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You go to an online fashion store and want to buy new boots for the upcoming winter. You study the website, find an excellent option, explore it further, and eventually decide to think about it some more before you buy. The next day you receive an email from the company that engages you to buy the same boots you were browsing yesterday.
So it is an attentive marketer who studies every browsing history in the morning and writes reminder emails to customers? No, it's a triggered mailing that assists businesses in pushing the purchase cycle and firmly solidifying it. But before diving into the essential trigger emails, a fashion store has, let’s try to understand why you even need them.
Have you seen this scenario?
Whenever fashion marketers are only beginning to establish their initial trigger map points and lay down their customer flow on the website, some may find some crucial points that may not provide further assistance in developing their trigger map.
Some of our close collaborators shared that during the creation of trigger email sequences, they often stumbled across disagreements on strategy with top management or other stakeholders. In other cases, there were simply no references in an easy-to-understand format on trigger maps that could be presented to the management.
So how can you solve all of that? By implementing essential and established trigger email sequences in your online fashion store.
How do trigger emails work?
A trigger mailing is an email or series of emails automatically sent to your subscribers. A specific attribute or event triggers each email: fill out the form on the website, place a particular number of orders, and so on.
There are lots list scenarios, and they all help businesses differently. Trigger chains or maps can welcome new customers, return them for more purchases and turn new customers into loyal ones. The paramount convenience of trigger mailings is their complete automation. It is enough to set up an algorithm once, and the emails will be sent independently, arrive without delay, and hit the target precisely. You don't need to call a developer for this: these maps can be created using a unique email builder. It’s that simple.
Therefore, our company collected the most popular and effective trigger sequences, which can be easily implemented for your fashion store.
How can you put up all trigger scenarios in one place?
Different things may confuse you when creating email trigger sequences in email marketing. It’s no doubt that if you are a novice, you won’t understand when to use all of them. But that’s not the only issue: With the overwhelming number of different scenarios, a marketer may confuse himself and not understand what and when to use. Thus, you need to build a trigger map to bring more clarity into this significant email marketing step. A flowchart will show under which conditions a marketer has to use a certain scenario. Here are the main steps you should consider:
- Determine the sequence's purpose.- try to understand for what purpose your sequence will be established and when it should occur.
- Identify the enrollment criteria - understand under which conditions the given email sequence will work. Perhaps it can start when the consumer’s birthday comes in the next three days.
- Determine the duration of the sequence and the number of emails required - the title says it all, you need to define how long the sequence will be active and the number of emails you should prepare.
- Write the idea for the email sequences - this will define the focus of the selected email sequences.
If you don’t have an example of how such a flowchart should look, we prepared one for you. Simply leave your email at the end of the article and get your quality examaple of an email markeitng trigger sequence.
Common trigger email series for a fashion shop
Subscription confirmation - email sequence
Users get this first email after registering or subscribing to your website. It asks them to agree to receive emails from your company and to confirm their address.
For example, a user bought shoes at an online store and created an account there. At that exact moment, they received an email offering to sign up for the news email. Confirmation emails are sent right after the trigger event of registering or subscribing to the mailing list occurs. A single email will be enough here. During the registration, warn the client that he will receive a confirmation email. He will look into his email inbox immediately and take action.
You can ensure that the customer has entered his address correctly and, even more importantly, has not given you someone else's email. That means you can save yourself from endless spam complaints, which can result in the mailing being blocked.
The welcome - email sequence
This email sequence comes to the customer after they sign up and confirm their email. It can tell the customer more about the store and possible services and offer a nice bonus (a discount, for example). Not only do these series serve a purpose of a shop overview, but it also thanks customers for subscribing.
For instance, John has a long history of exercising and watching his diet. When researching the range of a popular online sports nutrition store, he was asked to sign up for the newsletter. An hour after agreeing, they received an email thanking them for subscribing and including a promo code for a small discount.
As you can see, you can’t procrastinate with the welcome emails. You should always send it once the user confirms the email address. Otherwise, there is a risk that the client will quickly get cold feet and forget about you.
A welcome trigger chain should have the maximum amount of interesting information for the client. You can also include cool bonuses or essential information via email or a website push notification.
After the first email, your client can study your catalog, look for matching products, and make the first purchase.
Abandoned search - email sequence
This trigger chain can be considered an opportunity to engage the client when they abandon their search process. The algorithm calculates customers who made search queries but didn't click on any products. Maybe they didn't find what they wanted or were just distracted - and the email sequence goes to them. Typically, the emails will contain a selection of products purchased by people who have done similar searches.
For example, Kate was putting together a Snow White holiday costume and looking for a long yellow skirt. She went to her favorite clothing website and searched "yellow floor-length skirt". No relevant results were found, and she decided to continue her search tomorrow. The next day, she found an email from the same store, which suggested looking through other skirts. Among the proposed options was a cool yellow skirt, which fitted perfectly into the costume, though it was a little shorter.
