Stop ghosting your customers! Part 2…

Post-Purchase Journey Part 2

 

If you’ve given our previous article a read, you’ll know that we’ve been looking at how to create a killer post-purchase experience for your customers. This is basically the part of the customer journey that happens once someone has made their first purchase online. (It’s also massively overlooked by most brands) 

Our first blog in this series was about building a branded tracking page. If you haven’t read it yet, don’t worry. You can read it https://advertify.co.uk/stop-ghosting-your-customers/

Now we’re all up to speed with our branded tracking page, we’re going to take a look at creating a branded post-purchase transactional email and SMS flow. 

Let’s dive into it!

 

What is post-purchase transactional messaging?

When you order something online, you’ll often get emails or texts giving you info and details about your package. This is known as post-purchase transactional messaging. (Yes, it is a bit of a tongue twister)

These emails get some of the best open and click-through rates out of any other campaign. People are excited about their orders. They want to know the latest updates. So any email or SMS about their package, naturally, gets opened and read, 

The trouble is, these messages might be getting some amazing engagement, but they’re not helping your business.

These transactional messages are automated, impersonal and often sent from the courier, not your own brand. You’re missing out on a load of touchpoints with your customers because the updates they receive about their packages, are not from you. 

Instead of leaving transactional messages up to the courier companies, you want to brand them as your own.

 

Creating a transactional email flow

You’ll probably want to start off by creating a branded transactional email flow. This sounds quite complex, but don’t worry, there are lots of software solutions available that can help you do this. 

With your software choice, you’ll want to set up an automated email flow. This flow is activated when somebody makes a purchase from your shop and stops once they receive their order. 

You can create as many emails as you want in this post-purchase transactional flow. There are loads of different ways you can make this transactional experience memorable and helpful for your customers. For now, we will just focus on 5 key emails and what to include in them.

 

#1. Order Confirmed

  • Thank the customer for their order
  • Confirm their purchase 
  • Send over a receipt
  • Let them know the next steps

#2. Order ready to be shipped 

  • Let them know their shipment has been created and is waiting to be shipped out
  • Link them from the email to your Branded Tracking page 
  • When they click the link, instead of going to the courier tracking page, they will go to your own website.
  • This is a great opportunity to drive website traffic, increase engagement and increase revenue too. 

#3. Order Shipped

  • Let them know their package has been picked up + scanned by the courier
  • This helps to build excitement 
  • Builds trust by showing them the updated status of their package
  • Another opportunity for them to click the link and be taken to your branded tracking page.

#4. Order out for delivery

  • Let them know the order is on its way 
  • This is the perfect place to build hype and excitement as they know they will be receiving this package soon
  • This email typically gets high open rates and clickthrough rates, so is the perfect opportunity to send customers to your branded tracking page

#5. Your order has arrived

  • Let them know their order has been delivered 
  • Important for letting them know you’ve dropped off their order (especially if they are not in to collect it)
  • Helps to minimise theft, but also carries on the hype. Imagine how excited they will be if they receive an email like this at work!

Creating a transactional SMS flow

Email marketing has been used for many years now, but SMS transactional campaigns are fairly new on the scene. They’re also an amazing way to drive website traffic, increase reviews and build brand affinity. 

Emails can get lost in a cluttered inbox. Texts, on the other hand, are more likely to be noticed and read straight away. In fact, SMS transactional messages get 90-99% open rates!  Pretty good right? 

Here are some key texts you can send as part of your campaign. (They are all very similar to the emails, so we will just list out the titles below) 

#1. Order ready to be shipped 

#2. Order Shipped

#3. Order out for delivery 

#4. Your order has arrived

 

The after-effects

Your customers want to know where their package is, so they’ll be opening these transactional emails and texts at a higher rate than your usual campaigns. This will help to build excitement for their package, and they’ll appreciate the effort you’re taking to update them.

By the time they get their package, they will have had multiple touchpoints with your brand. This helps to keep you at the top of their mind.  

So, the next time they need a similar product or a top-up, they will think of you. This will really help you find to increase your base of long-term and loyal customers. 

 

Conclusion

Now we have our branded tracking page set up, and our post-purchase transactional messaging flows in place, it’s time to move on to the next bit. Keep your customers excited and engaged with your brand long after making their first purchase. Join us in the next blog to find out more. 

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, and want to know more about the post-purchase journey, check out our free recession-proof guide. 

Inside you’ll find actionable steps you can take for your pet brand, to help you navigate through the recession and continue to grow. 

Download your free copy here:

https://offers.advertify.co.uk/7-practical-ways-to-recession-proof-your-pet-ecommerce-business

P.S

Want to really master your customer’s journey?

Here are a few ways we can help:

www.instagram.com/advertify_agency/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/advertifydigital/

 

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