Now more than ever, connecting with customers in an honest and clear manner is paramount to retaining them as loyal shoppers. Winning a spot in their inbox is a privilege, and sending only the most impactful messages will ensure a lasting relationship that is beneficial to both sides. In this article, we cover the Newegg Post Purchase Email program that gives sellers the ability to communicate directly with their Newegg customers, and stand out above the crowd.
According to Campaign Monitor and Statista projections, by the end of 2019 the average email user will receive approximately 101 email messages per day. That’s a lot of noise that customers need to sift through, before even landing on an E-commerce website where they are hit with a variety of other options and sellers vying for their hard-earned dollars. On marketplace platforms, the competition can be even stiffer as sellers often battle for the customer’s attention for the same product, where they may not have a current relationship with the individual seller.
Most marketplaces leave sellers to fight for customer attention on the basis of price reduction alone, and have very strict policies against sellers communicating with customers for marketing purposes. However, Newegg has an extra tool for capturing customer attention and retaining seller-loyal customers. It’s called the Post Purchase Email program, and it comes standard with an Enterprise level membership (If you are interested in becoming an Enterprise seller, you can contact us at marketplacemarketing@newegg.com).
What are Post Purchase Emails?
Post Purchase Emails are email campaigns that are created by you, the seller, in the Newegg Seller Portal to retarget customers who have purchased from you in the past. These campaigns allow sellers to engage customers who have already converted, to greatly increase the chances that the customer will return and make additional purchases, developing a relationship with and awareness of the individual seller.
Not only does this help to deliver targeted, personalized communication directly to the customer’s inbox with new products or deals from you alone, but it also puts your branding right in front of the customer after they have purchased. This helps to remind customers who you are, and give them an incentive to return to Newegg looking specifically for your store and products.
The Post Purchase Emails are designed in a way that allow for quick customization with products, promotions, scheduling, and targeted audiences, all within the Seller Portal. Additionally, when used correctly the Post Purchase Emails can be used to build credibility for sellers who have won the initial purchase, and continue to build the relationship with customers by delivering relevant follow-up offers.
How to Create a Post Purchase Email
Building a new Post Purchase Email campaign is simple, and requires no email marketing or other special tech skills. The step-by-step instructions below will have you mastering email marketing in no time.
Step 1: Log into your Seller Portal account
Step 2: Click the “Manage Message” tab on the left navigation bar. If you are an Enterprise seller, you have access to the “Post Purchase Email” option.
Step 3: Select the template you wish to use
Step 4: Test the email
Step 5: Choose your send list segmentation
Step 6: Schedule the email or send immediately
Post Purchase Email Templates
The templates that Newegg has designed for this email program have been set up to be plug-n-play, targeting some of the key areas we have found to be most effective at driving engagement: deals and new product offerings. Each template references the customer’s name for a personalized experience, along with their previous purchase which will remind them of their first interaction with you as a seller. These templates are also structured in a way that maximizes their potential impact, while reducing the possibility of a negative experience.
#1 – Early Access Offer/Auto-Populate Top 4 Items
This template automatically populates the four top item spots on the email from your seller store, to give customers an idea of what the hottest items are they should know about. One way this is beneficial to sellers is that if a product is new and performing well, this email acts as a loudspeaker to inform previous customers about the inside scoop on the latest items, and drive them back to check out the product assortment.
This can be done organically, so promo pricing is not necessary to include with this template and it acts as a branding play to gain exposure for your company based on the prodcuts you offer across various categories.
#2 – Existing Promo Code/Custom Item
With this template, sellers can narrow down the focus to a single item. The perfect use case for this template is for a very targeted customer group who have purchased a related item to the one being promoted, used as a cross-sell. The complementary product being promoted, and the addition of a promo code gives customers a high likelihood for conversion if used properly.
An example of the perfect application for this template would be for sellers who sold digital cameras to follow up shortly after with an email offer for a compatible lens, or like in this example a group of customers who had purchased an SSD to receive a deal on an SSD enclosure. Since the relevancy of this email is designed to be much greater, the list of potential email recipients is likely going to be much lower than that of the first email, that could be sent to any customer.
#3 – Existing Promo Code/Store-Wide
Similar to the previous template, this one also uses a promo code to drive repeat purchases. However, with this Post Purchase Email template sellers can cast a wider net of recipients to anyone who has purchased, as the promo code is applicable store-wide. Sometimes, this can be a more impactful tactic than the targeted approach since it gives customers the option to choose which product is most relevant to their specific needs.
#4 – Popular Products/Custom Multi-Item
This template is open to customization for the product placement, so you can add any products you would like to offer to the customers. This is a good choice to use when targeting cross-categories, to show customers relevant products. In the example below, this seller used the Post Purchse Email template to target customers who had purchased gaming mice, and took the opportunity to send them four new gaming keyboards to compliment their previous purchase.
One thing to keep in mind with any of these emails with more flexibility is the ultimate user experience. As a customer yourself, what would you think is most relevant, and find most interesting? If you sell a variety of products across different categories, it is important to be careful about what you show. Just because a customer purchased an item from you (let’s say a smart thermostat), doesn’t mean they want to see general items from your collection if they have no relevance to the previous purchase (like showing a gaming monitor). Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
Post Purchase Email Segmentation
What is segmentation? When referring to email marketing, segmentation is selecting your recipient list that is most-relevant to the message within the email. By segmenting the customer list, sellers can target very specific qualifiers which would make the message more impactful than just a broad message sent to a wider audience. Remember, just because the audience is larger doesn’t always mean that more people will open the email.
With the Newegg Post Purchase Email program, sellers can segment the audience for each email campaign by two parameters: Custom Order Range and Product Category. During the setup process in the Seller Portal, sellers can target any customer who has purchased within the last 90 days to receive emails. There are a few options when it comes to the date range: Last 90 days, last 30 days, last 7 days, or completely custom date range within the last 90 days. This allows sellers to narrow their audience by time frame, like in the event of sending follow-up emails after holiday shopping season.
Refining the segmentation even further, sellers can select which specific product categories/subcategories they have had customers purchase from within the date range, with a ticker that shows how many customers are qualifying within each category. This way, sellers can be sure that the template they chose is sent to the appropriate audience.
Drilling down further, you can segment customers based on the order amount, manufacturer(s), or specific item number. For example, perhaps if you are creating a 50% off promo code, you want to set an order amount that is above a minimum threshold. this is entirely possible, so you can make sure the right incentive helps your business, instead of hurting it.
For sellers that have product listings under multiple brands, it is possible to segment by brand. Also, getting even more granular sellers can use the specific item number to make a very focused campaign with recommendations (e.g. targeting customers who purchased a Nikon D330 SLR camera with compatible Nikon lenses or batteries).
The more criteria that you use to segment the audience, the smaller the list will become. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is good to keep in mind. In the setup for the list segmentation there is a real-time ticker that will show how many recipients will receive the email based on the current criteria, so you know what to expect. After all the parameters are set, sellers can send the email immediately or schedule it to send at a later date.
Watch the webinar below for a walk-through on how to set up the Post Purchase Emails, insights from the Newegg Merchandising team, along with other benefits for Newegg Elite Enterprise-level sellers.
If you are interested in learning more about email marketing, check out our blog: Everything Sellers Need to Know About Email Marketing in 2019.
Contact marketplacemarketing@newegg.com to learn more or sign up for your own Enterprise account today, and start sending Post Purchase Emails.
