Everything You Need To Know About Email Automation For Your Bigcommerce Store
Email automation for BigCommerce is the first step towards optimizing customer outreach and improving conversions, this post covers everything you need to know about it.
Email automation is a tool that allows you to send automated emails based on specific actions that your customers take. It can be as simple as a welcome email or as complex as an email sequence that helps you upsell products to your customers.
In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of email automation for your Bigcommerce store and what you need to know about setting it up.
What Is Email Automation?
Email automation is the process of automatically sending email messages to your contacts based on events in their purchase experience with your business. These events could include signing up for a free trial, purchasing something, or even just visiting a specific page on your site.
Email automation helps you save time, grow your business, and provide better customer service. It also gives you a way to stay top-of-mind with your audience without spending hours each week sending emails manually.
The most common types of email automations are triggered by one of three things:
- Users take actions within an application (e.g., signing up for a free trial or purchasing software).
- Users set triggers (e.g., liking something on Facebook or following someone on Twitter).
- Events that occur in their experience outside of applications (e.g., buying something at a retail location or registering at an event).
6 Benefits Of Email Automation For Your BigCommerce Store
Image Source: BigCommerce
Email automation can have several benefits for your BigCommerce store. Here are some of the top ones:
1. Save Time by Automating Repetitive Tasks
Automation saves time on repetitive tasks such as sending a newsletter, booking appointments, or collecting payments. It can also send responses to customer support requests and emails or act as a BigCommerce abandoned cart saver.
2. Improve Customer Experience With Automated Follow-Ups
Automated emails ensure you don’t waste time writing personalized emails for each customer and help improve your conversion rates. Automated follow-ups help nurture leads and turn them into customers by providing value at every stage of their journey, from prospecting through sales to becoming repeat buyers.
3. Increase Sales With Triggered Emails
You can set up automated emails to automatically send when someone places an order, requests information or when certain events occur on their website. It allows you to respond quickly and provide relevant content to increase the chance of a sale.
4. Better Track Customer Behaviors
Email automation allows businesses to track customer behaviors and better understand consumer trends. It can help companies to make better product or service decisions and improve customer service by knowing customers’ issues.
5. Reduces The Need For Human Intervention
Email automation reduces human intervention in marketing campaigns by creating automated messages that deliver messages to each recipient. It eliminates manual work and leaves more time for human operators to focus on other tasks that require their attention.
6. Increases Brand Awareness
Email automation lets businesses reach out to customers who have already expressed interest in their products or services by offering them more information or discounts on purchases they’ve made in the past.
It helps increase brand awareness among existing customers and encourages them to become advocates for your business through referrals or word-of-mouth marketing.
6 Must-have Automated Emails
There are several different types of automated emails that your eCommerce website can send.
Here are the top 7 automated emails you should be sending:
1. Welcome Emails
This is the first impression your customer gets of your brand. Make it personal and professional, but not too sales-y.
A welcome email series should include information about using your product/service and what to expect as a customer. It should also include social media links and call-to-action buttons that allow customers to contact you directly if they have questions or problems with their orders.
2. Abandoned Cart Emails
When customers add items to their cart but don’t check out, they’re sending you a clear signal that they’re interested in what you offer.
You should send BigCommerce abandoned carts emails as soon as possible after an order is placed, offering discounts or free shipping if they complete their purchase within a specific time.
If you don’t receive a response from this email, follow up with another one in about 24 hours. These messages increase conversion rates and can improve customer experience by providing relevant information at the right time.
3. Order Confirmation Email
This is the first email that customers will receive after placing an order. It’s your first chance to show them how awesome you are as a brand by thanking them for their purchase, including additional information about using the product or service they just purchased, and encouraging them to refer it to friends.
4. Discount Code Email
People love getting discounts! A discount code email is an easy way for you to let customers know about special promotions or discounts available only to them (and not other customers). It’s also a good opportunity for you to invite them back into the store so they can take advantage of those savings!
5. Win-back Email
This is the email you send to someone who hasn’t bought from you in a while but hasn’t unsubscribed. It could be days, weeks, or months since they last purchased from you — it’s up to you how long it takes them to get this email. This email aims to re-engage those customers who have drifted away from your brand so they come back and become buyers again.
6. Anniversary/Birthday Email
This is one of my favorite emails because it allows me to create a personal connection with my customer base by sending them special discounts or offers on their birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions throughout the year, like holidays and birthdays!
When done well, these types of automated emails can be some of the most effective marketing strategies in ecommerce because they show customers that their needs matter, which makes them feel appreciated as a customer.
5 Best Practices To Keep In Mind Before Emailing Your Customers
BigCommerce email automation is a great way to interact with your customers and get them to come back to your store. However, BigCommerce apps can help boost sales and increase your customer base.
