Transactional Emails: A Missed Opportunity?

(Click the pic or this link to see the full-sized chart)   

Marketing Sherpa recently released a new chart showing that transactional emails (shipping notices, receipts and confirmations, etc) are opened far more regularly than newsletters and other email communications.  If you aren’t using your transactional emails to upsell or cross-sell, you may be missing out on an excellent opportunity. 

Here are 3 quick tips you can use to turn your transactional emails into effective selling tools:

• Don’t go overboard. As a general rule, people like to buy, but they don’t like being sold to.  Don’t turn your email into the electronic verson of a smarmy salesman, and don’t overpower the main message (transaction details) with the sales message.  In most cases, a simple P.S. or a footer with a link to more info should suffice.

• Make the offer relevant to your customer’s interests.  Whatever you offer should make sense, and be in keeping with your client’s original purchase (or purchase history). This shows you’re paying personal attention to their specific needs and interests, and goes a long way towards maintaining good relationships.

• Reward your customers.  Offer discounts, freebies, or other rewards for upgrades or repeat purchases. Returning customers make up the bulk of most companies’  sales, so it always pays to keep your customers happy.  It also costs considerably less to keep an existing client than to find a new one.