20 email automation opportunities that improve customer relationships

Wouldn’t it be great if you could catch every single one of your customers at just the right time and send them each the perfect message? Well, it’s possible with email automation and systems like Behavioural Targeting.

Email automations are generated as a result of a person interacting with your website or when individuals on your database meet a certain set of predefined criteria that you’ve specified. They allow you to interact with individuals at key decision-making times, prompting purchases, driving engagement and inviting dialogue.

There are plenty of great opportunities to send automations. Sometimes it’s just about knowing what to send when. We’re giving you a helping hand by picking our favourite examples that can be used whatever sector you work in and tell you how to make the most of them.

1. Welcome new subscribers

This is the automatic email sent after a customer inputs their email address and agrees to receive emails from you. This is a critical one to get right – it should welcome the customer to your brand, set expectations of what to expect and offer an overview of your products or services.

2. Introductory offer

If your customer has signed-up to your email programme but remains dormant, encourage an initial purchase by sending this automation after a set amount of time to spark interest and a first purchase.

3. Expiration of introductory offer

This automation alerts the customer to their offer expiring in next 24 hours. By doing this you can ‘last chance’ your offer adding an increased sense of urgency which may prompt a purchase.

4. Browse and abandonment

On average, 67% of people browse an eCommerce website without making a purchase (Baymard Institute). This is a big opportunity to connect with customers who’ve shown an interest in your brand but need an extra nudge to make a purchase. Reignite their interest by sending them an email complimenting them on their great taste in the product they browsed, suggesting alternatives or giving them an offer to prompt a purchase.

5. New product alerts

If one of your products is out of stock then ask the customer to sign-up to receive an automated email when it becomes available. In addition to this, send new product launches to customers who have browsed a relevant category or purchased a similar product in the past.

6. Suggesting a product to purchase

If the customer shows no sign of completing their purchase of a browsed or abandoned item then send them a message suggesting an alternative. This could be a crowd-sourced trend, bestseller or a recommendation based on their own purchase or browsing history.

7. Cart abandonment / form abandonment

This can be the most profitable automation you will send. Cart abandonment emails have been known to increase retailers’ revenues by up to 20% simply by prompting the customer to finish their purchase by pressing the ‘order’ button (MarketingSherpa). It’s all too easy for the online customer to become distracted, meaning that carts full of items are often abandoned. A timely abandonment email tempting them to make the purchase can be all it takes.

8. Thanking the customer for a purchase

It’s unlikely to be your most profitable email in terms of sales but it’s still important to thank the customer for the purchase and build rapport. A wholehearted thank you shows your appreciation – everyone likes a thank you!

9. Purchase confirmation

Practically speaking it’s good for the customer to know that their order has been received. This email should include information of what they’ve purchased to confirm their order and include contact details to customer services. Building trust and reassuring the customer is as important as selling to them if you want a repeat purchase.

10. Delivery confirmation

Set expectations. A large proportion of customer care calls to online retailers are about the customer not receiving an order when they think they should have. Reduce your customer care bill whilst setting the customer’s expectations by sending a prompt delivery confirmation email.

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