Transactional Emails 2.0: Think Beyond The Purchase

Author:

Loren McDonald

Source:

We marketers tend to think about the transactional email in its most literal sense, relating to a specific transaction as defined by the CAN-SPAM Act and by conventional wisdom.
 
But transactional emails can become a potent force in your email program when you broaden your vision and look for ways they can enrich your customer relationships, from pre- to post-transaction and beyond.
 
These triggered messages, based on abandonment, recent purchase and CRM data, enable additional touch points that provide further value to customers and additional revenue and customer data for your company.
 
Four Categories of Purchase-Related Email Message
 
Following are 19 examples of purchase-related emails organized into four categories:
 
1. Pre-transaction
 
Incorporating data from Web analytics and ecommerce software can help you identify customers who break off browse or purchase sessions. Note: These are customers or prospects already enrolled in your email programs.
 
Browse abandonment: Personalized with images and details of a Web site category, page or product the shopper viewed but didn't result in a purchase. Cart abandonment: Multi-stage recovery email program, with the first email sent within minutes after shopper places items in a cart but doesn't complete the process.
 
2. Purchase Process
 
These support the purchase process itself and are intended to increase customer confidence in the ordering process...
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