Here are some best practices for emailing your customers:
1. Personalize Emails
Personalization is one of the most effective ways to engage with your customers. It helps you connect with them much more resounding, leading to increased sales and revenue for your store.
You can use personalization in different ways—from sending an email with their name in the subject line to sending personalized messages based on their previous actions on your site (e.g., someone who has recently added something from your store’s wishlist). But make sure that you don’t overdo it!
2. Improve The Content Of Your Emails
You should write the content of your emails in a conversational tone. It should feel like you’re talking to your customers, not at them. If you use words that are too formal or professional, your customers might think you’re not taking their needs seriously.
Also, ensure you’re addressing your customers by their names whenever possible. For example, don’t say “Dear Sir or Madam” or “Hi there!” Instead, try saying something like: “Hey [name]! How’s it going?”
Here are some tips for improving your email content:
- Write short sentences and paragraphs, but give each sentence its meaning.
- Make sure you’re using active verbs as much as possible. Active verbs make your writing sound more upbeat and energetic, and they keep readers engaged with what you’re saying.
- Use bullet points instead of paragraphs whenever possible—they’re easier for readers to scan through quickly, which will help them get the gist of what you’re trying to say without having to sit through long paragraphs.
3. Use The Right Timing For Your Emails
You’re sending emails because you want people to act on them. But too many messages can be overwhelming, even when they’re helpful. If you send an email every time someone buys something, people will feel bombarded by updates — and less likely to respond.
The best approach is to send one email per week at most. That gives enough time for people to digest the information while still being relevant (and not overwhelming).
4. Make Sure Your Email Looks Good On Mobile Devices
It’s also essential to ensure your email looks good on mobile devices. You might think this is obvious, but many companies don’t take the time to optimize their emails for mobile devices, which can result in customers receiving them without any formatting or images included at all!
This will make it seem like you didn’t even care enough about them to ensure their experience was good when they opened their inboxes!
5. Follow CAN-SPAM Regulation
The CAN-SPAM Act was passed in 2003 and has been revised several times. The act aims to reduce spamming and prevent emailers from sending unsolicited messages to consumers. You must follow these regulations if you use BigCommerce email marketing as part of your business strategy.
It requires that all commercial emails contain the sender’s identity, accurately describe its product or service, and include an opt-out option. The law also prohibits false or misleading header information in emails and makes it illegal to send emails to people who haven’t given consent to receive them.
How To Get Started With Bigcommerce Email Automation?
BigCommerce email automation can be a powerful tool for your business. But what if you’re not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered. We’ve created a step-by-step guide that will show you how to get started with BigCommerce email automation.
If you’re ready to see how easy it is, read on!
1. Establish Your Needs
Before diving into automation, take some time to think about what kind of customer engagement you want to achieve. Do you like to offer discounts? Follow up on order? Send reminders about product expiry. Automation can help you reach all those goals, but it won’t do any good if it isn’t tailored to meet your specific needs.
2. Find An Email Service Provider That Fits Your Needs
There are many different email service providers—some even offer direct BigCommerce email integration! But no matter what service you choose, ensure it provides the features needed for your business’s unique needs (like advanced segmentation or personalized content).
3. Draft Your First Email
The critical step in creating an email automation campaign is drafting your email. In this step, you’ll want to provide information about the offered product or service and how it can benefit the recipient. You’ll also want to include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of the message so they know what they should do next.
4. Create An Email Sequence
The step is to group emails sent in a specific order and follow a logical flow. For example, if you want to sell a product:
- The first email might be a welcome message followed by an introduction to your brand.
- The second could be a discount code for the customer’s first purchase.
- The third and last one could be a thank you note for making the purchase.
The purpose of an email sequence is to generate leads, increase your sales and improve the relationship with your customers.
5. Schedule Your Emails
Once you’ve created your email sequence, it’s time to schedule when each email will get sent out. You can do this manually or use an automation tool to send automatically based on specific criteria such as days since signup or the number of days since the last purchase.
6. Analyze And Optimize Your Results
Making the most of email automation is all about testing and tweaking. Once your first emails go out, you’ll be able to see how they perform, which is a good indication of what to change and what to keep.
Look at your sales data after each run of emails has been sent out. Check whether any of the following metrics have increased:
- Conversion rate – The percentage of people who buy after viewing the email.
- Open rate – The percentage of people who open the email.
- Click-through rate – The percentage of people who click on links in the email.
Final Thoughts!
Bigcommerce email automation can be tricky, but it’s not that hard once you know the basics. An automated drip campaign is a must if you want to save time and increase conversions on your Bigcommerce store. I hope this has helped you understand what they are and how they can benefit your business.
