Automated email to save time and spice up your communication
Email marketing is still one of the most powerful marketing levers known today. But while it's not new, it's the way in which it's used that has changed dramatically.
Yes, it's no longer a question of laboriously concocting one mailing a year to your entire database, but of setting up scenarios to automate the sending of targeted emails in a contextualised way: this is marketing automation.
An even simpler alternative is to use specialist software with hundreds of personalised, automated email templates.
Take a look at 11 examples of automated emails, the best practices to follow to optimise your campaigns in 2022, and the tools to help you manage and monitor them!
How does an automated email work?
An automated email or "automatic mail" is an email that is sent to your recipients or customers automatically, i.e. by itself without you having to do anything.
All you have to do is set the day and time you want to send it, and your marketing automation software will take care of the rest! Using it gives you a number of significant advantages in your marketing management:
- you save time,
- you reduce your costs
- you can deliver the right message at the right time to the right person quickly and easily,
- you strengthen the bond with your customers,
- you increase your conversion rate and therefore your sales, etc.
11 examples of automated emails for your marketing campaigns
1 - The welcome email
The welcome email is used to direct visitors to your site so that they create an account. This can be done by :
- downloading a document
- continuing with an order or purchase,
- subscribing to a newsletter, etc.
Then programme an automated welcome email. It's a warm, personalised way of getting in touch with your customer and showing them that you care.
2 - The order confirmation email
Also known as a transactional email, the order confirmation email is a must. It allows customers to check that their order or purchase has been processed, and more:
- They can see a summary of their order,
- they have an invoice and/or proof that a transaction has been completed,
- They can check that no errors have been made,
- they can track the dispatch and delivery of their parcel.
3 - The newsletter subscription email
The newsletter sign-up or confirmation email is essential. It should be personalised with the new subscriber's name and should be sent automatically once they have subscribed. This will reassure them that their registration has been taken into account and that they can't be mistaken about the email they receive.
4 - Birthday emails
Do you know your customers' birthdays? Give them a present or offer them an exclusive promotion! This is a common practice that is always well received and helps to build long-term customer loyalty. This could be for :
- the customer's personal birthday
- the anniversary of the customer's registration date (1 year after becoming a customer).
5 - Cart abandonment emails
It is very common for a user to select products in their shopping basket but not proceed with the purchase for a number of reasons:
- they have forgotten to finalise their order
- they are waiting to see if other products will be in stock,
- they thought the price was too high, etc.
Sending them a reminder email will rekindle their interest in the products and ultimately trigger a purchase.
👉 You can send up to 3 shopping basket abandonment reminder emails, but at very specific times (a few days or even weeks apart) so as not to seem too intrusive.
6 - Cross-selling and up-selling emails
Up-selling and cross-selling are very common and popular practices in e-commerce. Although they are normally pre-integrated into your e-commerce management solution, you can also use them in your emails.
They are also known as "additional sales", since their aim is to promote additional products or items over and above those initially ordered.
7 - The product launch email
This automated email is an excellent way of promoting the launch of a new product. It's even more effective when it's tailored to the buying habits and behaviour of the customers who will receive the email.
8 - The satisfaction survey email
Your customers will be happy to hear from you, and they'll be even happier to give you feedback. As a mark of consideration, this email can take the form of :
- a survey,
- an evaluation
- an invitation to write a review of the site,
- or a satisfaction survey.
An excellent way for you to understand their expectations, so that you can respond more effectively.
9 - The product expiry email
If your products or services have an expiry date, this type of automatic email can be very effective. This could be for :
- a subscription that is about to expire,
- a software licence
- a promotion coming to an end, etc.
💡 Define a precise deadline before expiry (1 month in advance for example), and automate the sending of the email, warning the customer of the approaching expiry while offering them the chance to renew their experience. It's a win-win situation!
10 - One-off promotional emails
Again automatically, you can send a personalised email with promotions or special offers on very specific dates. This could be for :
- Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, etc.),
- commercial events (Black Friday), etc.
11 - Email for inactive customers
It happens (more quickly than you might think) that you lose a customer. They may not show any sign of life from one day to the next for no apparent reason. If you still have their contact details in your database, it's a good idea to send them a trigger email (just to remind them that you exist).
💡 Define a specific period of inactivity after which the email is triggered. You can then automate the email and offer them a discount or a free product to encourage them to make a purchase.
Best practices for effective automated emails
Segment your contacts for better conversion
Your email campaigns will be much more effective if they are tailored to your customers' behaviour and needs. It is therefore advisable to segment your data and/or contacts in order to set up bespoke automated emails.
💡 There are many advantages to marketing targeting, on both sides:
- customers are happy to receive emails tailored to their needs, which will increase their interest in your products and therefore your brand, and thus encourage their loyalty,
- your emails will have higher open rates; your website will also have a higher visitor rate.
Adopt AB testing
AB testing, in the context of email campaigns, involves sending your customers and/or prospects two different versions (content, design, tone, etc.) of your newsletter or emails to see which one works best.
👉 However, for an AB test to be statistically representative, it must be sent to 2 similar samples (equal number of subscribers) that are sufficiently large.
Evaluate the impact of your emails using KPIs
But that's not all. After your tests, you need to analyse the results using marketing KPIs. The most relevant performance indicators for email campaigns are :
- The open rate: how many people opened your email;
- Click-through rate : how many clicked on one of the CTAs (call to action);
- Unsubscribe rate: how many unsubscribed or "spammed" your account;
- And the conversion rate: the percentage of prospects who have turned into customers.
Get the right emailing software
The automation of your email campaigns is made considerably easier by the use of specialist software. Emailing software is a highly effective way of creating, sending and tracking emails, all in a centralised and intuitive way.
🛠 Iroquois, for example, can help you optimise and track all your multi-channel customer relations (emailing, SMS and push notifications) using its easy-to-use, user-friendly PoWoW solution. A genuine turnkey solution, it provides advanced and 100% customisable mailing functionalities:
- adjust your automatic scenarios for all your emails according to your needs: welcome email, abandoned basket, etc;
- take advantage of a wide range of ready-to-use, customisable email templates;
- perform AB/testing directly from the platform;
- evaluate the performance of your emails using clear, visual dashboards, and much more!
Automated email in a nutshell
As you can see, automated email is a real performance and productivity booster for businesses. No matter what sector you're in, the automation of your email campaigns is a lever that shouldn't be overlooked!
Article translated from French