New feature: Relax with email marketing automation
More success with less effort. A dream scenario, certainly, but by no means unrealistic thanks to the new feature from MyCOMMERCE. In the following article, you’ll learn exactly what email marketing automation is and how you can use it to maximize the sales potential of your online shop.
What is email marketing automation?
As the name suggests, email marketing automation is a form of direct and dialogue marketing via email. These mailings are sent fully automatically based on a predefined trigger, which in our case is linked to a recipient’s action. For you as an online retailer, this type of marketing offers the following key advantages:
- More sales: These mailings are more relevant to recipients due to their high level of customization. This pays off: Open rates increase, and with them, purchases.
- Reduced time expenditure: Once activated, mailings are sent automatically. It’s obvious that this represents a huge time saving for you as an online retailer.
- Cost efficiency: It’s always cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Furthermore, as a MyCOMMERCE customer, you don’t incur any fees.
Marketing automation is booming: A Salesforce study shows that 67 percent of leading marketing companies are already using marketing automation measures, including email marketing automation. Of these, around 82 percent have achieved a positive ROI (return on investment). And you know what’s the best part? Starting with MyCOMMERCE Standard, you too can take advantage of this trend.
Email marketing automation with MyCOMMERCE: An overview of the different types of mailings
Automated MyCOMMERCE mailings are sent based on behavior-based triggers, which we will introduce to you below:
1. Favourites
Trigger: A customer has added a product to their favorites.
Goal: Increase sales by reminding customers of items they particularly like.
When to send: Three days (72 hours) after the customer adds a product to their favorites.
If a customer saves their favorite products to a wish list, they will automatically receive an email reminder a few days later. Please note that this reminder can only be sent to customers who have registered in your shop using an email address.
2. Abandoned shopping cart
Trigger: A customer fills their shopping cart and takes it to the checkout. There, they decide not to complete the purchase.
Goal: You send your customers an email to remind them of their abandoned shopping cart, encouraging them to make a purchase after all.
When to send: Two hours after a customer abandons their shopping cart.
MyCOMMERCE has offered the option to counteract abandoned cart purchases with a reminder email for some time now. This email now also includes a corresponding discount code, designed to further encourage your customers to resume the checkout process.
3. Order confirmation including product recommendations
Trigger: A customer completes an order.
Goal: You provide product recommendations to your customers to further increase your sales.
When to send: Immediately after a customer places the order.
A customer who has just placed an order in your store is generally more receptive to product suggestions than in other situations. An order confirmation that includes links to additional products offers you the ideal opportunity to drive customers back to your store.
You’ll achieve the best results by manually assigning matching or complementary products to each product to create logical product combinations. For example, if a customer has purchased a smartphone in your store, there’s a high probability that they’ll also be interested in a matching case. Don’t have the time to deal with this right now? No problem. If you don’t specify any similar products, MyCOMMERCE will automatically select product recommendations when you activate the corresponding campaign.
4. Evaluation and follow-up
Trigger: A customer completes an order.
Goal: You receive valuable input that helps you identify any weaknesses and make appropriate improvements.
When to send: As soon as the customer receives their order.
Ask your customers to leave a review of the product they purchased or the service they used. By sending this mailing, you demonstrate that customer satisfaction is important to you and signal trust and appreciation.
Important note: Your customers cannot leave a meaningful review before receiving their order. Set up the campaign so that the corresponding mailing is only sent after the average shipping time has elapsed. By default, this mailing will be delivered four weeks after the order status is changed to “Shipped.” However, you can customize this. Also, be sure to update the order status immediately.
5. Thank you mailing
Trigger: A customer has placed two orders.
Goal: You strengthen customer loyalty and encourage your customers to make further purchases.
When to send: 30 minutes after a customer has paid for the order.
Expressing gratitude is a powerful tool for strengthening customer relationships. However, this mailing has far more marketing potential. On the one hand, you have the opportunity to encourage customers to continue shopping with appropriate vouchers. On the other hand, you can also point them to your social media channels, such as Facebook, and request reviews.
6. First reactivation mailing
Trigger: A customer placed their last order six months ago.
Goal: Regain inactive customers and increase your sales.
When to send: Six months after a customer placed their last order.
Do you want to encourage existing customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while? Our new feature provides a solution here, too. All customers who haven’t made a purchase in six months will receive an automatic mailing with your best-selling products. If desired, you also have the option of adding a special coupon code to this mailing.
MyCOMMERCE uses products from your shop overview page for this mailing. You can customize these products at any time. To do so, open your MyCOMMERCE and select “Catalog” and then “Categories” in the navigation bar.
7. Second reactivation mailing
Trigger: Your customer placed their last order one year ago.
Goal: You win back inactive customers and increase your sales.
When to send: One year after your customer placed their last order.
Send your customers a second reactivation email after a period of inactivity. Use best-selling products and coupon codes to convince inactive customers that your store might be relevant to them after all.
Start with email marketing automation now
It couldn’t be easier: You can activate all of the mailings just presented with a single click. Alternatively, you have the option to activate each campaign individually. All you have to do is open your MyCOMMERCE account and then select “Marketing” and “Automated Emails” in the navigation bar.
You’ve now seen the many benefits our new feature offers. Put our suggestions into practice and start using email marketing automation today. A step-by-step guide with further information is now available in our Help Center.
