Have you ever thought about your automated email receipt as a marketing tool in terms of sales? According to some of the latest data we came across, most of you probably didn’t. Think about it now; when a customer registers for your newsletter, purchases from you or in some cases sends you an information request, if you’re smart and professional about your eCommerce business you probably set up email receipts. How many of these go out on a monthly basis?

Maybe just a few, or maybe a lot. No matter the number, email receipt is a direct connection to your customer and since it is a response to a customer’s action, he or she will click on the email*. This is a great opportunity for you to implement a custom made marketing strategy that includes further calls to action related to your webstore and via email receipts.

We put together a few brilliant ideas that may just inspire you to rethink your email receipts and win more sales while connecting with your customers and keeping them interested in your brand.

How to encourage a customer to stay connected with your brand

When a customer purchases something from your online store, he/she gets a purchase confirmation receipt. Right? If the customer decided to make the purchase in the first place, that means that at the moment he gets the email confirmation receipt, the trust in your brand is at its fullest. Plainly, put, he loves your service.
This is the moment you need to take advantage of and make sure the customer gets more than a simple thank you note in your email receipt. Think of it as a great window to encourage the customer to stay connected with your brand in time and to return to your website by:

• Offering discounts or coupons to be used for a limited period of time
• Encouraging customers to share what they just bought with their peers via social media or email
• Subscribing to newsletters to receive further discounts, special offers, news about upcoming products

Encouraging customers to want products they haven’t thought about

If your product pages are smartly designed, you probably will have related products displayed on the product page the customer landed on. When the customer knows what he is searching for, he will look for a specific product until he finds it and is happy with the selection. Once that happens, he will make his purchase. He’s done. He got what he wanted. It’s exactly at this moment that you should push for him or her to see related products and accessories as customers will be more inclined to shop for anything that complements the product they just bought.

In simple words, they will be more thrilled to find out there are more great products to buy from you.

Usthe email receipt to get User Generated Content

A few weeks ago we published a post about the power of user generated content (USG). USG is a great way to strengthen your brand’s authority as customers tend to trust positive reviews from fellow customers rather than believing the brand’s voice. A great way to get your customers to leave a feedback, rate a product or write a review is to kindly ask them to do so via email receipt.

To make sure a customer is actually incentivized to leave USG, offer a coupon to be emailed once the review or product rate is given.

If you think of it, it’s a double win situation for you: you get USG to display on your product pages and website as well as maximising the chance that the customer will come back and buy more from you since he was awarded with a coupon.

Build your social following and audience

If you have a social media presence, building up on your audience is important to get your product and services viewed by as many people as possible and encourage them to purchase from you. Social media is also key to present and promote your brand leaving a good and memorable impression; even if a potential customer is not looking to buy a product from you right now, he may remember your brand when searching for products you have in your online store.

Make sure to implement in your email receipts direct links to your social media accounts. Also, let the customers know you are active on social media by telling them they will receive news and previews of upcoming product launches, giveaways, prizes, competitions or discounts. These are all things that every potential customer will want to know about so the chance that he or she will like you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram is higher than ever.

Finally, whatever you decide is the best way to market your email receipts and give added value to your customer’s action, plan the text and the design carefully. Cluttered emails filled with a lot of graphics and text emails are never a good idea. Design a clean email with one or two call to actions at the most and make sure your customer gets more that they bargained for when they made their purchase on your website. This is what makes the real difference in terms of great customer service!
*https://receiptful.com/blog/email-receipts-infographic/