A good automated email system is like a well-oiled machine, helping to nudge and nurture customers through your sales funnel.
Automation can help to nurture leads, boost engagement, push conversion rates up and bring back lost customers, so it’s worth doing right.
Here’s a look at just four automated email flows that you should put into action and that will generate brilliant results.
#1. Abandoned cart
You need to know more than just the fact that someone has an abandoned cart. With a little more data, you can craft an email that targets the reason why the cart was abandoned, making it more likely that the customer will complete the purchase.
Information that will help you do this includes time spent on the page, the frequency with which they viewed the page and the last item they looked at on the page.
If a user has only briefly looked at an item, or only visited a page once, it is less likely that they have a serious intention to complete the purchase and it is probably not worth contacting them again.
An abandoned cart email flow should address the reasons why the customer might not be buying. Include things like positive reviews of the product, key benefits of the product, or an email anticipating objections to the product.
The final email should be a gentler ‘we’ll leave you alone now’ type email, thanking the person for visiting the site and noting the product is still available.
Through testing, work out the time intervals and frequency of emails that work for you – you might start with three messages sent 2 hours, 24 hours and 72 hours after cart abandonment.
#2. New customer
If handled correctly, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship. If you get the tone or frequency wrong, you could put the customer off shopping with you again.
The flow should include a welcome email sent as soon as a new customer buys from you, a check-in email asking for feedback on the buying process, further emails notifying the customer about product delivery and a final email asking the customer to review the product.
Where someone has joined your mailing list rather than making a purchase, you need to be sure you deliver on promises such as discount codes immediately. If you delay sending what you have promised, you risk the customer’s trust.
The new customer emails should be followed up with emails that nurture the customer’s perception of your brand, for example by explaining what makes you unique, telling a story about the brand or showcasing a new range or promotion.
#3. Upselling and cross-selling
Upselling is about leading customers to a product which costs more or has a higher spec than the one they have been browsing or added to their cart. This isn’t about making a quick buck, it’s about building a successful relationship with the customer by showing them where the best value is to be had, rather than the lowest price.
Cross-selling is about messaging a customer to buy items that are associated with what they have chosen, such as a lens for a camera or a shirt to go with trousers.
#4. Re-engagement
Reaching out to customers who seem to have gone cold on you can help to bring them back to the fold. This has to be done carefully to avoid annoying someone who has decided not to engage with your brand any more.
A typical email flow might be an email noting they haven’t engaged with you for a while and offering an attractive discount or promotion. If this does not meet with any response, email asking if they would like to unsubscribe and reminding them of the offer.
If no response is received to either email, send a final ‘sorry to see you go’ message confirming you will unsubscribe the user. State in your email that you do not want to bother them with unwanted messages, but would love it if they came back one day.
As with all marketing, you will need to work out what works best for your brand over time through testing and analysing the results.
Are you looking to develop a better automated email system? Why not take a free 14 day trial to see what Instiller can do.