7 Ways to Personalize Automated Emails Based on Subscriber Actions

In an age of personalized marketing, a standard-fits-all method of marketing via email doesn't work any more. E-commerce businesses and email marketers generally have plenty of information about customers but they mostly fail to use this data to the fullest 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 ensure your clients are engaged.

There is a time when including the "first name" of subscribers in the email was thought to be one of the most effective strategies to improve conversions. The ability to send subscribers relevant, timely emails that are pertinent to their needs is necessary to keep them engaged about your brand.

Personalization and automation, when combined, can be a boon to businesses. The analysis illustrates that According to Experian research, businesses that personalize promotional marketing emails have more specific click rates as well as one-percent greater open rates over those who do not personalize. It also states that triggered emails generate more response rates to conversion in the same quantity of emails as opposed to "batch and blast" email blasts.

When it comes to creating custom-designed campaigns for your online store emails, you need to use a couple of simple but sophisticated procedures to drive your email campaigns effectively.

  Answer the Right Questions  

In order to send out automated emails, it is necessary to gather data from your clients. The most effective method to collect this is by asking customers to select certain preferences options that can assist you in segmenting the data. When the customers subscribe to your newsletters, you can ask them their purpose of opting for your emails. Their responses will offer insights that will lead you to send targeted and relevant email messages.

Here is an example of an email from Marisa Murgatroyd who is the founder of Live Your Message. In this email, the emailer is asked to fill out a brief survey, which will allow her to categorize the people based on their interests and then send only messages that are most relevant to them.

  Build Customer Personas  

Once you get feedback from your clients, you can build personal profiles of customers from the information you've gathered. By understanding your customers and your subscribers' email preferences better, you can develop more personalized experiences for your customers. This can help provide your subscribers to your emails a more targeting and customized experience.

  Think Location and Time  

Test your emails according to location and time in order to find out what is most effective for your needs. Certain hours of the day are proven superior for email delivery . Customers may be spread around the world, in different time zones and hence it's essential to cater to all of them. Some customers will respond better to your messages if they're delivered at a particular time during the day. Make sure you do A/B test for your email to determine the most effective moment when customers are able to contact your email and adjust your sending time accordingly.

  7 kinds of automate emails triggered by subscriber behavior  

After you've gathered enough information for you to correctly divide your subscribers into segments It's now time to create automated trigger emails based for specific segments and behaviors.

  Here are 7 types of triggered emails that can be sent to your customers:  

  1. Welcome E-mails

Welcome emails are triggered to establish a connection with the new subscriber. It is the initial email you send to confirm your sign-up. It will allow you to filter your database by asking your subscribers to share their preferences. It is recommended to send the sequence of welcome messages that include the initial one is a welcome note and introducing your offerings, followed by a second one will ask about your subscribers' preferences, and following emails about offers and discounts for your future purchases.

Have a look at the example Welcome Email from Hootsuite. It guides subscribers to start using their online tool. The email is the initial of their series that is triggered and will be sent out when the subscriber chooses to join.

  2. Mails from abandoned carts

Emails about abandoned carts are those that are sent to buyers who've added items to their shopping cart, but did not make it to the checkout. Highlighting the abandoned products and offering a discount or a free shipping option to go to the checkout process is an excellent way to make them complete the purchase.

Have a look at this email from Asics. They've highlighted one the abandoned products by putting it up on the main banner. They also show the rest of the products in the cart beneath. They also have displayed products to encourage cross-selling, increasing the chances of the customer to revisit the website to make a purchase.

3. In Stock Emails

Emails with back in stock are emails that you send to those who want to purchase a specific item that was out of availability and have decided to be notified whenever the product is available in the stock. The sending of an email to inform the customer about the availability of the item/s can be a fantastic way to get them back to your website for the purchase.

This email from Kauffmann the Mercantile can be a great illustration. This email is a fantastic instrument and tool to make your customers feel loved.

4. Price Drop Reminders

The price drop emails go to clients who have abandoned your online store or cart most likely because of the price of some products that there's no discount. If items that you have previously visited are available at a discounted cost, it's a good idea to inform customers of the discount. It is a good opportunity to attract customers who were once interested in buying from you.

Look at this sample taken from The Target, which has notified the customers of the discounted new price of the items they have in their carts, as well as other recommended products. The message will convince customers to purchase the product.

5. Order Confirmation

Once customers check out and have placed an order, you must immediately make sure to send an order confirmation email to them, confirming as well as thanking them for having completed the purchase. It will allow them to recheck their purchase and adjust it should they need to. Include a payment receipt and overview of the order to make the transaction transparent. Also, give them options to monitor their order, and to provide feedback. It is also possible to consider selling similar products or cross-selling.

This is an example of an order confirmation email sent from Amazon. The particular purchase was an ebook. Notice the way Amazon recommends similar ebooks at the end of the email:

  6. Order Follow-up Emails

After your client has made an order from your website When a customer places an order on your website, you must send order follow-up emails. Automate follow-up email messages that include relevant product recommendations and related product suggestions. They will also contain information about tracking orders, an order summary and payment details.

Look over this email from Etsy which informs customers about the progress of the delivered order.

7. Re-engagement Emails

Re-engagement emails focus on rejuvenating your relationship with clients and subscribers who haven't opened your emails or haven't purchased from you in a specific period of time. Re-engagement emails can be effective in bringing clients to return to your site. You can send a series of emails in order to woo your disinterested customers and draw customers to purchase from your site. You could also include special deals and promotions to encourage customers to return to your site and place an purchase.

Here's an example of a re-engagement email sent by Pinkberry, offering their subscribers a complimentary yogurt when they go to any Pinkberry store within seven days:

  Automated emails are most efficient in the event that they're customized  

Hyper-personalization is what will keep your email subscribers interested in your business. The next time you plan for your email marketing campaigns be sure to go beyond just adding their names to the emails. Making personalized emails that are based on your subscribers' preferences and habits is crucial to ensure your automated email campaigns work effectively.

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 elegant email templates including Photoshop to HTML email conversion and the free HTML email templates. Kevin loves sharing his experiences and thoughts on email marketing tips and best practices at his blog on email marketing.