How to Keep Customers Engaged From Purchase Through the Post

A customer has made their first purchase on your site and you feel like the luckiest marketer in the world! All the paid advertising, email segmentation, and SEO strategizing has finally paid off.

But your job isn’t done yet — because a marketer’s job is never done. There are still plenty of things you could be doing to keep your customers happy while they wait for their shipment.

Whether it’s 2-day shipping or standard delivery, it’s important that you give customers the same attention and make it worth the wait with relevant updates and valuable content.

The top 4 post-purchase emails to send to customers

Here’s how to keep your customers engaged from purchase, through the post, and throughout the customer lifecycle.

1. Keep them updated

Your customers are patiently awaiting the arrival of their order, so don’t leave them hanging once it’s placed. Not only can emails provide essential information about their order status, but they also get the customer excited about its arrival and keep them up-to-date on when they can expect delivery.

There are a few steps along the way you want to communicate when it comes to shipping status, including:

• Confirmation: Let your customer know once their order is confirmed and their payment is successfully processed so they’re not checking their credit card to be sure. Include product details, a receipt of their purchase, and shipping information.
• Shipping details: An email should automatically send out to your customer once their package ships so they know when it’s left the facility. Include ecommerce order tracking information and an estimated delivery date. Let them follow shipping and even consider sending a separate email once the item has arrived so they’ll know their package will be waiting for them once they get home.
• Order updates: Packages get lost in the mail. Payments fail. Customers cancel. If for any reason the order placed is a delivery exception and doesn’t make it to the end destination, inform your customer as soon as possible. This means they don’t have to reach out to your customer service team wondering what happened.

Rent the Runway expertly handles shipping updates for their Unlimited subscription box plan, where customers depend on speedy ecommerce shipping services to get the most out of their membership. With emails and in-app notifications relaying when items are shipped, delivered, and successfully returned, customers are never left wondering where their clothes are.

2. Warm welcomes

Now that logistics are out of the way, it’s important to make your new customer feel like they’re a part of the community. Sending a friendly welcome email shows your customer that their first transaction could be just the start of something really great.

It’s said that first impressions are often the most lasting. Nearly 75% of customers expect a welcome email upon subscribing to a service or purchasing from a brand, but only about half of today’s brands actually send one. Not to mention, welcome emails average 320% more revenue than any other promotional email.

We love the personal touch Outdoor Voices gives their welcome email when you place an order. They keep it super simple with plain text, but they effectively communicate the brand ethos and what it means to be part of the “Doing Things” community.

Additionally, the detail of humanizing the message by having it come from the brand’s founder and CEO instead of sending out a generic email makes it seem more personal than just email automation.

3. Tip off

B2C brands know that content is often the key to engaging their customers, whether they’re providing educational articles, entertaining videos, or informative podcasts. But have you considered how integral creative content can be to send to customers before they receive their first shipment?

Blue Apron does a good job with their content marketing by sending tips and techniques for faster, easier cooking. Their email includes video content such as how to hold a knife and pro tips like reading the recipe once through before starting.

Blue Apron’s customers include many beginner-level chefs, so this information can make the difference between a 5-star meal and a dish that ends up in the trash. When customers receive Blue Apron for the first time, these tips and tricks help them make the most of the curated box of ingredients so that their end result matches up with the image they see on the recipe card.

4. Follow up

Again, a marketer’s job is never done — even when a shipment makes it to its destination safe and sound. You still want to follow up and make sure customers are satisfied with their purchase and shopping experience; this helps with a thoroughcustomer lifecycle journey.

The Sill creates a seamless customer experience from browse to buy of each potted plant, and they’re not lazy when it comes to follow up. The online garden center makes sure to check in on the customer and confirm that they had a positive experience.

But they also take it a step further, encouraging the customer to provide user-generated content by submitting a review. Additionally, they take the opportunity to upsell the customer and inspire you to “keep growing your jungle” with future purchases they think you’ll like based on your order history.

Conclusion

Brands that find little ways to make the shopping experience better at every touchpoint will be the ones that stand out to customers and keep them coming back.

While you could just send a generic order confirmation email and be done with it, the most successful brands put extra thought into how they interact with customers during the crucial time between buying and the unboxing experience. Though it may not seem like a highly influential moment at first, it could be the difference between carrying out a one-time purchase vs encouraging a second.

When the majority of first-time buyers will never engage with your brand again, those few days of shipping can be ignored or used to create loyal customers. Make sure your brand stands out for all the right reasons.

Learn more

Want to see how your ecommerce fulfillment and shipping strategy can improve customer loyalty and drive repeat customers for your business? Download “2-Day Express Shipping: How to Drive Revenue” below and learn how to use shipping to get lifelong customers.