Enrich your customer journey with personalised marketing communications

What is email automation?

Each communication touchpoint is a vital opportunity to engage with your customer and guide them further down your marketing funnel.

Email marketing campaigns, such as seasonal promotions or product launches, require advanced planning and are often scheduled to be delivered on a set date/time to a specific audience segment. Email automation, on the other hand, involves setting a trigger which relates to a specific customer event and automatically delivering a pre-configured email to that customer to deliver a tailored message. By setting up email automations, you are heavily reducing recurring manual input and increasing overall business efficiency.

For example, a business could set an email automation to send a welcome email to new subscribers, or a discount code to customers who haven't purchased anything in a while. The initial set-up process can be timely, but once set, these automations save businesses time, energy, and ensure that customers always receive timely and relevant information.

Benefits of email automation

Improve efficiency. Email automation can be a huge time-saver for busy professionals. By setting up automated email responses, you can free up your time to focus on other critical tasks.

Build and maintain customer relationships. Well-timed automated emails add another layer of personalization to your marketing communications, helping to build rapport and trust with customers.

Promote new products or services. By providing customers with targeted information, you can increase the likelihood that they will take advantage of your latest offerings.

Increase sales. Automated emails generate 320% more revenue than manual email campaigns. According to www.statista.com, in 2020, automated welcome and cart abandonment emails had conversion rates of 51.9% and 33.89%, respectively.

More repeat customers. Sending automated emails can keep your brand top of mind and encourage repeat purchases, while also building brand loyalty.

Improve your market share. Email automation can provide a more personalized user experience, increasing customer engagement and enabling you to become a preferred vendor, improving your market share.

Fundamental email automations

Below are some suggestions for getting started with email automation.

Pro tip: AudienceZen recommends completing a psychographic analysis and segmentation process on your customers before implementing automated email flows. This will give you greater insight into your audience's marketing communication responses and purchasing preferences.
More on consumer psychographics and segmentation.

Welcome – A new customer has subscribed to your mailing list! Welcome them and let them know how much they are appreciated and what they can expect from your communications. Don't miss an opportunity to cement a strong connection with new subscribers.

Browse abandonment – Convert curiosity into revenue by re-engaging window shoppers. Be sure to include products in the email that the recipient has shown an interest in.

Abandoned cart reminder – Earn back lost sales by enticing indecisive shoppers back to your site. You could sweeten the deal with free shipping or a reminder of your generous exchange policy.

Birthday wishes – Who doesn't appreciate acknowledgment on their birthday? A personalized message to wish your customers well on their big day can go a long way, as can a birthday discount code.

Customer anniversary – Get in touch to remind active customers how much you value their support and encourage lapsed customers to re-engage with your brand.

Customer follow-up – Make sure your customers' expectations are met and that you remain their preferred retailer/supplier.

Customer "Thank you" – Your customers are the reason you're in business. Send them a simple post-sale thank you message to show your appreciation.
Order confirmation – Send pre-populated post-purchase confirmation emails with all of your customer's purchase details.

Customer redemption – Encourage lapsed customers to re-engage and see what your business has new on offer.

Product re-stock notifications – Automate a "back in stock" email to notify any customers who have recently shown an interest in your highly sought-after items that have been out of stock lately.

Doing email automation right

There are several things to consider when designing and setting up an email automation. Below are some points to consider.

• The tone, language and content must be appropriate for the audience you're targeting.
• Include links in your emails to related social media content, online video content, or blog articles for customers who want more information or actively follow your business.
• Be cross-platform savvy. Test that your emails look good on desktop and mobile devices.
• Personalize the language used in each email – make each person feel that they matter.
• Offer incentives. What are you offering in return if your automated emails require a customer response (e.g., a customer satisfaction survey or a request to post a review)? Loyalty points? A discount on their next purchase?
• Review your automation workflows regularly to ensure the content is still relevant and accurate.
• It's essential to think about what action you want your audience to take after opening an email from your business. Customers should be able to quickly scan through your email and easily find a relevant call-to-action.

Automation in action

Email personalization plays a vital role in helping business owners deliver a tailored experience for their audience. An all-in-one software, like AudienceZen, allows users to gather customer data, organize it, and use it to provide automated emails at the right time.
The AudienceZen automation workflow is entirely customizable, ready to meet your needs and help you connect with your customers at crucial moments.