We have some excellent post-conversion email marketing tips to help you win customers for life.
In the previous post we shared some pretty awesome email marketing tips to show you why the customer’s journey with you shouldn’t end when they complete the checkout.
They picked you out of the gazillion other suppliers they could have chosen; and that shouldn’t be ignored.
Instead you should use the power of email marketing to congratulate them on their great taste and decision making skills. Make them confident that they will experience the same feelings of pleasure if they purchase from you again in the future.
Employ these tactics and you are far more likely to have a customer for life.
So, what constitutes a great post-conversion email?
I’m glad you asked – if you’re after email marketing tips, you’ve come to the right place! Let me show you a few examples from some global brands that are smashing post transaction marketing.
The Thank You Email
This thank you email from clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch is a perfect example of the genre and totally speaks for itself. It stands alone from their official transaction communications and has a single focus – to show appreciation to their valued customer.
No imagery
There is no imagery or clever html trickery to distract from the key message, yet it also looks considered and in keeping with the brand.
Flattering copy
The copy is flattering and humble which will ensure the customer feels good about themselves and the decision they’ve made.
No CTA
Note: no call to action. The purpose of this email is not to drive further interaction, yet it is far from a marketing dead-end as the feelings invoked will encourage subsequent communications to be read.
The Onboarding Email
The sooner a new user takes action, the sooner they can get start to get value from your product. Sending onboarding emails is a great way to provide the standard assistance needed, without the more costly resource of a sales person’s or customer service representative’s time.
Single task to break down
This is the first in a series of onboarding emails from KISSmetrics. Each is sent with a single task to break down the process into bitesize chunks which means that the customer never feels overwhelmed by the work required to get up and running.
List of relevant resources
A comprehensive list of relevant resources serves two key purposes. Firstly, it shows the customer that plenty of help is available if they need it. Secondly, it removes the need to contact Kissmetrics with the more common queries, thus saving calls to their support team.
One focus: one CTA
Using ‘let’s go’ tells the customer they aren’t alone which is reassuring.
The Aftercare Email
If you sell a product that needs to be maintained, you should definitely consider introducing an aftercare email into your post-purchase armory. It tells the customer that you value the quality and longevity of the product as much as they do.
Aftercare tips
This thank you email from Parachute doubles up as an educational email, with aftercare tips provided, which sets them apart from other more generic retailers thus promoting brand value.
Clean design
The clean design, with aspirational hero image, mimics the brand and makes the email very readable and engaging.
Reassuring the customer
This copy reinforces the benefit of buying from Parachute in particular, reassuring the customer of their good decision making.
The Order Progress Email
Most off-the-shelf transactional platforms will send a generic (read: ‘boring’) email when a product is despatched. However, when a product has a longer delivery cycle, it is a good idea to trigger a custom order progress email to keep the customer informed and excited about their forthcoming delivery.
Human and personal
The wording in the header of this progress email from Photobox feels extremely human and personal – you are made aware that there are actual people involved in your purchase which is even more important when purchasing online.
Adding value
The chosen imagery reinforces the human touch and adds value to the process.
Progress bar
A progress bar visually lets the customer know that the majority of tasks have been completed which resurfaces the feelings of when they first ordered.
Social proof
Now that the customer is thinking about receiving their product, this social proof section cleverly provides a cross-sell opportunity to drive revenue to other areas and increase the customer’s lifetime value.
The Cross-Selling Email
A timely cross-selling email is a fantastic tactic to raise awareness about similar products and leverage additional revenue following a sale. Ensure that you use your data wisely to avoid cross-selling a product that the customer has already purchased, or that is out of stock.
Hand picked pieces
Mentioning ‘hand picked pieces’ that have been selected to suit what has already been ordered gives the impression that your own personal stylist is recommending complementary items for you and makes the customer feel valued.
Free postage
The added benefit of free postage with these selected pieces sweetens the deal and removes a barrier to purchase.
Pictures over words
Pictures work far better than words when cross-selling to help customers form a mental image of your recommendations and increase the chances of a click through.
The Upsell Email – B2C
Upselling is successful when the benefits of add-ons, or a higher value version of a product or service, respond to a person’s needs. When these offers reach the right customers at the right time, they gain the most traction and lead to supplementary revenue.
Power of suggestion
This upsell email from Dollar Shave Club is cleverly disguised as a despatch notification which is more subtle than a blatant purchase request and leverages the power of suggestion.
Sense of urgency
Using wording such as ‘Add before we ship’ implies a sense of urgency and prompts the subscriber into taking immediate action, rather than saving the decision for later (which may end up being never).
Impulse add-ons
Individually, these low cost items work well as impulse add-ons and don’t require too much consideration from the subscriber to simply include in their next box. Just like the items placed closest to the till in a brick-and-mortar store, which prompt 38% of shoppers to purchase additional items (Source: Citeman Network).
