5 Triggered Email Ideas to Create a Positive Brand Experience
When it comes to email marketing, there are basically two types of emails – Broadcast emails and Triggered emails. While broadcast emails are the same for everyone on your list – e.g. announcements, newsletters — Triggered emails are customized based on specific actions, behaviors, or events – e.g. subscribes to mailing list, joins wine club, abandons shopping cart, has a birthday, approaches a deadline or event date. Why should you utilize triggered emails?
- Much higher engagement, response and revenue than broadcast email because they are more personal and relevant
- Shows the customer or prospect that you’re “paying attention” and notice when they engage with you, which makes your company more authentic and trusted
- Variety is important because people tend to ignore emails that repeat the same messaging and lack relevancy
- Better customer service and streamlined operations due to triggered confirmations, updates, and other automated messaging that save you time and money.
- Typically generate a huge return on investment because once they are set up, they run automatically and don’t require a lot of on-going work
Now that you know the benefits, here are five triggered email campaign ideas to get started:
1. Welcome Email – Perhaps the most important
- Acknowledge new subscribers and express appreciation with a special offer
- Set expectations for future emails
- Include company contact info and links to manage account
- Send welcome email in real-time and include “Welcome” in the subject line
Benefits: Verifies deliverability of email, immediately engages subscriber/customer, strengthens brand perception
2. Remarketing – Abandoned Cart Emails
- Recover lost opportunity and sales
- Keep messaging friendly and personable
- Include images and links to products or categories
- Include a call to action such as “Log in to complete your purchase”
Benefits: Increase revenue, maximize ROI
3. Post-Purchase – Order Confirmation, Order Status Update, etc.
- Confirm Transaction and thank customer for purchase
- Include an invitation to connect on Facebook , Instagram, or Twitter
- Provide Customer with Order Status Update, such as a “Your order has been Shipped”
- Gather feedback via product reviews or provide product recommendations
Benefits: Increased brand impressions, incremental sales, customer Insights, multi-channel connections
NOTE – Nexternal’s eCommerce platform will send Order Confirmation Emails, Shipped Emails and Review Reminder Emails automatically!
4. Personal Greetings – Give your brand a human touch
- Build intimacy by rewarding customer loyalty
- Acknowledge milestones such as preferred customer status, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
- Focus on thanking and giving before promoting
- Offer coupons or specials with deadlines for redemption
Benefits: Personal & conversational in nature, keeps your brand top-of-mind
5. Re-Engagement – Uncover hidden opportunities
- Define what “Inactive” means for your business (e.g. customers that haven’t placed an order in over a year)
- Use friendly “we want you back” messaging and provide incentive
- Identify inactive and/or invalid emails to clean your email list
- Send on a recurring basis – monthly or bi-monthly
Benefits: Clean email list, incremental revenue, rekindle relationship
NOTE – Nexternal’s integration with MailChimp’s Ecommerce360 enables you to easily set up triggered emails based on past purchase behavior.
Currently an eCommerce Account Manager at Nexternal, Matthew enjoys helping businesses succeed online. Prior to joining Nexternal, Matthew spent years implementing innovative marketing campaigns for a world renowned design firm and is particularly passionate about online marketing and entrepreneurship.
