A Killer eCommerce Email Marketing Strategy: What Does It Look Like?

The perfect ecommerce email marketing strategy. One where the open rates are good, click-thru rates are impressive, and most important of all: one that repeatedly drives conversions from emails. So what does this perfect ecommerce email marketing strategy look like? We took a look at some of our favourite brands to find out.

The Welcome Email

This is the beginning of your email entire relationship with a customer. Welcome emails often get created by marketers and then taken for granted as being ‘good enough.’ On the contrary, welcome emails can be great sources of revenue, with results to be measured and content that often needs to be tweaked and re-tweaked. Online retail sites like Brenthaven have maximized their welcome email revenue with personalized emails and targeted content.

Barkshop’s welcome email puts you right in the zone to do some shopping. Their ecommerce email marketing strategy brings together every pet owner’s love for their furry four legged friends and their interest in online shopping seamlessly. Shopping for your pets has never been so personal and engaging.

Why This Email Works

• Cute, colorful, attractive images.


• Multiple calls to action and ideas for dog owners.


• Creating new standards and aspirations in dog owners.  

 

The Shipping Confirmation: BarkShop

While you can’t expect to get high conversion rates from a shipping confirmation email, you can still use it as an opportunity to provide information and value to customers. The shipping confirmation email not only keeps the customer updated on the status their order, it also gives them something to be excited by and to look forward to. Barkshop nails this email by slotting in all the ingredients necessary to build loyalty with their shopper.

Why this email works

• Clear messaging about the order status and delivery timelines.


• CTA to join the newsletter ‘BarkPost’

• Cute illustrations and pictures of adorable doggos


• Package tracking options
  

The New Collection Newsletter: Patagonia

Patagonia is one eCommerce brand you need to keep coming back to look at to understand how to cover every area of customer interest and maximize every opportunity. The way they constantly reinvent their brand through their campaigns and drive revenue is a reminder of how killer an ecommerce email marketing strategy can be. This email about their latest collection ‘The Winter Opportunist’ uses effective messaging and calls to action as well as offers free shipping for high value orders.

Why this email works

• Flagship product/outfit given the hero status. Builds curiosity about the Nano Air Hoody.


• Free shipping above $75 offered


• Various looks from the collection showcased within limited email real estate space.


• Personalized for a male shopper.

 

The Sale Reminder: Patagonia

 

When a sale is on, customers must be reminded. This is exactly what Patagonia does with their last day of the sale campaign. What makes the email great though, is how quickly the content moves beyond the sale, to an original, engaging story about biking and adventure sports. The sale is on, but that isn’t ever all they have to share with you. The aim is to get you excited about the experience their products are a part of, not the products alone. This is where Patagonia gets it right everytime.

Why this email works

 

• Informs the customer about the sale, but also prompts them to visit the blog and engage with content there.


• Strategically placed social share buttons.


• Prompts the customer to find offline stores to shop physically


• The subject line: “Sale ends tomorrow: 30% Off past-season products”

 

The Cart Abandonment

Congratulations! You’re officially a ‘Patagoniac’ cool right? Notice how you weren’t one until you added ‘some gear’ to your cart and skipped visiting the Patagonia website? Patagonia’s cart abandonment email is clever and classy, designed to make you feel a special connection with the brand as well as a sense of urgency. 

Why this email works

• Beautiful image that works with the copy, promoting the designer Liz Clark.


• Offering you the Patagonia gift card for a friend


• The offer to answer any gear questions via email or cellphone.


• The free shipping ‘on all orders’ offer in the copy (Although I’m not sure why the header shows another offer.)

 

The Delivery Confirmation: Patagonia

Here’s another example of Patagonia’s signature ecommerce email marketing strategy. Sharp copy that tells you everything you need to know about your order, and encourages you to go outside and be adventurous with it. What more could you ask for? An ironclad guarantee that you can return the order at anytime? You got it! Wondering where this amazing picture was taken? Patagonia got that covered too.  

 

Why this email works

• Tells you more about what you could experience with the product you bought than the fact that it has just been delivered.


• Clear instructions about what you need to do if you are unhappy with the gear.


• That image tho, wow.

The Cross Sell & Omni Channel Experience

Okay so this is the Patagonia awesomeness at its heights. Cross selling their organic chili product, and also recommending you awesome content to watch on Netflix while you gorge. The combination helps you see the brand as beyond adventure gear, yet rooted in their philosophy of adventure. Just when you thought they couldn’t top it, they add an invite to a beer and chili tasting at their offline stores, creating a truly omni channel experience.

  

Why this email works

• Introducing a new product in a different line of products in the most casual, cool way.


• The mention of Netflix immediately triggers all our love for the streaming website.


• Cool movie recommendations, and offers of free beer and chili.


• The subject line: “Netflix and Chili”

The Win Back / Reengagement Campaign:

Sometimes your ecommerce email marketing strategy works great, and sometimes it doesn’t quite go as planned. When a regular customer has been inactive a while, they sometimes need to literally be won, wooed, and charmed back. Bonobos shows us how to get it done with their win-back campaign, that is also cleverly positioned as an email verification campaign – and can function as both.

While most eCommerce email marketing strategies use the win back campaign to pitch awesome discounts and relive the shopping glory days, Bonobos keeps it simple – they just to know one basic thing: are you still at the same address? Once that’s confirmed, Bonobos is back on the customer’s mind. The perfect time to start engaging more on email.

Why this email works

 

• The email doesn’t ask you to shop or buy anything. The only thing you need to do is confirm you’re still at the same address.


• The questions are genuine, yet get you motivated to interact.


• A good way to clean up Bonobos’ email list and get you to opt-in for their emails again.

 

Is there a brand out there that you think created an ecommerce email marketing strategy as killer as Patagonia, Bonobos and BarkShop? Let us know and we can add them to this post!