By Mandy Bray

I recently ordered a swimsuit online to get ready for a beach vacation. Choosing between hundreds of swimsuit styles after months in sweats is overwhelming, so I breathed an audible sigh of relief when I saw the order confirmation in my inbox.

I could almost smell the ocean and feel the sand under my feet in that moment.

That “shopping high” is a feeling of instant gratification and anticipation after an order. You can leverage this valuable window to boost customer loyalty and retention as a brand. To achieve this, you need the post-purchase email.

• How Post-Purchase Emails Drive Customer Retention
• The Best Post-Purchase Emails
• Best Practices for Post-Purchase Emails

How Post-Purchase Emails Drive Customer Retention

In the retail and e-commerce industry, email drives a whopping 45x ROI. Angie Jones, fractional CMO and author of the e-commerce newsletter The Brand Love Brigade explains why post-purchase emails are a powerful tool for customer retention.

“I’ve seen that the impact for brands who nail post-purchase campaigns is a higher retention rate and, ultimately, higher customer lifetime value (LTV),” Jones says. “The toughest leap to make is from the first order to the second, and post-purchase campaigns help do that.”

The Best Post-Purchase Emails

Ready to build on the brand momentum you’ve already built? Read on for my favorite post-purchase emails, why they work, and how to make them your own.

Order Confirmation (Man Crates)

First and foremost, your customer needs to know that their order is correct and has been received. Share the critical order details with your customer before anything else in an order confirmation email.

What we like: The celebratory image and saucy copy are exactly on-brand for Man Crates. However, it’s the icon progression that makes this order confirmation effective. Customers can tell from a glance where their order is in the process.

Below this, Man Crates follows a best practice of including the order and customer service contact details.

Shipping Confirmation (Etsy)

The following critical information you should share is a shipping confirmation when the package arrives.

What we like: I like how clean and effective Etsy’s shipping confirmation email is. The content is conversational and clear, reminding me of what I ordered with photos of my en-route items.

Etsy also uses valuable one-click order tracking to see where my package is — no copy/pasting a tracking number into a separate website.

Onboarding (Audible)

If a customer doesn’t understand a product or doesn’t use it, they’re unlikely to continue paying for it. Boost product engagement and customer retention with an onboarding email sequence.

What we like: Audible gives step-by-step, scannable instructions to help new subscribers use the app for the first time and discover content.

Technical Onboarding (Descript)

Onboarding is critical when you sell a complex or technical product like software. Set up onboarding sequences that guide your customers through adoption and offer support.

What we like: This onboarding email from podcast and video editing …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron