I gave in and ordered from Naja a while back. It's hard to resist their cheeky, and admirable personality (Also, who doesn't want to sport sushi or burgers on their undies?!). Â
I received my package, opened it and - "Surprise! A note? For me?"
Naja includes a handwritten note in each of their packages. Even the tiniest little one-underwear-containing package includes a transcribed message.
That note made my day. Not only did I buy again, I also told at least four friends about the note (...counting you, that makes five). Â
Naja went above and beyond to make me feel valued by saying thank you. They're onto something and you should be following their lead. Â
How can you make your customers feel warm and fuzzy?
Well, write a Thank you Email!
Granted, sending handwritten motivational notes is a handful (pun intended). But you don't have to set the bar that high from the get go.
Start by sending an automated "Thank You" email to your recent customer after a sale. You'll be one step closer to building a loving client base eager to return to your store rather than exploring the competition.
Why send a Thank You Email?
Our client's average open rate for Thank You emails is 68.3%. This is drastically higher than the average open rate of 16.75% recorded by Mailchimp for their e-commerce stores. Â
Conversion rates will vary greatly according to what you sell and how repeatable your products are. However, our Thank You emails' average conversion rate is 1%. Not impressed? Well consider the following: this email is being sent to every single one of your customers, one day after they’ve already made a purchase.
Moreover, repeat customers are the most valuable type of customers. They are the easiest to convert and the most likely to come back (Adobe). If you can convert first time buyers into repeat customers right after a purchase, you will increase your average customer lifetime value.
Here are some ideas to easily set up your own Thank You email:
Tip #1: Use an enticing Subject Line
Use your subject line to ensure your reader knows the value he/she can expect from opening this email. A simple, "Thank you, [customer name]" is a good place to start (we've seen 94% open rates with this one!).
If you're including other useful content, let your potential readers be aware of this through the subject line.
Tip #2: Time it well to keep customers excited
Since the Order Confirmation email goes out immediately after a customer buys, we typically follow up with a Thank You email 24-hours following a purchase.
Even if you’ve already thanked your customers in your Order Confirmation, an additional email is a nice touch. There's typically a lot happening in the Order Confirmation, so insisting on your gratitude with another note comes across as more personal - and sincere.
Doing this also keeps your brand in your customer's mind longer as they await delivery. It keeps them excited for the coming package.
Tip #3: Segment First Time vs. Repeat Customers
If you send the exact same Thank You message every time a customer buys, it will get old pretty quickly.
Consider segmenting between first time buyers vs repeat buyers. This way, you can increase the level of personalization. You can thank first time buyers for their trust and then send an even more adoring message to repeat customers (similar to what Inked Gaming does below!).
You can expect to see a significant bump in conversions from your repeat purchase Thank You email!
Â
Tip #4: Include some useful education
Saying Thank You is wonderful for increasing loyalty. However, you can go one step further by including something helpful.
For example, if your product requires some education, add a bit of information in this email to teach them something new. You can use content that repeat buyers find useful, such as one of your most popular videos.
In Ritual Hockey's case, customers will most likely appreciate receiving the Hockey Annual Rule Book. Â
You can also use this opportunity to prepare customers for their upcoming delivery and answer some FAQs like we did in the Madsen Cycles email below. The open rate for that email is 125.2%, and that might seem crazy - but that's due to the fact that readers return to this very email over and over again!
Customers really appreciate the attention. Here are two examples of a customer grateful for the email:
Â
Tip #5: Make it fun!
A great way to connect with readers is by being fun and informal, if your brand allows it.
Again, you can send a video to entertain buyers just like Beardbrand does. Or you can do what Cables and Sensors does and include a funny team photo. Their audience of medical practices can only take so much distraction, so this photo (which was sent to repeat customers) is a quick way to differentiate Cables and Sensors from the competition that often lacks a human touch.
Tip #6: Upsell or Cross-sell
Too soon?... No, it's not!
Test adding upsell and cross-sell content in this email, and you will be pleasantly surprised.
At this point, customers are still excited from their recent purchase and are (hopefully) happy to receive your Thank You note.
Like we did with the Inked Gaming's email - find a way to smoothly include other products in the email that your customer will love. If you're using Klaviyo, you can personalize the recommendations by using the smart product feed. You can also incorporate further segmentation. For example, with Inked Gaming we have three different Thank You emails:
- A first time buyer Thank You.
- A repeat buyer Thank you for customer who already bought  mousepad.
- A repeat buyer Thank you with a mousepad upsell.
Make sure to include these product recommendations after the Thank You message. It will come across helpful rather than pushy.
