Perfect Your Most Important Customer Email
Perfect Your Most Important Customer Email

By on in Email Marketing

Perfect Your Most Important Customer Email

Fantastic! Another successful order in the books. But, don’t celebrate just yet, because there’s still the order confirmation email to send. This transactional email can often fall through the cracks of your design and dev team, or in a lot of cases, just not give the customer what they’re actually looking for. We take a look at how you and your brand can keep your confirmation emails on point.

 

Transactional Emails Are Almost Always Opened

Customers receive marketing and transactional emails, and if you sift through your data, you’ll likely find the latter are being opened at a higher rate. Emails based on user actions are expected by the customer, containing information they’re expecting to receive. Branding is important as always, but even more so is getting across the information the customer is expecting quickly and clearly. Don’t just think of your transactional emails as a conduit for information, but see them as one of the more effective ways to communicate with your customer.

 

Make It Fast, Make It Mobile

The high open rates of transactional emails suggests that customers actually appreciate lots of communication, at least when it comes to their purchase. On top of a confirmation page at the end of the purchase process, a confirmation email is necessary. Even if a tracking number is included in that confirmation, consider additional triggers when the order has been received by the warehouse, when it’s been labeled, and/or when it is received by the carrier. The exponential increase in delivery times is making many customers antsy, so a little reassurance on their order’s progress can go a long way.

It’s also important to remember almost half of all people will be opening these emails on their mobile device. Your design should reflect that, so work with dev and design, or your website host, to ensure even your order confirmation emails are ready for both desktop and mobile viewing.

 

Less Is More

When it comes to customer-facing emails, less is usually more. The subject line and primary messaging should be short and to the point. Think along the lines of “Your order with Chewy.com” as a subject line. The email messaging should thank the customer immediately for their order and follow up with only pertinent information.

  • A means of contacting customer support through phone or email
  • A list of items ordered
  • The order’s total amount value

It’s often tempting to provide additional offers or upsells to customers once they’ve ordered, but those should be relegated to separate marketing efforts. Order confirmation emails say thanks, here’s what you ordered, and here’s how to contact us. Additionally, you can provide a standard footer with your brand socials.

 

The Bigger, The Better

Just because you shouldn’t pack your transactional email with offers and marketing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make it big and bold. The easier it is for customers to read their order confirmation, the less confusion there is. Avoid using small fonts and consider using headers with big, bold lettering so it’s easy to tell the customer’s order went through. Even with a confirmation page, many users look to confirmation emails to ensure their order went through and refer back to it when they want to check its status.

Make sure you list the items ordered using the same images on the product page. A picture leaves less confusion than just a product name or SKU number. If there are multiple orders of the same product, make sure that’s noted. Many of the best order confirmation emails also link the product image back to the original product page so customers and double-check they ordered the right item. Simply put, there are lots of ways to pack in order information without using much text.

 

Easy Access To Customer Support

Returns and order issues are a part of doing business, and lots of businesses are admired for their customer support as much as they are for their actual product line or service. People will forgive almost any issue as long as it’s easy to solve. The first step towards that customer/relationship is providing easy-to-access customer support.

Consider providing a phone number or support email at the top of the order confirmation. Thank the customer, and then offer a way to help them. Not all companies have the resources for phone support, but if you do, make sure it’s included. In addition to providing a support email, ensure customers just respond to the transactional email with any questions or concerns. One small step can save future headaches related to customer orders.

 

Are Your Emails Verified?

Email hosts like Gmail and Yahoo are better than ever at spotting spam and keeping your inbox clear. The downside is emails from your brand or business can often be flagged, blocking the user from even racing the message. Make sure you’re sending emails using a service like Amazon SES as opposed to sending confirmations straight from hosts like WordPress or MailChimp. Using SES services allows your emails to be sent to and from and any application without arousing suspicion from the inbox.