3 amazing and easy Email Automations

Let's face it, the world is moving faster and faster. With the implementation of artificial intelligence and automation striking the work force from all sides, things can move quicker than ever. That's why we've put together this small list of three email automations that are easy to implement and can increase your workflow efficiency!

Thank You emails and Surveys

A simple thank you email can go a loooong way for your customer retention rates, and its one of the easiest things to do. So why don't more people do it? Obviously the answer is time. We're always trying to get in front of the next prospect and sell, sell, sell. And that's not a bad thing - sales are what keep companies afloat.

There are a few reasons why we may want to look in the rear view mirror at the customers that we've already interacted with, though.

That tells us what most of us who've dealt with sales already intuitively know - retaining a customer and creating customer loyalty through relationship building can be amazing in the long run. However, it doesn't stop there...

So there we have it. Not only does customer retention increase your bottom line, it generally will save you in marketing and advertising costs to the tune of 5-25%. En mass, even the lower end of five percent can make a huge difference.

So why don't so many companies send thank you emails? Time and money? Well, as it turns out that's no longer an excuse. Automated thank you emails are simple to setup, and they're great for keeping customers happy.

As a bonus, attaching a "How did we do?" survey to a thank you email can not only go a long way in allowing your customers to sing your praises, but you may also be able to rectify some bad experiences along the way and gain a customer for life.

Thank you emails and customer surveys can be combined into one email or sent as two separate emails (perhaps a day apart as to not overwhelm and bombard your clients). If you're interested in setting up automated thank you emails or customer surveys, we would be happy to help!

Form-fill Follow-Ups

Next on our list is the simple (but amazing) form-fill follow up email. Instead of rushing to reply immediately to each individual contact form that's filled out on your website, which can be overwhelming or sporadic (or a mix of the two), you can automate an immediate email to be sent when someone submits a contact form.

This is a must do in our opinion. It'll save you time and heartache. Customers are also so used to getting immediate follow-up emails that not getting them can leave a prospect concerned that their contact form wasn't submitted. That leads to frustrated potential clients and likely several contact form submissions per person, which no one wants to have to sort out.

Oh, and the best part? Most web-building platforms will allow you to do this for free. And if they don't, there are simple integrations you can implement on your site that will.

Drip Campaigns

This section is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. A drip campaign is a series of automated emails that are sent out to customers on a scheduled basis. These can come in the form of newsletters, personalized promotions, or even just "tips and tricks" type emails.

These are fantastic for keeping your business "alive" in someone's mind. That way, the next time they think to themselves, "Hm, I could really use someone to fix my roof." that though may be followed with, "Oh yeah, that X company does that!" and maybe that's followed by "I think they sent me a promotion, too".

Drip campaigns are great emails to automate and send to your customers. They can range in complexity and require scheduling and maintenance, though. If you're interested in setting up a drip campaign, don't hesitate to reach out. We'd be happy to assist you through the process!

Abandoned cart reminders

This last one is one that we're particularly excited about. Though this automation type has been around for years, its flown under the radar for many businesses, which is a shame because of how effective it can be.

When someone visits your website, they may be window shopping, but not quite ready to make the decision to purchase quite yet. Well... when people window shop online they often add items to their cart to simulate the buying experience, which allows them to go through the motions and estimate the cost of taxes and shipping. However, often once people are done window shopping, they'll leave things in their cart and leave the page. This leaves an excellent opportunity for your business to send occasional nudges to your prospective buyers when they're signed up for an account with your site.

A few hours after a cart is abandoned, you can have an automated email sent to their inbox that says, "did you forget something" with a reminder of what's in their cart. Next, and automation can check a day or a few days later to see if their cart is still full or if they've emptied it or checked out. At which point, if the cart still has items in it another email can go out.

You may choose to email once again a few days later if the cart still has items in it with another nudge and a small promotional deal, like 10% off or free shipping.

It's absolutely stunning how effective this strategy can be when implemented. This is likely, at least partially, because once someone is adding an item to their cart online - they've often made the decision that they're going to buy that item, but either the timing isn't right or they're looking for a good deal.

If you're interested in setting up any of the above mentioned email automations, but aren't sure where to start - don't hesitate to reach out to us. We'd love to assist you and your business in setting up high quality and effective email automations.

Futurist Horizons is a website design and marketing company that specializes in creating effective and accessible websites and marketing content for businesses.