Pop quiz time: What emails are opened most by online shoppers?
If you guessed shipping emails, you are an email expert! (and you also read the headline of this article). Shipping emails see a massive amount of engagement, with open rates up to 117%. The issue is that since shipping emails are transactional, they are usually overlooked as marketing opportunities to build relationships with customers.
Marketers work tirelessly to get the customer to buy, but once the customer is engaged and excited about the brand they are sent ill-timed, bland shipping emails that disrupt the branded experience that customer has come to love and expect.
- Shipping emails have open rates up to 117%
- These emails are transactional, so every customer receives these emails whether they are subscribed to marketing emails or not
- Delivery is the part of the customer experience where repeat purchases are most likely to happen
So how can you turn these emails from bland to grand?
Here are three things every marketer needs to do to turn shipping emails into the highest performing emails in the entire strategy.
Switch from bland to branded shipping emails to see more engagement and revenue from new customers
Be proactive with delivery delays and issues
We’ve seen that carrier performance has become increasingly worse due to COVID.
Coming off the holiday season where late, lost, and damaged shipments were a major problem for consumers, customers are now even more hyperactive to the shipping experience than they were previously.
Even though the carrier mistakes are somewhat out of your control, your customer will still look at you as the trusted source of carrier information. Sharing information, even if it’s about delays, can set proper expectations with customers and put their worries at ease as they wait for their delivery.
Cut support tickets in half by sharing the estimated delivery date every shipping email
When it comes to shipping, customers want to know when their package will arrive—plain and simple.
By making it extremely easy for customers to see this information, rather than having them go searching for it through carrier sites and tracking pages, you can ensure customers are getting the information they need and will not reach out to your team asking, “Where’s my order?” or “When will my package arrive?”
Who Gives a Crap seamlessly integrates the estimated delivery date into their shipping confirmation email, so customers can easily see when their delivery is expected to arrive.
Once customers feel comfortable that their shipment is on its way and you’ve built trust with them, you can then create an experience that helps strengthen that trust and keeps their excitement for the duration of the delivery process.
Which leads us to our final tip on turning shipping emails into money-printing machines.
Turn shipment tracking into shipment marketing with branded emails
Once you meet the customer’s needs during shipping (proactive messages, estimated delivery dates, etc.), they’re incredibly willing to stay engaged with your brand.
You now also know that shipping emails can see up to a 117% open rate. Brands are using that high engagement as opportunities to drive marketing objectives such as repeat sales, referrals, and more.
Here are a few shipment marketing campaigns you can use in your strategy.
Drive referrals
When you’re top of mind with new customers, use the excitement they have for your brand and incentivise them to share with their friends and family, just like For Love & Lemons did in their shipping confirmation email, which encourages customers to share the brand with their friends in order to get 30 percent off on their next order.
Promote products
When’s the best time to ask for the next purchase? Right after the previous one!
Share relevant products to customers and showcase how they could go well with what they just bought, just like Sol de Janeiro did in their shipping email by suggesting products to “Complete Your Routine”
Promote loyalty points and rewards programs
Loyalty and rewards programs help incentivise customers to come back later and buy again.
Take a page out of Numi’s marketing playbook and ensure that your rewards program is being put in front of new customers through their shipping emails so they have the opportunity to sign up immediately after they make a purchase.
Going above and beyond for your customers post purchase
At a time when ecommerce is growing rapidly, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for ecommerce brands to stand out. Brands that treat every interaction with care and intention will be the brands that customers remember and come back to shop from in the future.
By creating compelling experiences at a moment in the customer experience that customers are most engaged, you can ensure your customers know that you are there with them every step of the way. How many brands can say the same about their experience?
About Malomo
Malomo is a shipment tracking app that helps ecommerce brands turn order tracking from a cost center into a profitable marketing channel.
Malomo integrates with Klaviyo so that you can send your shipping emails through Klaviyo, rather than Shopify. Shipping emails consist of Shipping Confirmation, Just Shipped, Out for Delivery, Delivered, Return to Sender, Available for Pickup, Delayed Shipment and more.
Here is a video demonstration of Malomo’s Klaviyo integration and how you can create automated emails to your customers during shipping.
By sending these emails through Klaviyo, you can also personalize the experience based on customer traits such as purchase history, personal information, and more.
Through branded tracking pages, branded shipping emails, and integrations with key platforms such as Shopify and Klaviyo, brands using Malomo see, on average, $0.97 in repeat revenue for every shipment they send, a reduction of 50% in support tickets related to shipping, and an increase in LTV.
If you’re curious about Malomo, you can find more information on our website or schedule a demo here.
