Tag Archives: brand awareness

How to create a great welcome email

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Okay, so you understand that you must welcome each of your new customers into your email programme, but how do you make sure that you are making the most of this opportunity?

Here are some pointers, each of which takes advantage of the increased engagement rates of welcome emails to increase your future inbox placement rates.

Always send the Welcome Email in real time.

Speak to your Email Service Provider about their API suite, or use forms to trigger automated emails. And remember, it’s all about brand awareness. Don’t send plain text auto-responders, instead bring the Welcome Email into the brand family. Exploit this first point of contact for future brand recognition.

  • Thank them for signing up for your newsletters and remind them why they received this message.
  • Show them how to add you to their safe list.
  • Make it easy for them to manage their subscriptions with a preference centre.
  • Showcase what your email programme has in store for them – use real examples of earlier newsletters. They’ll recognise the next one when it lands, boosting your chances of engaging them.
  • Give them the opportunity to share your email with friends/colleagues via your social bar, include a recommend a friend option too
  • Do you have a soft sell you can include in your welcome email? A first order discount or free shipping will go along way to building the relationship.

And finally, keep it short. You need to strike the balance between smoothing the path for the future and overwhelming your new members.

And now?

Well, leave them alone for bit, let the wonders of the new world sink in. But not too long, the new customers should now be at stage one of your welcome series.

A week after they’ve signed up, stage two will be triggered. Their interaction with this message will determine the next phase.

Once they have journeyed through the welcome series they will be pumped and primed, ready for the full offering.

That’s where the real fun starts…

Why you must roll out the welcome mat to your new customers.

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Each and every customer that you convert is the result of a hard fought battle. But you shouldn’t rest on your laurels, it’s far from over.

They bought from you because they trust your business. During the purchasing process you’ve given them a great customer experience, of course they want to hear more about what you’ve got to offer, so where do they sign up for your newsletters?

Assuming the purchase lives up to expectations, then what happens next is a defining moment in your relationship with your customer. Manage this initial conversation and the opportunities open to your business will be hugely increased.

It’s no overstatement to say that the Welcome Email may be the single most important email that you send to your customers.

Recent reports reveal that Welcome Emails can generate 4 times the open rates of standard bulk promotions.

They are received whilst your customer still has you, and the great purchasing experience, fresh in their mind. Use this openness to set your stall out and keep the smooth user experience flowing.

Welcome Emails have very high open and engagement rates, providing the perfect opportunity to urge your customers to do some of your work for you. Show them how to add you to their safe-list, so they won’t miss out on any future special offers.

Of course they need to know what they’re letting themselves in for, so use the Welcome Email as a showcase for your coming attractions, tell them what to expect from you and how often to expect it. Show samples of your newsletters to reinforce brand identity and make them easy to spot when they do begin to land in their inboxes.

Counter intuitive as it may seem, now is the time to ask them if they really do want to receive your emails, allow them to set their email preferences.

The Welcome Email presents a wealth of opportunity to re-iterate your brand proposition to your new customer, take advantage of the higher engagement rates to include a soft cross sell, for example free shipping or a discount on their next order (time limited, of course!).

By adopting a few very simple techniques you can turn your Welcome Email from a bland, text based, recognition of your customer’s existence and into stage one of a small series of messages that brings them into the family, and eases them into the next phase of your highly targeted, personalised email programme.

Now, let the conversation begin…