September 12, 2022

Five eCommerce Email Campaigns to Grow Your Online Store

Five eCommerce Email Campaigns to Grow Your Online Store

Getting a new customer to your online store is a feat worth celebrating. The SEO, the ads, the word of mouth, the referral that led to the opportunity in the first place was a stroke of good, no - GREAT - fortune.

That's why it's so sad when a customer relationship is not cultivated. By choosing to visit your site and browse your online store, the visitor is telling you implicitly (and, if they purchase, explicitly) that they wish to have a relationship with you. When the chance comes to take that relationship and help it grow, you have to act.

 

Happy customers are repeat customers. Customers that feel appreciated are repeat customers. Customers that feel well-supported and taken care of from start to finish are repeat customers. And cold email for eCommerce stores is a great way to cultivate happy, well-supported customers that feel appreciated. In this post, we will examine five different types of email campaigns you should be leveraging in your quest to grow your online store

 

Five eCommerce Email Campaigns for Growing Your Online Store

 

Convert More Customers with Abandoned Cart Campaigns

 

When someone adds something to their online shopping cart, you can take it as a fact that for at least an instance they intended to buy. That indicator of intent is a strong signal to engage with that person.

 

If your website captures email addresses during the shopping process, then you would be wise to follow up with an Abandoned Cart campaign.  Many popular eCommerce platforms have Abandoned Cart email functionality already built-in.  Even if you have to send the Abandoned Cart email by hand, it is worth doing. 

 

For starters, your email may be the encouragement the recipient needs to complete a purchase. In some instances, the email will help a person who was distracted or called away from their device remember to return and complete a purchase. In all cases, the Abandoned Cart email will let the reader know that you are paying attention and care that they are happy with whatever they are considering for purchase from your online store.

 

Tip: Leverage Windsor personalized video to say something encouraging instead of just talking about the cart. A smiling face saying "You'd look great in that!" or "I'm sure that flavor will taste great to you" is better than a boring and dry text-based email.

 

Increase Customer Loyalty with a Thank You Campaign

 

A startling number of online stores send order and shipping confirmations and completely skip saying, "thank you." Sure, a note of gratitude in an order confirmation is technically a thank you. What's better than that, however, is a freestanding email thanking the customer for their business.

 

Aside from showing your customer that you are thankful for their purchase, a Thank You campaign provides a chance to share more information about your store, offer new products, or extend a discount or gift. Each of these things strengthens your relationship with the customer, and that's always good for business.

 

Tip: Putting a face to your business by leveraging video in a Thank You email will help you stand out. Customers are used to getting emails from the companies they buy from. Take it up a notch by saying thank you with a video in your email.

 

Drive Larger Order Value with Upsell Campaigns

 

Upsell campaigns are emails (or a series of emails) that offer related products or higher levels of a subscription service. Upsell campaigns are particularly effective because you are communicating with someone that has already purchased from you. They have decided they want to purchase something. They have entered their payment information. All the hard work of acquiring them as a customer is done.

 

Sending a follow-on email offers the chance to improve the total customer value. If you sell physical goods or content, then offer related products or products that enhance the value or utility of the original purchase. If you are selling online subscriptions or digital services, use the upsell campaign as a chance to highlight the benefits of higher service levels or additional subscription add-ons.

 

Tip: Video in upsell campaigns gives you an opportunity to show instead of tell. People consume content visually much faster than through reading. A video of a product or a software demo, for example, can go a long way with new customers you are trying to grow.

 

Reduce Support Requests with a Resource Campaign

 

Sometimes the best email for your new and existing customers has nothing to do with selling at all. Sharing information about how to reach support or find information about a product or service is very valuable to customers.

 

This kind of information can reduce support tickets and customer churn simply by helping customers understand how to use what they purchased.

 

For example, if you sell software subscriptions then a series of emails showing how to use included features and tools is valuable to users. If you sell clothing then a series of emails showing how to accessorize a certain piece may be enjoyed by your customers.

 

Tip: If you have a customer support team, feature one of them in a resource email video. Doing so will make customers more comfortable to reach out if they need assistance, which is much better than them needing help and deciding that your brand is not worth the trouble.

 

Generate Referrals with a Promo Campaign

 

Email is a low-pressure, high-value way to engage customers in a wide range of ways and for a wide range of reasons.  One oft-overlooked type of campaign? A promo campaign to ask for referrals.  Combining a referral campaign with a discount or gift can supercharge your results.

 

If you sell apparel, for example, offer a coupon to both the recipient and a friend for their next purchase. If you sell SaaS, offer a discount on their next invoice for referring a friend that turns into a customer. The variations for this type of campaign are near-endless, just like the upside they can create.

 

Tip: Using video to ask for referrals can be more successful because of the human connection involved. When asking for a referral, you are essentially asking for a favor. Doing that as close to "in person" as possible increases the chance of success relative to simply using a text-based email.

 

Think About Email In New Ways When it Comes to eCommerce

 

When it comes to eCommerce, email should not be thought of as just a way to promote new products or send sale notifications. Email is an opportunity to communicate with customers on a deeper level, building trust and loyalty along the way. 

 

Email is one of the most effective ways to cultivate a relationship with customers, whether you're trying to increase brand loyalty or drive sales. People that make it to your site and express even the slightest amount of interest should be handled with care. The possibility to grow the relationship into something great is there for the taking if you only seize the opportunity.

 

Now that you know a little bit more about how to use email campaigns, think about how you can apply what you've learned to your eCommerce store. Campaigns that focus on growing the relationship with customers are some of the most valuable and underused tools in an online marketer's toolkit. Try these five types of email campaigns and see how your customers respond. To learn more about how Windsor can make every customer feel special with a custom video, click "Get Started". 

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