How to Rekindle the Spark - Anniversary Emails

Sign-Up Anniversary
Send this email on the anniversary of the subscription date. This message can be triggered yearly, and it should treat the recipients well. Show them how much you appreciate that they are still active members of your email programme.

Offering an incentive based on their purchase history is a perfect strategy to use here. Have they made zero, one, two, or many purchases? Do they have a low average order value (AOV)? Based on their history, you can include incentives to reward customer loyalty, attempt to increase their AOV by setting a minimum spend, or drive a first purchase by reinforcing your brand’s value.

While you can send this message every year, be sure to factor in purchase behaviour when sending it the first time. If the subscriber opted in at point of sale, do not send the sign-up anniversary message. Instead, defer to the purchase anniversary.

Purchase Anniversary
These contacts are your valued subscribers. Not only did they purchase from you, but they remained an email subscriber over the last twelve months. Using only the first order date, you can automate an anniversary message one year from the date of their first online purchase. This message should explain the anniversary, thank the customer and invite them to come back with a special offer. This is also a great opportunity to ask if their tastes or preferences have changed and invite them to manage their preferences as a secondary call to action.

If so desired, you can continue to send this message in subsequent years. If you do, be sure to change the creative and offer. You can even use past order info to determine how valuable these contacts are and provide incentives based on AOV, lifetime orders or pounds spent.

Wedding Anniversary
A more traditional example, a wedding anniversary is a great lifecycle message for many retailers. Yet, I am amazed that it is executed so little. Do you sell lingerie, gift hampers, flowers, jewellery, traditional anniversary gifts (leather, paper, etc.), or other relationship-related products? If so, you should be collecting and using this info. This is an opportunity to message someone who has shared intimate information with you. They trust you. Provide them value for that.

With a wedding anniversary, be sure to send this message before the actual date so the customer has time to shop, compare items and have the gift delivered in time. If you offer white glove service, gift wrapping or other valet-type services, offer those either as add-ons or as part of an anniversary package. If you have the ability to customise product suggestions by price point or by something such as traditional anniversary gift (year 3 is leather), do so.

You can always send a goodwill anniversary message on the actual day, but if you do, don’t include a call to action to shop. Either link the message directly to your site, an unrelated social callout or simply omit any CTA altogether.

There you have it - three incredibly simple automated messages that can help drive revenue and/or re-engage subscribers with your email programme. Just have fun and be creative!

Image: flickr.com/Eric Torrontera