7 Methods to Personalize Automated emails based on subscriber actions

In an age of personalized marketing, a standard-fits-all approach to email marketing doesn't work today. Email marketers and businesses that are e-commerce generally have plenty of information about customers but they mostly fail to use that data to their full advantage. There is a growing number of companies using email marketing, it is necessary that as an email marketer you come up with new strategies to keep your customers engaged.

Gone are the days when using the 'first name' of your subscribers' names in email was thought to be one of the most effective strategies to increase conversions. Making sure that subscribers receive timely, relevant emails which are pertinent to their needs is necessary to ensure they are interested in your business.

Automating and personalization, used together, work wonders. The research compilation indicates that according to Experian, companies who tailor their promotional emails experience 27% higher individual click rates, and one-percent more open rates than those that do not personalize. Additionally, it states that triggered emails drive 624% higher conversion responses for the same number of sends as compared to "batch and blast" email blasts.

When it comes to creating customized campaigns for your e-commerce email marketing, it is essential to use a couple of simple but sophisticated methods to run the effectiveness of your emails.

  Be Prepared to Answer the Right Questions  

For sending automated triggered emails, you need to get customer data. An effective way to do this is by asking your customers to choose certain preference choices that will help you in segmenting the data. When customers opt-in to your newsletters, you can ask them their purpose of opting for your emails. Their responses will offer insights that will lead to sending more targeted and relevant emails.

Here's an example an email sent by Marisa Murgatroyd who is the founder of Live Your Message. In this email, she asks email recipients to complete a short survey, which will allow her to categorize the people based on their interests and to send only emails that are relevant the most pertinent to them.

  Build Customer Personas  

Once you get the responses of your customers, build customer personas using the collected data. In order to understand your clients and email subscribers better, you can develop more personalized experiences for them. This can help provide your subscribers to your emails a better experience and a more targeted.

  Take into account Time and Location  

Examine your email accounts according to location and time in order for a better idea of what works for you. Certain times of the day tend superior when it comes to . Your customers may be scattered all over the globe in various time zones. Therefore, it is necessary that you provide all customers with the same service. Some customers will respond better to emails if they're delivered at a particular time of the day. Make sure you do A/B tests for your emails and determine the ideal time when the customers reach out to your emails and then set the send time to match.

  7 kinds of automate E-mails triggered through Subscriber Behavior  

After you've gathered enough information to properly segment your email subscribers and then set up automatic trigger emails that are based on certain segments or actions.

  There are seven types of emails with triggers that can be sent to your customers:  

  1. Welcome E-mails

The welcome emails trigger to connect you with the new subscriber. It is the initial email you send to confirm your sign-up. It can help you filter your list by asking your customers about their preferences. You should preferably run an series of welcome emails that include the initial one as a pure welcome note and introducing your offerings, followed by a second one asking for the subscriber' preferences, and subsequent emails with promotions and discounts that they can avail for their future purchase.

Check out this example of Welcome Email from Hootsuite. The email guides the subscriber to begin using their online tool. This is the first email in the series of emails that are triggered. It it is delivered when the subscriber decides to sign up.

  2. Mails from abandoned carts

Abandoned cart emails are emails that are sent to buyers who've added items to their cart but didn't proceed to checkout. By highlighting the items that have been abandoned, by offering discounts or free shipping to proceed to the checkout process is an excellent method to get them to complete the purchase.

Have a look at the email sent by The Asics. They've highlighted one the items that were not sold by putting it in the top banner and showing the rest of the items on the cart beneath. They have also displayed items to encourage cross-selling, increasing customers' chances returning to the website in order to make a purchase.

3. In Stock Emails

Back in stock emails are those emails that are sent out to clients who wish to purchase a specific item that was out of inventory and who have chosen to get notified when the product is available in inventory. Notifying customers of availability of the product can be a fantastic option to bring customers back on your site to purchase the item.

This email from Kauffmann The Mercantile is a good illustration. This email is a fantastic way to let your clients feel appreciated.

4. Price Drop Reminders

The price drop emails go to customers who left your online store or cart most likely because of the price of certain products on which there's no discount. When the previously browsed products are offered at a reduced price, you should to notify the customers about it. It is a good chance to convince customers that were once interested in buying from your.

Look at this sample of the retailer Target that informs customers about the reduced price on the products in their basket, in addition to other products that are recommended. The message will convince customers to make the purchase.

5. Order Confirmation

After customers checkout and place an order, send an order confirmation email to them, validating the order and thanking them for making the purchase. It will allow them to recheck their order and make changes if necessary. Include a payment receipt and order summary to keep the transaction clear. Also, give them options to monitor their order, and give a feedback. It is also possible to consider cross-selling or offering similar products.

This is an example of a confirmation email from Amazon. This particular purchase was for an ebook. Notice how Amazon suggests similar books at the bottom of the email:

  6. Order Following-up E-mails

Once your customer places an order through your website You must email follow-up messages to the customer. Create follow-up emails that are automatically sent which include product-related recommendations as well as related suggestions for products. They will also contain order tracking details, the order's summary, and details about payment.

Look over this email from Etsy that informs the customer about the progress of the shipment of the order.

7. Re-engagement Emails

Re-engagement emails aim to strengthen your relationship with users and clients who haven't opened your emails or didn't purchase from you within a certain timeframe. Re-engagement emails can be effective in bringing visitors to visit your website. You can send a series of emails in order to woo the customers you have lost interest in and draw customers to purchase from your site. It is also possible to include offers and discounts to entice your subscribers to revisit your site and place an purchase.

Here's an example the reengagement emails from Pinkberry which offers their customers a free yogurt if they visit a Pinkberry store within seven days of:

  Automated emails are most efficient when they are personalized  

Hyper-personalization is what will keep your email subscribers interested in your business. When you next plan for your email campaigns, make sure you do more than just include their names to the email messages. Creating personalized emails based on your subscribers' behavior and interests is crucial to ensure your automated email campaigns work efficiently.

Kevin George is the Head of Marketing at EmailMonks one of the fastest growing email design and coding companies that is a specialist in the creation of stunning email templates, Photoshop to HTML email conversion, and the free HTML emails templates. He loves sharing his knowledge and ideas on email marketing tips and top practices in his blog on email marketing.