How to use the welcome email to boost conversion rates

Research shows that over a third of email welcome programmes from the UK’s top 50 online retailers fail to welcome or thank customers that actively subscribe. So how retailers can improve strategies to boost email sales conversions?

The very first step in any retail marketing programme is to acquire names to send your message to. But often in that process, retailers fail to set solid expectations on what the subscriber has really just agreed to receive. This gap is where the welcome email shines in its importance to start that new relationship with a wealth of information that the sign-up process may not have had time to say.

More than simply confirming that an action has been taken, the welcome email is the first chance retailers have to engage a new subscriber and provide immediate value from your email programme. The welcome email is probably the single greatest opportunity retailers have to engage subscribers and drive action. They generate superior open rates, arriving ideally at a time of maximum receptivity.

Done well, they create a halo effect that boosts subscribers’ engagement with subsequent promotional and trigger emails. Given that email is still the most popular communication channel for retailers and the golden opportunity that welcome emails present, it’s unfortunate that so many still let the moment pass—or bungle the interaction with uninspired messaging.

How welcome programmes stack up
A recent analysis of welcome emails from the top 50 UK online retailers found that more than a third failed to actually welcome—or even thank—customers for signing up. Sixty-seven percent did not include a call to action such as “start shopping now” or relevant promotions. One in three (33 percent) arrived in plain text without any branding, imagery or inspiring content.

More than half (52 percent) did not use the customer’s name or personalise content, and 42 percent did not come from the brand name but rather “info”, “do not reply”, “help” or “customer services”. Remarkably, none of the top 50 UK online retailers included mobile integration and just three retailers embedded social media components into their email welcome programmes.

The results show that some online retailers are falling short on welcome email programmes by failing to engage with customers using dynamic content, cross-channel integration or personalisation. Despite the hype in the marketing industry for dynamic content and social and mobile engagement, few are putting it into practice with their email welcome programmes.

What can you do?
There are a number of simple strategies online retailers of all sizes can do to improve their welcome programmes. Below are a series of trends and tactics that will help engage customers who choose to sign up to emails for the first time:

HTML-based emails—text-only welcome emails are becoming increasingly antiquated with the majority now HTML-based. To really capture the attention of customers when they first sign-up to email communications, HTML should be used. HTML enables dynamic content to be delivered including rich imagery and videos, encouraging the recipient to interact with the email.

Know your product—animation and rich images can dramatically enhance your message. But retailers need to ensure that any animation and imagery is suitable to the product as well as the audience. For example, a 360-degree rotating view of a new car would work well for an auto company, interactive cookery videos would enhance emails from a cookware company, or fashion retailers benefit most from rich images of models showing the fit of the garment. Retailers who know the customer and cater for the product will be most successful.

Welcome series—a welcome series rather than a single welcome email is also becoming more popular. Executed in the right way, welcome emails with fresh messages and new content, can drive long-term engagement. But there is a delicate line between maximising loyalty with a series of messages and spamming new customers, so retailers must ensure they are adding something new and of value to the experience with each email.

Deliverability—the role that welcome emails can play in ensuring future deliverability of emails is growing. Retailers should use the welcome email to ask subscribers to add their address to their address book to ensure future emails get through.

Social networking—while most welcome emails did not include links to social networking sites, this is a trend that’s expected to rise. As uptake for these channels continues to grow, it’s imperative that retailers get on board now. “Share with your network” or “Follow us on Twitter” links embedded in emails can be an excellent way to boost your social following, providing new targeting opportunities for retailers.

Mobile—ensuring welcome emails can be read over a smartphone and mobile browsers is increasingly important as more customers read and interact with emails while on the move. As retailers start preparing for mobile commerce deployments, mobile email readability is a key first step.

Preferences—preferences should be built into the sign-up process to allow retailers to personalise content and segment customers from the start of the relationship. Preferences and customer segmentation are proven at helping to nurture long-term customer life-time value.

It is clear that many retailers lack the tools needed to enhance their welcome email programmes to boost customer engagement and brand loyalty. The research points to an obvious gap between retailers talking about the importance of personalisation and cross-channel integration and acting on it. With more online retailers seeing the value of dynamic content as well as mobile and social networking integration, it’s important that the basics are not overlooked. Thanking customers for actively signing up and displaying them with rich messages of interest to them will not only capture customer attention, but, more important, boost sales conversions.

Simon Robinson is marketing and alliances director at Responsys, a provider of cross-channel marketing systems.