As you can see, it is an effective email sequence. It is important not to wait too long, or the client will buy from someone else. But wait to send the email right away, too - give the user some time to study the website and try to find the product they want. Let such emails come in 2-4 hours after the search was conducted. So, this sequence returns existing customers to the website who have already thought of leaving without finding the product they want.
An abandoned shopping cart - email sequence
This email or a chain of emails brings customers back to the website without completing an order. It encourages customers to complete the purchase and offers to add more items to the cart.
Here’s a simple situation, Michael went to an online sports store to buy vitamins - he needed them for a more effective workout. A sudden call distracted him, and he forgot to complete his purchase. An hour later, he received an email reminder about the abandoned shopping cart. Additionally, the store offered to look at other vitamin complexes that could be useful for them.
The best time to send is within two hours after filling the cart while the client is still warm. If this email goes unnoticed, you can send a second reminder a day later.
You can also show a gallery of different products inside your emails. You can also send mobile push notifications to the client if you have an app.
The item is back in stock - email sequence
This sequence of emails notifies the customer that a particular item is back in stock. It's easy to guess that it comes from the person who studied the product card, but it wasn't in stock.
Mary buys shoes from the same online store. She was looking for sneakers and sandals for summer, but none of the pairs in her size were in stock. Two days later, the store had a new shipment, and she received an email that she could now go back and buy what she wanted.
Set up an email to be sent as soon as the item is in stock. Since this is a notification, you can experiment with formats here. If your IT department or the email marketing solutions allows, in addition to email, you can set up pre-send push notifications and see if they bring more sales.
So basically the customer will find out that a particular item is available for purchase, and at the same time he may also receive some interesting recommendations. That means there is a high probability that he will purchase and even take some small things from the recommended stock.
Discounted items - email sequence
This email sequence comes to the customer if the product they viewed has dropped in price. By the way, it can also be accompanied by a selection of other exciting products.
For example, suppose Ken was tired of having dry and flaky skin on his hands every winter. He decided to buy a moisturizing lotion, but he thought the price was too high. A week later, however, he received an email that the cream had dropped in price. The new price was acceptable to Oleg, so he ordered. The best time to send such emails is as soon as the price drops. The sooner the customer gets the good news, the better.
The different add-ons will allow you to tell the customer about the discounted price and show them a list of recommendations. But if timeliness is more important to you, and you want to focus on a product you're interested in, you can try short push notifications.
Regular purchases - email sequence
This algorithm calculates the habits of the customer who repeatedly purchases goods, and determines the interval between them. After the right amount of time, the service sends the customer an email that it's time to restock and make another purchase. The user only has to follow the link in the email.
You can make it even simpler: you can independently determine which products customers can buy time after some time, set a limit and send emails even if the purchase is made for the first time.
Terry loves tea and regularly buys a large set of different flavors. A month after the last purchase, when the tea ran out, he gets emails from the store to restock. If his favorite assortment is suddenly out of stock, he will try new flavors from the selection.
You can send it to your subscribers as soon as the specified time will be done. You can also send a reminder via push notification. If you want a reminder and a selection of product alternatives, then the email series is your choice.
“Thank You!” - email sequence
An email notifying you when an order is accepted. In it, you can thank the customer for their purchase, attaching all the information about the order, delivery, and payment.
Some stores turn this mailing from purely transactional into a triggered mailing by adding a list of recommendations for future purchases.
Anna ordered a rack from an online store with home delivery. Immediately after her order, she received an email thanking her and telling her where she could see all the information about the order.
Transactional news emails should arrive as soon as possible. Send the email as soon as it's accepted.
Alerts about orders already placed are acceptable in any form. You can experiment with channels and try both email and push notifications. And even SMS, in case the customer still needs to be registered in the email database.
The customer feels more relaxed when he knows someone is already handling his order. So his loyalty grows. The more information, the higher the loyalty.
Personalization - email sequence
This is one of the options for customer reactivation. Sometime after the purchase or a visit to the website, he receives an email with a personal selection of products. These can be related products to the already made purchase. Or items with the same parameters - for example, shoes in the same size as those bought earlier.
The best time to send it depends on your goals. In the case of this email, you can wait - personal selections are sent after two weeks or even a month from the last action.
First, you're offering the customer cool new products - there's a chance that they'll buy something and increase your profits. Second, personal picks emphasize the uniqueness of the customer, from which his loyalty grows. And thirdly, you can easily clean up your mailing list - if the user has not opened your emails for five months in a row, you can safely remove him from your mailing list. The customer has cooled down and is unlikely to buy something, while his inactivity spoils your statistics.
Collect feedback on recent purchases - email sequence
It is one of the options for getting feedback. A customer picks up their order, and a few days later, an email catches up with them asking them to share their impressions.
By the way, there are other scenarios for collecting feedback. For example, you can also set up triggers for those who've made a return of things - they'll get emails asking them to tell you what they didn't like.
