Now that we've spent some time thinking about transactional emails, you may be thinking to yourself, “is there really a missed opportunity here?” Or, maybe you are thinking that most order confirmation emails look pretty good. Well, I hate to be a Debbie Downer but in this post, we're going to look at real examples of confirmation emails and point out where they can make improvements.
Ebay with PayPal - Payment Confirmation Email
Our first example is an eBay store purchase that has been processed through PayPal.
This is a pretty standard order confirmation email, it's been personalized with the customer’s name plus includes the purchased item(s) and order number. All-in-all, this email is getting the job done - informing the customer the order they placed has been received and they have been successfully charged for it.
What this order confirmation is not doing, however, is encouraging the customer to purchase again. This is where the missed opportunity lies. Yes, this was a relatively small purchase but that doesn't mean you can't encourage them to become a loyal, lifetime customer. This would be an ideal opportunity to educate them about your loyalty program, maybe using a discount code to encourage future purchase.
Chipotle - Mobile Order Confirmation
At this point you may be wondering how much flexibility retailers have when working through Ebay. Using a third party like Ebay does limit you some. After all, you have agreed to play by their rules. However, many large companies create their own emails through their site.
In this example, we recognize that this is a mobile order. Chipotle has done a great job of communicating with the customer. They know when and where to pick up their order, what is in their order and how much it cost. That being said, this is yet another opportunity to encourage loyalty through repeat visits. Starbucks has mastered this concept with their app, which includes loyalty points and tracks the customers visits to stores.
Additionally
, Chipotle can use this mobile experience to encourage sharing on social media. Since the customer is already on their phone, they could share their order on Facebook or Twitter in a few clicks. This is when having a referral program can be implemented to market via word of mouth. All you have to do is provide the customer with a quality product and experience.
High End Retailers
In this case, the customer purchased from a high end retailer, Kate Spade, and once again is provided with all of the details you would expect in a standard order confirmation email. However, if we look more closely, the email is not appealing to this customer the way it could. The customer has purchased two sale items and used a coupon code. This indicates that they are a bargain shopper and was looking for a high end item at a reduced price. At the bottom of the email there is a link to the New Arrivals page. Linking the customer back to the site takes advantage of their focus being on the brand, but a bargain shopper will most likely not be interested in full priced new arrivals. This area would be better used by highlighting “last chance” products.
As you can see, the opportunities for order confirmation are endless, as are those for other types of transactional emails. Check back in for more information on transactional emails and how to optimize them to the benefit of your business.