What is email automation?
Email automation is a process of automatically sending emails in response to certain predetermined activity or behavior triggers. It enables companies to automate the communication process by utilizing pre-defined criteria and trigger-based actions.
Email automation can help improve customer relationships, ensure continued engagement, and saves companies time by eliminating the need for manual sends. Additionally, it allows marketers to deliver relevant, personalized messages to customers at the most impactful moments, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing campaigns.
Common examples of email automations
Examples of email automations that deliver value to both marketers and customers include:
Welcome emails:
Triggered when a user signs up for an account or subscribes to a newsletter.Cart abandonment emails
: Triggered when customers add items to their online shopping carts but don’t complete the checkout process.Order and purchase confirmations
: Transactional emails sent shortly after an order has been placed.Reengagement emails
: Sent to customers who have been inactive, with the aim of bringing them back and getting them to engage with the business again.Upsell/cross-sell emails
: Sent to customers with offerings like discounts or promotions on related products or services.Feedback request emails
: Sent following the completion of an order, survey, or other feedback request to gain customer insights.
Email automation best practices
Keep lists clean: Inactive subscribers impact your metrics and affect your deliverability. If a subscriber isn’t opening emails, even after receiving personalized communications that are part of a win-back automation, remove them from your list.
Segment your customers: The performance of email automation lives and dies with the strength of your data. Set up segments in your email marketing platform that automatically separates customers based on criteria like activity level, average spend, non-customer/repeat customer, return frequency, service case status and more. This will help you target subscribers more accurately, increasing relevance and driving results.
Personalize content: Batch-and-blast emails burn bridges with subscribers and don’t maximize the value of the channel. Use your first-party data to create dynamic email content that enriches email content with 1:1 personalized product recommendations, discounts, and more.
Key email automation challenges
From increased revenue to long-lasting loyalty, email automations can bring significant benefits to businesses. However, there are some challenges to bear in mind:
Time investment
: Setting up automation processes can require a significant investment in time, energy, and resources.Data silos
: Combining data from different sources can be complex and without the right technology could require extensive technical support and expertise.Creating relevant content
: Unless you’re using technology that makes it easy to personalize content at scale, personalization of emails can be time consuming and difficult, and may require a manual review to ensure accuracy.Maintaining data integrity
: Keeping customer data up to date can be laborious and challenging without the right partner.
Leading brands choose Emarsys to drive value through email automation
Emarsys helps leading brands like PUMA, Pizza Hut and Nike to enhance personalization across every touchpoint and accelerate their business outcomes.