For example, a customer ordered some books for study from an online bookstore. A few days later, he was asked to rate the store on a 5-point scale. It didn't take long, so the customer left a rating of "excellent" - he was delighted with the speed of delivery and the service.
Let the customer get to know the new purchase better. Send the email 3-7 days after receiving the order, at which point the customer will have something to say.
You need to get the user to the website where they'll take the action they want. Both an email and a push will work for this.
You get a chance to learn more about your weaknesses and strengths, allowing you to improve. Also, such emails increase loyalty - customers are pleased that you care.
Earned points - email sequence
This email tells the customer how many bonus points are in their account. It can be a monthly report, information about earning points after purchase, or other actions. At the same time, you can remind the customer about the validity period of the points or attach a selection of products on which you can spend your bonuses.
A year ago, Eva created an online store account and had been shopping regularly. Exactly one year after registering, she received a notification that her account had been credited with bonus points. The email also included instructions on how to activate them.
The best time to send it depends on the email format you choose. If you're writing about earning points, send a notification as soon as the points arrive in your account. If you send a points summary, decide how often you want to send it and stick to it.
If you just want to let you know how many points are in your account, you can send both an email and a push. But if you have detailed instructions for the points - for example, how to activate or use them - then it's better not to limit yourself to the limits and send an email.
Points, like any other bonuses, increase customer loyalty. And they also motivate new purchases. So the client should know how many points they have in their account.
Monthly digest - email sequence
Another reactivation mechanism - is a selection of products for the least active customers. The digest is automatically created for each customer.
Tim ordered a set of home clothes from a large online store. He never called there again, but a month later, he received an email with a selection of robes, pajamas, and other things for the home. He liked one of the pajamas and placed a new order.
To shake up a sleeping client, it's enough to send him an email once a month. If more often, it will be too intrusive. If less often - he will forget about you altogether. You can encourage clients in any way you like, but email works best in the case of a large selection.
Invitation to a loyalty program - email sequence
A trigger mailing option for stores with a loyalty program or card. After you set an action, customers who aren't already in the program will receive an offer to join.
Fate often buys books from the same online store. She's also subscribed to their news emails and reads the emails regularly. At one point, she received an email that the store had launched a new loyalty program. She liked the terms and decided to join.
So it's best to send these emails after one or more purchases. But there may be exceptions. For example, if the program has just launched, as in the case above, you can mail it to all subscribers in the base.
Customers love bonuses, so you can get their attention with emails and push notifications. These messages will lead to the registration form; you can access it from any channel. Loyalty programs have always been an excellent way to turn one-time customers into loyal ones. There's a good chance that many will want to join the program, after which they'll start shopping more often and bringing in more money.
Honorable customer - email sequence
A notice that the customer has been given special status and may now shop on unique and particularly favorable terms. As a rule, this happens after a certain number of orders.
For example, Kim was renovating his apartment and made regular purchases at the construction store. After his tenth order, he received an email saying he was now an honorary client, and new discounts on different product categories were waiting for him every week.
As soon as the customer meets the condition necessary to get the honorary status you should send this email sequence. Gifts increase customer loyalty and motivate them to make new purchases. Therefore, every email from such a chain has every chance of increasing your profits.
Browsed and didn't buy - email sequence
This is a reminder that the customer looked at the card of a particular product but, for some reason, did not buy it. At the same time, the customer can be offered a selection of alternative products if he suddenly doesn't like the original one.
Rei loves to buy new cosmetics. A friend recently recommended her favorite online store. Rei studied the range and looked at some products, but there was no need for new purchases, so she didn't order. The next day she received an email from the store reminding her of the cosmetics she had reviewed. Rei studied the list again and decided to test a couple of products.
The best time to send it is the day after the review. We will never know exactly why the customer didn't make a purchase. That is why it's best to remind them quickly, just in case, before the customer completely forgets about the product. But not right away either, so as not to be too intrusive. By the way, if you are curious why the customer did not order, you can wait a month - if there are no orders, send an email asking to share what he did not like.
Here it's best to stick with the classic email. First, a "why didn't you buy" email may scare the customer away. Secondly, you can include a selection of products in the email, increasing the chances of new purchases.
It increases the chances that some abandoned views will still make it to the cart and turn into purchases. And if you add a feedback email to the chain, you can also find out why customers come "just to look" and then don't buy anything.
As a result, auto-triggered emails generate 1.3% additional revenue for the brand. The entire email strategy as a whole generates 8.9% of revenue.
Conclusion
These are just the most straightforward trigger-chain scenarios you can use in your work. The great thing about them is that you set them up once, and then they provide you with loyalty and customer returns for months or even years to come.
But you can still follow our instructions. You can always use your imagination and develop hundreds more scenarios to suit your needs. Try different channels, deadlines, and triggers - then analyze the results and settle on the most effective scenarios.
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