Despite the landscape of digital marketing changing rapidly over the last few years, email marketing has remained a powerhouse when it comes to driving conversions and fostering customer relationships. However, many businesses overlook the potential of email flows, missing out on valuable opportunities to engage, nurture, and convert their audience.
In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of email flows, common pitfalls, and ideas to help your email flow marketing succeed.
What Are Email Flows?
Email flows, AKA email automation or drip campaigns, are a series of pre-written, automated emails that are sent to subscribers or customers based on specific triggers or actions. These triggers could include actions such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, abandoning a cart, or not engaging with emails for a certain period.
The purpose of email flows is to deliver highly relevant and timely messages to recipients, guiding them through a specific journey or sequence of actions. By automating these emails, businesses can nurture leads, onboard new customers, re-engage inactive subscribers, and drive conversions without the need to manually send each individual email.
Why Implement Email Flows?
Implementing email flows offers numerous benefits for businesses of all sizes. Most importantly, email flows help to increase conversions from customers who may be on the fence about making a purchase. The numbers speak for themselves:
Increased ROI: Email marketing boasts an impressive average return of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective marketing channels available.
Recovered sales: Businesses typically see a 10-15% increase in recovered sales using cart recovery flows, capturing revenue that would otherwise be lost.
Additionally, email flows are hugely beneficial when it comes to customer loyalty. Post-purchase email flows show appreciation to customers, gather feedback, and foster loyalty, leading to higher customer retention rates. Remember, retaining existing customers is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
Common Pitfalls
When writing, designing, and implementing your email flows, be aware of these common pitfalls:
Unclear Post-Purchase Journey
Your post-purchase journey should be clear and segmented, tailored to each customer's unique behaviours and preferences. Sending the same email to every customer overlooks opportunities for personalized engagement and fails to maximize conversion potential.
Missed Cross-Selling Opportunities
If your sales strategy relies on discounts or you're not actively cross-selling to increase order values, you're leaving money on the table. Email flows present an ideal platform to introduce complementary products or services, driving incremental revenue.
Lack of Foundational Flows
A well-rounded email marketing strategy includes foundational flows beyond just promotional campaigns. Welcome sequences, abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase follow-ups, and re-engagement campaigns are essential components for nurturing customer relationships and driving conversions.
Single Email Flows
Relying on single-email flows limits your ability to engage customers over time. Building multi-step sequences allows for ongoing communication and relationship-building, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
How to Set Your Email Flows Up for Success
Now that you know the most common pitfalls of email marketing, you can make strategic decisions that will set your email marketing efforts up for long-term success. Here's our advice:
Take a goal-driven approach. Every element of your email flows should serve a specific goal, whether it's driving a purchase, gathering feedback, or nurturing customer loyalty. Cut out the fluff and focus on delivering value that resonates with your audience.
Shift towards customer-centric emails. Emphasize the benefits and outcomes your product or service can provide, demonstrating how it solves their pain points or fulfills their needs.
Optimize flow send times. Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time is crucial for effective email marketing. Tools like Klaviyo's Smart Send can help automate this process, ensuring that your emails are relevant and timely based on customer actions and interests.
Finally, incorporate clear calls-to-action, optimize emails for both mobile and desktop users, prioritize text-based content for better deliverability, and regularly test and refine your strategies for continuous improvement. By following these rules of thumb, your email flows will be more likely to succeed and drive conversions.
Ready to Get Your Email Flow Journey Started?
Email flows are a powerful tool for driving conversions, nurturing customer relationships, and maximizing the lifetime value of your customers. Ready to get started? Get in touch with us at the form below to learn how we can build your email flows for you.
Not sure yet? Check out our case studies!