If you run an e-commerce business, email marketing is one of the most effective tools to retain customers.
The important point to remember is don’t hard-sell to your client base using email marketing all the time. Email marketing when overdone, can look like spam, and nobody loves it.
Despite the emergence of new e-commerce websites every day, most online stores still don’t fully utilize their clients’ emails.
If you have no idea which email marketing software is suitable for your business, I highly recommend you check out our previous post, Free Email Marketing Software.
1. Welcome Email
First impression is the most important. This applies to your first Welcome Email as well.
While there is no perfect format for welcome emails, it should be professional, clean and neat.
Since this is the first email, you may include additional information about your business. Give them the links to your shop, category, how to contact and other important pages.
Another tip is to include custom welcome or signup voucher for first timers. This tactic will usually work quite well.
2. Tutorials and Tip Emails
Instead of hard selling or upselling to your existing clients using email all the time, try sending something that give ‘value’ to them.
Share some tutorials and tips about your products. Not to forget FAQ, knowledge base or official documentation.
You need to nurture your clients to love you by giving them what they need. In other words, this is part of content marketing. Using YouTube videos, webinar, Facebook live video session to demo your products will be a good strategy.
3. Abandon Cart Email
I notice many online stores are still not sending abandon cart emails.
Depending which email marketing provider you subscribe to, if your ecommerce store system is able to integrate with the email software, the system will handle everything for you.
The key to success at this stage is using a funnel to ask the clients to complete a purchase.
The common method is sending one or two automated emails after the client added to cart, then end with the last coupon code email to urge them to buy.
Popular email marketing software like MailChimp and Drip even have more sophisticated customization.
4. Personalized Emails
Just started your e-store and have nothing to send? Don’t worry, you should setup a few automated personalized emails.
For example, you can preset sending a happy anniversary email, birthday email (if you have the necessary information), especially special occasions.
Besides, make use of every demographic combination that you feel make sense to your clients.
Another good idea is to send personalized emails based on segmentation.
5. Review and Feedback Email
This is another useful way neglected by many e-commerce businesses.
In the online world, reviews are the most important aspect for consideration.
After successful delivery, send an email to your happy clients to ask for reviews.
In fact, dropping a review at Google My Business or Facebook Page is enough.
Depending on which industry, certain products do have reputable third party review sites. Register an account with these websites, your future clients might read that positive reviews and purchase again.
Trustpilot is also one of the popular review sites, on international e-commerce level.
Ending Remark
Email marketing is not dead, but the strategy used needs to be updated.
Remember, building a customer database is one of the most crucial factors to grow your business online.
Keep in mind you can also upload your email list as “Custom Audience” in Facebook Ads, and continue to target the same group of audience based on your current list.
Now you know why email marketing is still crucial for e-commerce? Plan and act now!
