Phil Lauterjung

For those that might not be familiar with the term, transactional emails are typically sent to existing customers with information regarding their order process – order confirmation, shipping info, etc.  With a lot of companies these are simply text emails sent from customer service or someone else in your company.  By adding a marketing message or offer these can provide BIG opportunities for up selling and/or cross-selling, and you will start to soar above your competitors.

At the very least, these emails should include your corporate logo and tag line consistent with your website and other corporate marketing communications.  A disconnect between a well designed website experience and a text-based email can do damage to your brand reputation, especially with new customers.

Unfortunately, with a lot of companies IT owns the transactional email messaging and Marketing owns the promotional email messaging.  I would strongly recommend centralizing both with marketing for a couple of reasons.  One, is that you want a consistent branding message with all customer contacts; and, secondly, you want to make sure that proper controls are in place to prevent recipients from receiving promotional emails right after a purchase or during resolution of a customer service issue.

Of course there are a few other issues that should be kept in mind as well.  Here’s five to keep in mind, courtesy of email marketing provider StrongMail:

1. Respect the customer. Obviously this is a principal that should guide everything that you do; but, do make sure that you respect the customer’s reasonable expectation for the marketing messages that are included in these business-critical messages.  Keep the main transactional message front-and-center.
2. Stay Relevant. Since a transactional email presupposes you have a relationship, the recipient is going to assume that you have some knowledge of their interests and preferences.  Make good use of your CRM data to ensure that your marketing message is relevant.  Don’t offer 50% off winter coats to a customer in Phoenix during the summer.
3. Test, Monitor, and Modify. You should start off with simple marketing messaging, but over time you will want to carefully monitor opens, click-throughs, and conversions.  This will give you a good idea of what’s working and what’s not, and then you can modify accordingly.
4. Take advantage of Event-Triggered Messages. If you know that someone is having a birthday, incorporate a coupon or offer as a thank you and a happy birthday in a transactional message.  A personal touch goes a long way to solidify customer relationships.
5. Don’t Forget CAN-SPAM Requirements. The main focus of the message MUST be about the transaction or service, and that includes the subject line and body of the message.  The marketing message is always secondary to the transaction.

Keep these points in mind and see if you don’t get a nice boost in added sales from your existing customers.  If you have some examples of what may have worked for you, please share in the comments section.

Photo courtesy of:  Ivan

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