Heavy on imagery
Content and design-wise the ratio is definitely heavy on imagery which reinforces the visual nature of impulse purchasing.
The Upsell Email – B2B
We have included a second upsell example to prove that they are not the sole-domain of the retailer. Any industry can, and should, leverage additional revenue from up-selling (and, any of the other post-purchase tactics). Simply use the tactic to offer a product or service that the customer doesn’t have, but is related to one that they do.
Power of suggestion
The playful design and copy in this email from Grammarly proves that B2B email marketing doesn’t have to be dull. Taking design inspiration from best practice B2C email examples can quickly make any B2B communication stand out from the crowd.
Adding deadline
Adding a deadline to an offer is a good way to encourage immediate conversion. A countdown timer here would add to the sense of urgency.
How great is your product?
Social proof is a powerful selling tool; Grammarly use this embedded tweet to let their customers do the talking about how great their product is.
The Renewal Email
In a similar way to replenishment emails, the renewal reminder offers a convenient option for busy customers who are dreading the thought of having to go through the shopping around phase.
Renewal reminder
This is the final renewal reminder in a series that Confused.com send to their customers during the month leading up to the expiry of their insurance. Each is only triggered if the desired conversion isn’t taken from the last.
Personal
The copy is personal and lets the customer know that they don’t have to go to the trouble of answering loads of questions again this time.
Single CTA
The single CTA reinforces the message that the process will be simple as the quotes are sitting there ready to be retrieved, which is incredibly effective with time-poor customers.
Cross-selling
If Confused.com don’t have any luck this time with the car insurance renewal, they are reminding the customer that there are plenty of other products on offer for the future, which is another example of including cross-sell to drive additional revenue.
The Referral Request Email
Referrals are a very effective way to grow a business – any business, in any industry. They should be proactively sought out; and for that to happen, you have to ask your existing customers. If you take some time to develop a referral campaign, you’ll get more qualified prospects because people associate closely with others like themselves. They can practically eliminate objections of trust as the trust is already built in, thanks to your referrer.
Hero image
The use of an aspirational hero image reinforces the key message of the email that it’s better to work out with friends. It also gets the reader to imagine what this might look like for them which puts the ideal candidate for the referral in their mind.
Nothing sold
Nothing is being obviously sold – this is simply positioned as a free pass for a friend.
Sense of urgency
However…….if they do happen to sign up afterwards then there’s some handy branded swag to be had. Making the offer date sensitive triggers a sense of urgency to think of a friend that’s most likely to actually join, rather than come for the free pass.
The Mission Accomplished Email
Not-for-profit organisations have to be careful with their money, time and resources; which is one of the reasons that email marketing is such an vital fundraising channel. To keep donors engaged, it is important to send a donation follow-up email to thank them for their support and inform them of the outcome.
Sense of satisfaction
This bold header invokes a real sense of satisfaction and achievement in the reader, and the copy reinforces the message that they played an important part in the campaign’s success. The decision made to donate in the first place was a good one that led to a positive result, which leaves the donor feeling proud and happy.
Real people
A powerful hero image continues the joyous feeling and shows the reader the result of their contribution. Every email is better with images, but the best images for charity campaigns include real people that benefit directly from the actions of the donor.
Summary of success
A summary of the campaign success, and a final thank you, will leave the reader feeling great about their involvement; the placement of the CTA may serve to capitalise further on the charitable mood the reader is now in.
The Review Request Email
Reviews provide social proof and are one of the best ways to boost your online credibility, improve your brand image, and help increase your blog or website’s rankings. Always personalise any review request email you send based on the service you’ve provided or the product they’ve bought.
Gamification
When your business model revolves around getting as many reviews as you can, it isn’t feasible to incentivise every one. For this reason, Tripadvisor cannily gamify the process to encourage repeat reviews.
Visualise and reminisce
Offering up relevant options based on real searches by the user helps them to visualise and reminisce about their latest trips, and bring the value of using the service to front of mind.
Quick and easy
The five circle visual reinforces the message that submitting a review is really quick and easy which is more likely to encourage time-poor customers to take part there and then.
Today’s key takeaway
By splitting the examples by industry and genre, we hope to show you that there are myriad ways that you can add value to your brand in the eyes of your customer after they have purchased from you. In this era of H2H marketing, any of the post-conversion tactics employed in the examples should be considered for your own campaigns, regardless of industry.
We have seen first hand that, for too many brands, their marketing efforts stop when the customer hands over their money. This is potentially the fastest way to ensure that you don’t see any more of their money in the future.
As human beings, we are chemically programmed to repeat pleasurable experiences. Plus, when we receive a great experience from a brand, we are more likely to recommend it to others. Since brand advocates are the holy grail of marketing, don’t you want to do everything in your power to make sure it’s your brand they’re advocating?