The importance of the automated email: Automated doesn’t have to mean impersonal
Laura Bell
At Deearo marketing we know why you wanted to start your own business. You were sick of working so hard so someone else could enjoy the profit of your labours, and you wanted to create something of your own that would last. We get it. There’s nothing quite like being your own boss and the benefits of owning your own company are many such as, the wealth of free time you now have. All that time you now get to spend with your family relaxing on cruise ships instead of punching a clock. We bet you write out all your customer emails individually just for something to do to fill all that free time you have now that you manage your own company. Sound familiar? No? Nor is it familiar to us.
As a small business ourselves, we have no concept of free time. We work tirelessly to get results for our clients. Whether they want a new website, new brand image, logo, increased web traffic or social media growth, we’re there at all hours to make it happen. That’s why we understand what it’s like to be juggling so many aspects of your business at once that some things slip through the cracks, but your customer communication shouldn’t be one of them. Thankfully we have a long-term solution that can save you time, staff hours and peace of mind while working to improve your customer relationship. This blog post is all about the beauty of the automated email system because they are the fastest way to engage with your customers, make them feel valued and recover otherwise lost sales. We know you could use all the help you can get to save you time while successfully marketing your business.
What is automated email?
According to Send Grid, “Automated email, also referred to as triggered email or behaviour-driven email, is any message automatically sent from your email service provider (ESP) in direct response to an individual user’s specific actions made (or not made) on your website or web app.”Essentially, an automated email system sends out automatic, personalised emails to your customers or web visitors when something triggers it to do so. For example, if someone logs in to your e-commerce site and has placed one of your products in their online cart, but then not completed their purchase, this will trigger an abandoned cart email to be sent to them. They might have forgotten to complete the purchase, in which case the email will remind them, or if they changed their mind about their purchase, a perfectly timed discount offer will likely tip them over to the point of sale. That’s great news for you because it claws back sales that will have otherwise been lost to you. Automated emails can be triggered by other actions too. A ‘thank you for your purchase’ email proves that you care about your customers even after they have made a purchase from you. Similarly, a ‘what did you think of our services’ email gives you the opportunity to resolve any issues the customer has before they turn into a one-star review that you can’t erase.
What are the benefits of automated email?
A good, automated email can fix problems before they occur such as lost sales, poor customer relationship and distrust of your company. Automated emails mean that you are communicating appropriately with your customers, or potential customers without taking up too much of your time in writing to them. Because they are automatically triggered, it means that once an email from every trigger point is created, you don’t need to lift a finger to communicate with them by email again, unless you want to. Customers like to feel individually valued by their engagement with your business and getting a personalised email at every stage of their experience with you will achieve that without you having to write to each of them personally. Or as Send Grid put it: “Automated email allows you to send real-time, one-to-one messages that strengthen customer engagement, retention, and loyalty.”
How does email automation work?
Well, you decide at what trigger points in the customer experience you want people to receive emails and then write or commission a content writer to create the series of emails that will be sent out. Top tip: Sending several emails a day or more than eight a week overall is likely to make the customer feel barraged with information, or even targeted and attacked by your company. That’s not the aim of the game. There’s a balancing act with any email campaign between sending enough information to make the customer feel acknowledged and valued and sending so much that you annoy them by filling up their inbox with marketing emails.
While there are DIY automated templates online and companies that will set up an automated email service for you and leave you to get on with it, we advise that an automated email campaign set up and manged by a good marketing company, like us (if we do say so ourselves) is the best way to get the most from your email engagements. We can successfully walk the line between too many and too few emails and advise you on your email strategy. There may be crucial trigger points in the customer journey that you have not considered. We can help with that.
Add to cart
If you’re interested in any of our services, including automated email creation and management, you can get in touch with us through our website. Click here to chat to us today and discover how we can work with you to get the most from your business.
