Email Marketing Company

Retain, Recover, Repeat: Proven Email Campaign Types for eCommerce Growth

When it comes to eCommerce branding, sending emails just for the sake of it doesn't cut it anymore. We have a long way from simple newsletters and basic discount offers. Your technologically advanced audience requires smart, clever, and well-crafted email campaigns that ignite the longing to visit your website, check out the product, and hit the purchase button.

In a well-rounded email marketing strategy, relying on a single type of campaign is rarely effective. Instead, businesses should implement a range of targeted campaigns that align with each stage of the customer's buying journey, from initial interest to recovering abandoned carts. Here are different email campaign types that businesses can run:

1. Welcome Emails

A welcome email is the first message sent to a new subscriber or customer after they sign up for your mailing list or create an account. This is your chance to showcase the best-selling products, customer reviews, and lucrative offers to make the best of this opportunity. The three pillars that hold up the success of welcome emails are:

• Timing: Send it instantly; we strike while the iron is hot.
• Content: This is your brand's first impression; make the copy valuable, clear, and on-brand.
• Personalization: Make the email copy feel like a one-on-one conversation.

2. Abandoned Cart Emails

These are automated reminders sent to customers who added items to their cart but didn't complete the checkout. On average, 70% of people abandon their shopping carts and do not finish the final stage of the checkout process.

Abandoned cart emails are exceptionally well at capturing lost interest. All you need to do is charm them rather than chase the abandoner. Here's how:

• Highlight the distinguishing features of your products, and encourage them to give their carts a second thought.
• Alert them with real-time stock notices (Only 3 left!)
• Add product reviews and trust badges
• Allure them with time-sensitive deals.

3. Product Recommendation Emails

Emails that suggest relevant products to customers based on their browsing behavior, past purchases, or popular trends. It is a personalized email, and it is recommended to use AI and ML algorithms to make it feel that way to the recipient. The more relevant the products, the more recipients will be drawn to click the “Buy Now” link.

74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement, just like how Amazon uses Amazon Personalize. It is Amazon's product recommendation engine that uses generative AI and machine learning to create hyper-personalized experiences.

Icecube Digital's AI-powered services can assist in integrating powerful AI tools into your workflows easily.

4. Promotional & Discount Emails

These campaigns are focused on driving sales by promoting limited-time offers, new launches, flash sales, or discount codes. Customers love a great deal, especially on their favorite products, and no one would ever want to miss that opportunity. You can run a promotional email campaign for any promotions that you are running, like:

• Limited-time offers
• Seasonal and holiday promotions
• Subscriber or customer-exclusive deals
• Product launches and new arrivals
• New subscriber or customer onboarding offer
• Contests and giveaways

69% of millennials say promotional emails have influenced their purchase decisions. So, promotional emails help in keeping your customers informed, engaged, and connected with your brand.

5. Order Confirmation and Shipping Updates

The order confirmation and shipping update emails are categorized as transactional emails. These emails are automatically sent after a purchase, including order confirmation, shipping status, and delivery tracking.

They keep the customer informed at every step of their browsing journey, often triggered by their actions, like resetting the password or placing the order.

However, small, subtle upgrades in the transactional emails can make them more powerful, like:

• Cross-sell opportunities without being pushy
• Branded and On-Voice Design
• Add a section like See how others styled it with Instagram posts

6. Post-Purchase Follow-Up Emails

Post-purchase follow-up emails are sent after an order has been delivered, asking for feedback, offering support, or suggesting complementary products. Sending an email for feedback is common; however, how your eCommerce brand can distinguish itself from others is by educating the customers on what to do with their purchase.

When a new customer receives your product for the first time, they do not know as much as you know them. You can run a post-purchase follow-up email sequence that:

• Informs customers more about the product and its benefits
• Educates customers on how they make the best use of it and care-taking tips
• Suggest to them the styling options
• Tell them about the safety tips

7. Re-engagement Campaigns

Targeted emails aimed at subscribers or customers who haven't interacted with your brand in a while. Your subscriber list must include sleepy subscribers, and these emails serve as a wake-up call to them if done right. These emails are emotionally timed, which strikes a balance between “We miss you” and “See, what you are missing out on”.

Sometimes, people need a reminder, and these emails do not need to be exceptionally creative. A simple message, “We have missed you”, and a discount offer is all you need to get their attention back. You can even showcase the new arrivals in this email sequence.

8. Seasonal & Holiday Campaigns

The seasonal and holiday email campaigns are tied to key shopping seasons and holidays, like Black Friday, Valentine's Day, or Summer Sales. You can send them gift ideas, shopping guides, and announcements about the upcoming sales.

The seasonal drip campaigns usually start with a kick-off announcement email and then follow-up emails with a few time-sensitive offers. Here are some tips that our experts use to make your seasonal email campaigns a success:

• Divide the seasonal or holiday phase into three parts: pre-sale, live-sale, and post-sale
• Use festive, on-brand design to set up the stage
• Present the offer upfront and clearly, with no guesswork.

9. VIP or Loyalty Emails

VIP or loyalty emails are exclusive campaigns that are sent to top-tier customers or loyalty program members. It is no secret that existing customers are more profitable than new customers. Since they are in your existing customer base, they are easier to sell to, they are likely to spend more money, and they already trust you and your products. So, why not celebrate their trust and capitalize on this opportunity by providing some exclusive offers to your loyal customers?

To start this email sequence, all you need to do is pull a list of your most loyal customers (based on recent purchases, LTV, and some other metric) and send them an exclusive discount offer. However, you need to ensure the following things to get the desired ROI from the email campaign:

• Make it truly feel exclusive
• Give a premium look
• Don't be over salesy and include a soft CTA, like access your reward

You can skip the promo for this and just say thank you with a small reward or heartfelt message for their loyalty to your brand.