Discussion

4 reasons you should be using transactional email

Transactional emails are taken for granted by everyone — the businesses that send them and the customers that receive them. They have become basic and generic, yet integral:

  • ‘Thank you for your purchase’
  • ‘Welcome to our website’
  • ‘Please click here to reset your password’

All of the above are definitely yawn-worthy, but as customers, we want to receive them all the same.

Transactional emails offer us peace of mind. For this reason, they are among the most opened emails in any campaign plan.

So why not use transactional email to your advantage?

Become less yawn-worthy and more WOW-worthy.

In this article we are going to present 4 great reasons to include transactional email in your campaign plan, and tips on how to do it better than any one else!

1. Strengthen relationships with customers

Personalised emails make customers feel special. Automated emails make customers feel secure. So, as you can imagine, personalised automated transactional emails (try saying that three times fast!) will help to strengthen your relationships with customers.

Transactional emails will help you to build a rapport with your customers because they are there solely to add value for the recipient. Take this email as an example:

climbing-hanger-email-example

The sole purpose of this email is quite simply to say ‘thank you’. The business is not trying to gain from the email, it is simply a gesture of goodwill which will give customers peace of mind and be very much appreciated.

Tips for strengthening your relationship with customers through transactional email:

  • Make sure your emails are personalised and automated
  • Include images and engaging copy

2. Increase your revenue

Every business in the world has one common goal: to increase revenue. And, studies have found that transactional emails actually have a higher revenue per email than bulk mail averages.

You can increase revenue through transactional emails by upselling when it’s appropriate. Take this brilliant transactional email from ASOS as an example:

asos-email-example

For starters, this email is extremely helpful for the recipient. It lets us know that the order is on the way and it also clearly points out what the customer can do if they need help or want to email the company directly. However, the best part of this email is the subtle upsell:

‘In the meantime, click here to see what’s new on site. Go on. We won’t tell’.

The copy is cleverly written and the upselling is so subtle that it doesn’t disrupt the reader at all. It simply gives out the message: ‘if you want to shop more, then go ahead. If not, here’s some useful information’.

Tips for increasing revenue through transactional email:

  • Upselling tactfully can increase revenue
  • The more engaging your emails are, the more attention they will get

3. Build a positive brand reputation

All emails, whether transactional or otherwise, have the potential to make or break your brand’s relationship with a customer. The first email any customer receives from you should be transactional, presumably a welcome email, and this should set the tone for your relationship with the customer.

Transactional emails help to build a positive brand reputation because they are instantaneous and thoughtful, which presents your company as professional and trustworthy. You can also build your reputation by simply asking for feedback within your transactional emails. Transactional emails have one of the highest engagement rates, therefore they offer a great opportunity to ask for feedback.

Dollar-Shave-Club-Email-Example

This Dollar Shave Club survey is simple and doesn’t demand much from the recipient.

Another way to build a positive brand reputation is to include links to your social sites within your transactional emails, or even a live social feed. Studies show 75% higher click rates for welcome emails with live embedded social feeds.

Tips for building a positive brand reputation through transactional email:

  • Make your emails useful and don’t ask too much
  • Make it easy for customers to promote your brand by including social links

4. Increase customer engagement

The engagement levels of transactional emails will always be high because they will, more often than not, include information that is very valuable to the reader. However, there is nothing to stop you from increasing the engagement levels of these emails in order to add value for your company as well as for the customer.

Prezzo-Example-Email

This is a perfect example of increasing customer engagement through transactional email. The copy is informal and engaging, the image is eye-catching, and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the message.

Tips for increasing customer engagement through transactional email:

  • Think outside the box — be thoughtful
  • Put as much effort into the copy and images as you do with promo emails

Final thoughts

There’s no reason not to include transactional email in your campaign plan. However, to really get value from your transactional emails you need to put as much thought into them as you do for promotional emails.

If you create your emails with engaging copy, interesting images, and take advantage of the right moments to upsell, then there’s no reason why your transactional emails can’t produce as much, if not more, ROI than any other email in your campaign plan.

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