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5 Ways You Can Use Email Automation In Your Business
Rebecca McIntyre
Head of Operations
29 Apr 22

5 ways you can use email automation in your business

Despite the popularity and dominance of social media as a means of digital communication today, email isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

No matter the size of your organisation or industry, email marketing (when done right) has a positive impact on lead creation and revenue production.

Studies show that more than nine out of ten people use email at least once a day, but only 39% of marketers personalise their emails, and another 21% fail to categorise their lists. Emails are still important, but many marketers fail to take advantage of them.

Whether you’re a marketer or the owner of your own business, you’ve been on the other side. You know what it’s like receiving crazy amounts of emails. It’s annoying. 

But if done right? Email marketing can be one of the most powerful tools you can use. You can use it to target your audience with relevant offers, tell them about your business, and build their trust in your brand.

So, what’s the secret to making email marketing easier and more effective? Email automation.

With email automation, you can send different types of emails to different customers at different points in their sales process. All this can be done with just a few clicks of a button and very little money. You don’t need to spend much or exert a lot of effort with email automation. 

What Is Email Automation? 

Email automation is when a predefined trigger sends emails to customers who do or don’t do certain things. For example, email automation can be activated when someone signs up for your email newsletter or doesn’t pursue checking out the products on their shopping carts. It could also be after they make a purchase or even when they visit a specific page on your site. Matching your customer’s actions with your automated emails gives them a seamless experience and, therefore, provides them with what they need before they even ask for it.

Email automation eliminates repetitive tasks and allows marketers and business owners to focus on what matters most – the end-users. 

The RAT Principle

When it comes to sending emails to your consumers, not any email would do, though, right? As we’ve said, it can be pretty annoying to have lots of useless emails if you’re the one on the receiving end. As such, when it comes to email automation, RAT is a principle that can help you out as marketers and entrepreneurs. 

Relevant

Give the customer information relevant to where they are in your sales cycle and that they would find interesting. For example, if they were in the process of checking out your products or services and didn’t continue, maybe you need to remind them of their unfinished shopping cart or offer discounts to motivate them to continue purchasing them.

Accurate

It’s important to make sure that all the information about your customers in the automation is correct. This includes their name, purchase, when they joined your membership, and more. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If someone identified you by the wrong name, wouldn’t that turn you off from that business? 

Timely

Nobody wants to be bombarded with too many emails from any business. As such, make sure you don’t send too many automated emails. In the long run, this will just lead to a lot of people unsubscribing from you, and you wouldn’t want that. 

Ways You Can Use Email Automation in Your Business

1. Abandon Cart Sequence

An abandoned cart occurs when a potential consumer enters an order but leaves the website (or app) without completing it. Since you have their email address already, you can just contact them immediately to remind them to complete their purchase. 

The trick is not to be pushy but to portray your email as a help. You’re reminding them of their purchase, but you can also include a relevant offer. It may be the final push they need to book your service or buy your product.

Just remember not to give out the offer in the first email! You risk losing money by making an early offer when they would have ordered at full price but got distracted. Your initial email should just be a reminder if anything is missing from their basket and ask if they need help completing their order. But if they still haven’t bought, send them a second email with an offer to incentivise them to buy. 

2. Welcome Sequences

Welcome sequences are automated emails issued to new subscribers. This method capitalises on the customer’s current interest in your product or service. This is where you may provide important business information, answer frequent questions, and try to remove any potential conversion hurdles.

Planning welcome sequences is important. You need to spread relevant information across days or weeks to help convince and warm up your customer. Typically, the more expensive the product or service is, the longer the “gap” between your messages. But if you are selling a low-cost product or service, seize the moment asap! 

3. Post-Sale Follow-Up

A post-sale follow-up will examine the customer’s purchase and propose related products or encourage other actions such as joining a club. A post-sale follow-up email will be sent immediately after the transaction, helping to increase client loyalty and maybe sales.

For example, you own a gadget store, and a new customer bought the latest cellphone or laptop from you. Your post-sale follow-up could be a 10% discount offer on a charger or case. Providing a relevant offer stimulates repeat purchases and makes the buyer feel valued.

Post-sale follow-ups can also be used to request reviews, refer friends, or join a membership club.

4. Nurturing Emails

Nurturing emails help a lead take action, whether it’s a purchase or another call to action. It’s a great way to offer a reward or extra information to encourage them.

Your nurture campaign should consist of at least three emails, each providing a unique incentive to the potential consumer. A sequence of nurturing lead emails might look like this:

  • Welcome email
  • Informational email
  • FAQ email
  • Engagement email
  • Promotional email
  • Abandoned cart email
  • Loyalty program email
  • Offer email

These emails can be sent progressively over a few days after a potential customer signs up.

5. The Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are prevalent in sales because they work very well. They have a high success rate. 

While loyalty program emails may appear tedious, they really improve sales and brand loyalty by as much as 83%! Your loyalty program emails should be sent immediately after purchase and occasionally after that if you want to foster brand loyalty.

You can conduct a loyalty program via email in numerous ways:

  • Birthday gifts for customers
  • Purchases with reward points
  • Discounts to encourage referrals

There are endless ways to reward loyalty, and basic programs that include rewards and discounts for referrals are a terrific place to start.

Are You Ready To Jumpstart Your Email Automation Journey? 

In the end, email marketing automation is all about automating content creation and distribution to allow for more creativity and innovation.

It is indeed helpful for marketers and business owners alike. However, instead of just relying on it, seek ways to reduce marketing bottlenecks and develop the finest content for your audience.

What are your thoughts on email marketing automation? Do you use it in your email marketing campaigns? If you have any problems getting started, contact us for more information. We’d love to help you!