This article will show you exactly the essential email workflows for an eCommerce retailer.

As far as modern-day salesmanship is concerned, email workflows are imperative for an eCommerce retailer to build and nurture relationships with their customers. 

Thinking back on the days prior to technological advancements, traditional salesmen were knocking on thousands of doors, talking to every single customer, and hoping to come away with as many sales as possible.

Great salesmen understood that they couldn’t just knock on a door, pitch a product, expect an immediate purchase and be on their way. They had to nurture the relationship between themselves and their clients before asking for a purchase. 

Luckily, today’s technology allows you to reach many more customers at the tips of your fingers. Studies are showing that over 92% of all email users are checking their emails every single day, meaning that the emails you send to your customers will most likely be seen by them.

However, with so much noise coming across your customer’s inbox (and so many deleted emails), how do you develop effective email marketing campaigns? 

You have to create and automate specific email workflows that will catch your customers’ eyes, make them act on your CTAs, and drive them towards your main selling proposition.

Why Automate Email Workflows In The First Place?

Let’s start with the reverse situation - imagine if you didn’t? Imagine if your company, who deals with a multitude of incoming customers on a daily basis, had a team of marketers creating individual emails for each one? Surely, your team would go insane and your company would spend a lot of unnecessary money. 

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go over a few practical reasons why you should create and automate email workflows in the first place.

Building and Nurturing Customer Relationships

Customers don’t always buy the best product; rather, they buy from the company that they identify with the most. 

Think of Apple’s computers - they don’t have the best specs or features, yet they’re among the most sold computers in the market. Why do you think that is? Among many reasons, Apple positioned their brand around simplicity, and those who value simplicity (virtually all of us) are more inclined to attach themselves to a brand like Apple. 

The same goes for your company. You must create effective email workflows to introduce your brand’s personality to your customers, so that they may identify with you and want to purchase from you on a consistent basis.

When you create and automate the essential email workflows listed below, you bring your customers on a journey with you. Each campaign acts as a story towards a greater outcome. 

Remember, customers don’t buy the product - they buy the outcome.

Ensuring and Encouraging Customer Repeat Purchases

To build on the previous point, when you nurture new customers and create a strong relationship with them - one that is based off of sharing a similar personality trait(s) - you want them to come back and purchase from you again & again.

Apple sees that you buy a laptop from them and decides that if you like their laptop, you’ll probably also like their iPhone or iPad. You - sharing the same desire as Apple - agree happily and continue to purchase from them in the future.

In fact, over 22% of a company’s annual revenue comes from return customers, meaning that by effectively implementing the following email workflows into your marketing strategy, you can count on an increasingly significant return on your investment in the years to come. 

Essential Email Workflows For Every eCommerce Retailer

Welcome Workflows

The first step in nurturing a relationship is welcoming that individual to your community. Whenever your customer gives their email to you, it’s imperative that you introduce yourself, explain who you are, talk about your personality, and help them understand how you’re similar to each other.

In fact, customers not only need a welcome email; 74% of them say they’re expecting one. 

How To Use Welcome Workflows

Ideally, you want to be creating a unique introductory email for each opt-in that your business has. Therefore, if there are 4 different ways that a user can submit their email to you, you should create 4 emails tailored to each specific method. 

You can offer first-time discounts, free guides, or free products as introductory lead magnets.

VIP Workflows

Earlier, you learned about the importance of nurturing a relationship with your customers and incentivizing them to repeatedly purchase from you through creating email workflows. In doing this, you create VIP customers; customers with increased value to your business.

For any customer who makes several purchases, or for those who have signed up for a premium membership, treat them the way they deserve to be treated. VIP workflows are intended to turn loyal customers into true fans for a lifetime. 

How To Use VIP Workflows

VIP workflows require a bit more thought - begin by understanding your customer segments and determining what your KPIs are. Once established, you can then offer promotional discounts, early offers, free products, and even set up a referral program. 

Touching on the last point, you can give your customers both a reason and a means to share your company with others. Referral programs incentivize customers to continue to purchase from you and to get others to as well (it now benefits them as well). 

Post-Purchase Workflows

Any time a customer makes a purchase, it’s IMPERATIVE that you send them an immediate follow-up email thanking them for the purchase. You’d be surprised at how many people forget simple manners nowadays, and not saying thank you could easily ruin the relationship you have with your clients. 

Not only this, but post-purchase emails see a 500% higher click rate than any other workflow your brand will implement. People are waiting to know if you’ll thank them and how you’ll thank them.

How To Use Post-Purchase Workflows

The first email should be straightforward, thanking your customer for their purchase and letting them know that you’re available to answer any of their questions. 

Again, instill some of your brand’s personality into your thank you message. Apple’s post-purchase workflow is extremely simple - just like their brand. Tailor your workflow to your brand’s (and therefore, your customer’s) identity.

You can create a longer workflow by adding follow-up emails that ask for feedback on the purchase, reviews of your company’s service, sending an FAQ or a set of instructional videos to help the client better understand the product or service they purchased, etc. 

Abandoned Cart Email Workflows

This should come as no surprise to you, but abandoned carts are one of the most common occurrences in the customer purchasing process. In fact, approximately 70% of user carts get abandoned. 

Why this happens is an easy answer - with so much noise around them at all times, customers can simply forget to finish their purchase. They may have been saving items for later, waiting for their next paycheck to come in. 

While they may forget, you shouldn’t. 

The goal of this workflow is to ensure that your company can lower this number - the lower it gets, the more purchases you confirm, and the more revenue you draw in. 

How To Use Abandoned Cart Email Workflows

Add a setting to your workflow that automatically sends a follow-up email if the potential customer has placed an item in their cart but hasn’t placed a purchase after 48 hours. Repeat this process 2 to 3 more times, including a sense of urgency and a little bit of humour (remember, you’re identifying with their personality). 

If you have an ongoing deal, you can tailor the final automated email to a promotional discount for the “last-chance-to-act-now” part of the deal. This omnichannel workflow allows you to squeeze every possible ounce out of each of your deals. 

More Than An eCommerce Brand

At the end of the day, you are building a community and trying to provide a product or service that helps your potential customers. The only way that you’ll be able to accomplish this is if you learn how to build and nurture relationships with them.

From building your brand to performing digital marketing, our team at Makro Agency has a variety of services to help your business stand out. 

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We can’t wait to work with you.