembering a puppy’s birthday and sending out an email for some birthday treats is super-personalized and oh-so-sweet.
Another type of email that will keep a prospect or a one-timer, loyal and happy, can be an email aiming to win them back. You know, those “We missed you” emails? Like that one:
This email is from my personal inbox and let me tell you, as a fan of the brand who had very little time and patience to be looking around, I did check those “new surprises” out. I didn’t shop, but I still got interested.
The last way to keep your customers loyal are, of course, those underrated replenishment emails. Those emails serve as a reminder that a product that can be used in a specific timeframe is about to run out and should, therefore, be replenished.
Highly personalized with fantastic open rates, replenishment emails can re-engage a customer time and time again and increase each repeater’s Customer Lifetime Value.
Takeaway
And that’s about it for today, as these are, in my opinion, the most important email marketing automation techniques an ecommerce store can use, in order to get the most out of their campaigns, drive more revenue and end up earning time and time again.
What do you think? Is there something you’d like to add?
If so, tell me in the comments and don’t forget to share the knowledge!
