The Customer Journey Continues
By Naté Patrice, The Patrice Effect
Edited for Femme Fatale DC
by Briget Heidmous
Sealing the deal with essential emails.
If you're still hesitant to deep dive into email marketing, my suggestion is to look for opportunities to use email in meeting a small goal. For example, if your goal is centered around sales, make sure your email has a link that takes your customer directly to your product page so that they can easily add it to their cart and checkout. While you’re at it, make sure that customers who make a purchase receive automated emails about their order. (The Femme Fatale DC Online Shop does this.)
Sending automated confirmation, shipping, and delivery emails are customer relationship management 101. These types of emails let your customers know that they are purchasing from a reputable business who is organized and can effectively process orders.
If you’re feeling fancy, take it a step further and set up cart abandonment emails to remind potential customers about their shopping cart, and hopefully convert them into paying customers. If you’re feeling extra extra fancy, kick it up another notch by setting up a welcome email or welcome series for new customers and email subscribers.
Welcome emails are great for setting expectations. Being upfront about how often you intend to send emails, and what types of emails you’ll be sending establishes trust with people who are unfamiliar with your brand or your processes.
Okay, let’s pause. I just rambled off 5 different types of emails that you could send to your customers. Normally this is where I hear business owners say, “that’s too many emails!” Technically, yes...that is a considerable amount of emails. IRL these are highly engaged people who are interacting with your brand. Show them that you’re paying attention and keep the conversation going.
If you’ve ever been worried about sending too many emails or spamming your email list, stop and think:
Who is my target audience?
How can I use segmentation?
Is there an overlap?
Try to avoid overlap and constantly emailing the same people. Confirmation, shipping, delivery, and welcome emails don’t run the risk of overlap because they are all triggered emails that are sent in response to a specific action. However, newsletters, announcements, and other “blast” type emails can be overwhelming if your subscribers aren’t expecting them. (Hence the reason welcome emails are important.)
Focus less on sending too many emails and more on how one email can give a specific audience more of what they’re interested in, as frequently as they’re interested in receiving it. The more you empower your subscribers to take control of their email preferences the easier it will be for you to segment and send them emails relevant to their stage of the journey.
Wrap up.
Email is only one channel of your marketing communications strategy. Find unique ways to mix it up and engage your audience across several platforms. Being able to follow up in their inbox with personalized conversation is just the icing on the cake.
Naté Patrice, The Patrice Effect
Helping small businesses helps me live in my purpose. Work will drain you when you don't do what you love, so I’ve learned to embrace my need for organization, effectiveness, and simplicity; and bring that same presence to my love for marketing. I work with clients to develop customized strategies that meet their needs, while identifying opportunities to better serve their customers, add more value to the relationships, and produce memorable events that exceeded the best of their expectations.
To-do lists are my jam! I know you’ve been told that gravity keeps the Earth spinning, but it’s actually to-do lists written in fine point purple Sharpies, oxford commas, and a kick-ass marketing campaign. www.thepatriceeffect.com
© Femme Fatale DC 2020, The Patrice Effect 2020
