If there’s anything that eCommerce businesses can all agree on, it’s this: when customers want something, they want it right away. Aside from generating sales, you need to ensure that your customers are happy. This is where an integrated email marketing and fulfillment strategy comes into play.
When it comes to eCommerce, there are many factors that contribute to business success. While branding and products definitely play a big role, digital marketing strategies also largely contribute to an eCommerce store’s growth in sales and revenue.
However, generating a lot of sales won’t mean anything if your customers are not satisfied. After all, customer acquisition costs more than retention. There is often a focus on a customer’s pre-purchase journey, it’s when the post-purchase journey is equally (if not more) important.
Why Email Marketing and Fulfillment Solutions Should Be Integrated
Your customers’ needs and wants are not confined to their choice of products. They also have their preferences when it comes to the customer experience, and this includes the post-purchase journey.
For starters, check out these numbers:
- 38% of shoppers will never shop again from an eCommerce store if they had a bad delivery experience
- There are 25% of shoppers who canceled an order because it took too long to be delivered
- 53% of online shoppers shared that delivery speed is an important factor they look into before making the final decision on a purchase
Today’s consumers always want to be updated. They want information right away, and this includes information about the status of their order at any given time. In short, having a clear-cut post-purchase journey is an integral part of increasing customer happiness and reducing your customer churn rate.
So how do you do this?
The strategy lies in integrating your email marketing efforts with your fulfillment system.
Basically, email marketing has already proven its worth when it comes to driving revenue to eCommerce stores. In fact, simply revamping your email strategy alone can lead to an additional 7-figures in revenue like this beauty brand.
Given that your email marketing strategies are already generating recurring revenue from orders, the next thing you have to focus on is what happens after a customer places the order.
This is the part where fulfillment begins. This whole process is composed of a number of steps including receiving inventory, warehousing products, picking and packing items, and shipping orders. Once the orders are received by the customer, and they are happy with the product, there’s a big chance that the customer will return.
However, having a trustworthy in-house fulfillment team or solution provider is one thing. Keeping your customers happy during the process is another. You can then leverage your email marketing strategy by providing timely updates to your customers on the status of their orders.
Here’s an example of an email that can be sent out right after a customer’s first-ever purchase.
Here are some other benefits of implementing an integrated email marketing and fulfillment strategy:
- It helps to build up excitement and anticipation. Customers feel happy when there is something to look forward to. Alerts and notifications that the order is on its way are enough to fuel customers’ interests.
- It reduces buyers’ remorse and refund rates. Did you know that over 50% of customers feel buyer’s remorse? Aside from having a speedy delivery, updates give the buyers the assurance they need as well as a reminder that they made a great decision.
- It establishes trust and brand promise. Connect with your customers and use this as a jump-off point to turning them into loyal brand advocates.
- Make the most out of upselling and cross-sell opportunities. When you provide updates on their order’s status, you can also use this as an opportunity to upsell and cross-sell. Email marketing automation even allows you to tailor the recommended products based on their purchase history.
How to Create Seamless Customer Experiences with an Integrated Fulfillment and Email Marketing Strategy
Here’s how you can combine your fulfillment and email marketing strategies to ensure that your business is truly connecting with your customers. With email marketing and fulfillment done correctly, you’re looking at potentially increasing your customers’ lifetime value as they continue moving towards becoming not just repeat customers, but also your loyal advocates.
Choose the fulfillment service that will allow your business to be more valuable to your customers
Order fulfillment is underrated, but it’s one of the most tedious and critical areas in managing an eCommerce business. You need to be strategic in your operations and choose the fulfillment model that will make the most sense for your business.
This 2021 and even beyond, customers’ expectations of delivery speed will only increase. Deliverr even shares some predictions that are not too far from becoming reality:
- 2-day and 3-day delivery will see an average increase of 20-30% in conversions compared to standard shipping
- Next-day deliveries will experience double to triple conversions
As you can see, speed plays a big role. This mindset of customers stemmed from the experience they got from the likes of Amazon and Walmart. But it’s not just the speed that you have to consider.
Your overall fulfillment process must be flexible and robust enough as you scale your business. As a business owner, it can be too overwhelming especially when put alongside other aspects of the business. This is why a lot of eCommerce stores prefer to outsource the fulfillment operations instead of continuing the DIY route.
Lay Down Your Post-Purchase Email Marketing Flow
This flow is triggered right after a customer has placed an order—no delays. This flow is a combination of transactional emails and user-generated content which all aim to keep the customer excited. Here’s a quick rundown of the different types of emails you can include in the flow.
1. Order Confirmation
Send this right away once a customer makes the purchase. It’s the first thing you need to do because they will be looking for this email to verify if they placed their order successfully. Follow this checklist on the information you need to include in your order confirmation email:
- A short introduction to explain that this email serves as the confirmation
- A recap of the order including product quantity, cost, shipping cost, and the total cost
- Information on what will happen next and what the customer should expect
- Mention that you’ll be sending a separate email with their order’s tracking details. This will really get them excited!
- If it’s their first-ever purchase, look into adding a coupon for their next purchase.
A client’s order confirmation email we helped design garnered 73% open rates since customers generally get excited about these types of emails. Using a coupon code maximized these open rates and got a 12% click-rate and a 1.2% placed order rate.
2. Brand Promise + Coupon Code
This usually follows the order confirmation email for those customers who purchased for the very first time. While they’re waiting for their order to arrive, take the opportunity to introduce your brand. Welcome them into the community, and truly connect with them. While you’re at it, include a coupon to encourage a repeat purchase.
3. Shipping Information
Shipping information is something every customer looks forward to! Make sure to mention any possible delays that may occur. For example, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of post-purchase emails already had disclaimers that deliveries might take longer than usual.
You wouldn’t want to get your customers’ hopes up—so make sure your fulfillment schedules and your email content match. The good thing with having a fulfillment system that is consistently fast and on-schedule is you wouldn’t have to worry about impatient customers.
Here’s an example of a top-performing Shipping Information email from The Oodie which actually got a 28% click rate.
4. Request for feedback and user-generated content
A few days after the customers receive their order, make your way back to their inboxes by asking them for a review. While not all customers take the time to do this, this type of email is also a great opportunity to upsell or cross-sell.
How? Include user-generated content (UGC) like reviews or videos or posts from social media. If they don’t leave a review, there’s still a chance for them to see something they’d like. After all, 79% of people shared that UGC highly impacts their purchase decisions.
Another strategy is offering a coupon in exchange for a review. Not only will you get a review, but you’ll also have repeat orders coming up.
Chronos Agency x Deliverr: Seamless Customer Journey and Experience
Double down on other aspects of your business by outsourcing your fulfillment services to tried and tested providers. To fully maximize the potential of your fulfillment services, Deliverr offers transparent, all-inclusive pricing for both fulfillment and storage needs. With next-day delivery and 2-day delivery options, you are sure to make your customers satisfied and excited. This will remain to be a competitive advantage that will make your customers keep coming back.
Essentially, handing off your fulfillment services will give you the resources, time, and bandwidth to continuously scale and grow your eCommerce business. Experience the future of eCommerce fulfillment today with our trusted partner, Deliverr.
Combine fast fulfillment services with a tailored email marketing strategy. Not only will you be able to keep your customers happy, but you’re also opening up more touchpoints for repeat purchases. If you remain at a loss on how to proceed with this, you can apply for a free strategy session with an email marketing expert.
