{"id":21902,"date":"2018-05-02T14:15:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T14:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shippingeasy.com\/?p=21902"},"modified":"2019-11-20T17:55:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T17:55:00","slug":"customer-relationships-post-purchase-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shippingeasy.com\/blog\/customer-relationships-post-purchase-emails\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Post-Purchase Email Campaigns that Build Customer Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new customer just bought something from you for the first time. Congratulations! Now the really<\/em> hard work begins \u2013 building customer relationships with those first-time buyers to bring them back to buy again and again.<\/p>\n

Long-time retailers know the first purchase is the easiest one. They don’t even think of new buyers as customers until the second, third or fourth purchase. Even then, you can’t assume your customers will come to you first next time before checking out other brands.<\/p>\n

Who’s coming back to buy again? Not as many as you think<\/h2>\n

Loyal customers \u2013 the ones who buy from you regularly or exclusively \u2013 are few and far between. The esteemed management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found in a recent report<\/a> they make up only 13% of shoppers.<\/p>\n

Another 29% are “vulnerable repurchasers” \u2013 consumers who shop other brands but ultimately repurchase from the original brand. The remaining 58% switch to different brands.<\/p>\n

How post-purchase emails can stop the switch<\/h2>\n

Your promotional emails spread product news and offers to a wide audience, but they won’t persuade more customers to keep buying from you. That heavy-duty job calls for a special class of automated messages called post-purchase emails.<\/p>\n

As the name implies, these are special emails you send only to customers who have purchased from you. Although post-purchase emails serve practical purposes, they also help you build something intangible\u2014stronger relationships with your customers.<\/p>\n

The customer relationship is a key part of engagement and loyalty. A good relationship makes customers notice your emails in the inbox before your competitors\u2019 emails, and prefer your brand over others.<\/p>\n

In fact, customer relationships are becoming more important than brands in company valuations, a Harvard Business Review study<\/a> found. From 2003 to 2013, brands dropped from 18% of a company’s value to 10%, while customer relationships doubled, from 9% to 18%.<\/p>\n

Digital technology is fueling that switch in part because email and search marketing make it easier for customers to research a wide range of brands instead of relying on the same brands over and over.<\/p>\n

5 post-purchase emails to drive customer engagement and return visits<\/h2>\n

You have an almost infinite variety of post-purchase emails to choose from, depending on your purchase process, products and customers. Below are five that you can add easily to your email program, provided you have an email platform like ShippingEasy<\/a>, which allows easy integration between your e-commerce store and email communications.<\/p>\n

1. The “Thank You” email<\/h3>\n

This email helps create a good customer experience. It won’t replace transactional emails like order and shipping confirmations, but it adds that extra touch that shows customers you appreciate their business.<\/p>\n

The below email is a basic and easily imitated example. Simple and straightforward messaging, a photo of what was ordered, and information on next steps (including a tracking button) makes this a clear communication.<\/p>\n

If we were to suggest a couple changes, it would be to add photos and\/or descriptions of possible product recommendations for next time. Though there is a header that mimics the website sections, quality product images and prices could encourage an immediate repeat purchase or, at minimum, ideas for the customer\u2019s next purchase.<\/p>\n

In ShippingEasy\u2019s Customer Marketing<\/a> platform, you can enable our popular automated \u201cFirst Time Buyer\u201d welcome email campaign with a single click. Welcome customers to your store, community, and thank them at the same time!<\/p>\n

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2. Order, shipping, and delivery confirmations<\/h3>\n

These are the most essential post-purchase emails because they remind your customers what they bought, how much they paid, and where and when the products will be shipped. Too many marketers don’t give these important messages the special treatment they deserve.<\/p>\n

Order<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A memorable confirmation email needs two things: One is key information, such as product names, photos, prices paid, quantities, payment source and shipping addresses, along with phone numbers and links for customer service or support. These reassurances make your customers more confident about shopping with you.<\/p>\n

ShippingEasy makes this email easy, letting your customer know their order is being processed and soon will be shipped! Simply select from our Customer Marketing automated emails, the \u201cOrder Downloaded\u201d email template. ShippingEasy can even add product recommendations to this email for you!<\/p>\n

The other essential part of an effective order is what you see below: a friendly, reassuring tone that reflects your brand voice: “Mission accomplished.” “Nice ordering skills.” “You did it. Look over your details and make sure we got them right.” All of these establish a brand voice and familiarize the customer with what it\u2019s like doing business with you.<\/p>\n

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Shipping<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The shipping confirmation email below features purchase details, tracking information, and another \u2018thank you for your business\u2019 message. It\u2019s mostly plain text, so a tappable button for the tracking could have been helpful here.<\/p>\n

The other essential part of an effective shipping confirmation email is what you see below: a friendly, reassuring or congratulatory tone that reflects your brand voice: “Your order is on its way…Hooray!” This helps inform the customer of the status of the shipment. An added touch is providing easy and tap friendly tracking to help the customer follow their package\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

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Automation rules can help you time your messages to be most relevant. For example, ShippingEasy\u2019s automated \u201cRequest Feedback After Delivery\u201d email allows you to set a campaign rule that chooses the wait time to send an email. Since every item has a unique timeframe after receipt to be able to provide quality feedback, you can customize when the email fires off to be a time that makes sense. For the above example of a book, it\u2019s not likely that you could get a book review in a matter of days from most people, so you\u2019d want to time that out further.<\/p>\n

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Delivery confirmation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This is the newest twist on the reassurance theme, reflecting the reality that people who order things are not always home to receive them. The Nordstrom email below gets sent right after the delivery service drops off the package, thanks to the use of the portable barcode scanner.<\/p>\n

We like this message because it\u2019s very straightforward. It creates the sense of excitement immediately in the headline, reminds the customer what they bought, and lets them know Nordstrom is available to contact if there are any issues.<\/p>\n

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If you wish to send your delivery confirmation email a bit further out after the customer\u2019s order has been delivered, you can do that as well. While some products and brands might warrant real-time email delivery and communication, you might have a different goal for your products and brand.<\/p>\n

Some store owners tie their delivery confirmation emails to the goal of getting feedback, such as asking \u201cHow did we do?\u201d The \u201cRequest Feedback After Delivery\u201d automated email in ShippingEasy\u2019s Customer Marketing platform mentioned above allows you to do this. All you have to do is set when you want this email to go out after delivery!<\/p>\n

<H3<3. Product Recommendations<\/p>\n

The first order is just the beginning. Any emails you send post purchase should guide your customer further down the funnel and encourage more purchases and loyalty. One excellent way to drive loyalty is to show your customers you \u201cget\u201d them by recommending other products they\u2019ll love.<\/p>\n

The below email from Nordstrom uses a combination of images, descriptions, social proof (\u201cEverybody loves\u2026\u201d), and a prominent call-to-action button to encourage a repeat purchase. The bold-lined callout box draws the eyes to these products as well.<\/p>\n

This is just one example, though. You don\u2019t have to include recommended products in a delivery email if you would rather follow up with a stand alone email instead. Test both approaches and see what works best for converting your customers.<\/p>\n

Quality product recommendations will increase satisfaction with the purchase and confidence in both your product and your own knowledge and expertise. Your customer will come to understand why it\u2019s better to buy from you than from someone else.<\/p>\n

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4. Requests for product reviews<\/h3>\n

Why has the customer-review request become a standard email in the post-purchase process? Because customers use them. These stats from Inc. show you how popular reviews have become:<\/p>\n