Re-engaging customers is a vital part of running a successful Shopify store. Whether a customer hasn’t made a purchase in a while or hasn’t interacted with your emails, it’s important to use automated re-engagement campaigns to bring them back. Shopify’s email marketing features make it easier to set up automated workflows that can target these customers effectively.
Power of Re-Engagement Campaigns
Re-engagement campaigns are all about reigniting the interest of past customers or visitors who have not interacted with your brand for some time. Customers might have stopped opening emails or forgotten about the value your store offers. These campaigns are designed to rekindle their interest. By sending the right messages at the right times, you can encourage them to return, browse again, and make a purchase.
Set Clear Goals
Before diving into the specifics of automation, it’s important to set clear goals. What do you hope to achieve with your re-engagement campaigns? Are you aiming for more sales, more email opens, or higher website traffic? Clearly defined goals will guide your approach and help you measure success.
Identify Inactive Customers
The first step to automating a re-engagement campaign is identifying which customers need attention. Shopify allows you to segment your customer base based on their activity. By defining segments like customers who haven’t made a purchase in a specific time frame or those who haven’t opened an email in a while, you can target the right audience. You can also segment based on factors like cart abandonment or browsing activity.
Use Shopify’s Email Automation Tools
Shopify’s email marketing automation tool makes it easy to create re-engagement campaigns. The platform offers ready-to-use templates and workflows to help you connect with inactive customers. Once you’ve identified your target audience, you can set up a series of automated emails that will be triggered based on specific behaviors or inactions.
Design an Engaging Email Series
One of the keys to a successful re-engagement campaign is creating an email series that catches your audience’s attention. You want to entice them with compelling content that brings them back to your site. Here are a few ideas for emails in your series:
- Reminder Email: A simple reminder can prompt a customer to revisit your store. Offer a discount or highlight new arrivals.
- Special Offer: Provide an exclusive offer to lure back inactive customers. This could be a limited-time discount or free shipping.
- Product Recommendations: Show them what they’ve missed. Suggest items that they might like based on their past purchases or browsing history.
- Customer Reviews: Share testimonials from happy customers or show how others have enjoyed your products.
- Feedback Request: Ask customers why they haven’t been active lately. This can give you valuable insights while offering a chance to re-engage.
Each email in your series should build on the previous one and guide the customer toward taking action.
Personalize Your Messages
Personalization can go a long way in re-engagement. Shopify allows you to customize your emails with customer names, location, and even their previous shopping behavior. For example, you can address the customer by name and recommend products based on their purchase history. Personalization makes customers feel valued and increases the chances of them taking action.
Set Up Triggered Emails
Triggered emails are emails that are automatically sent based on certain actions or inactions. For instance, if a customer abandons their cart, you can set up a triggered email to remind them of their items. Shopify’s automated email workflows allow you to set up these triggers based on a variety of behaviors. You can trigger emails based on:
- Inactivity: After a certain period of time without any action, such as opening an email or making a purchase, an email can be sent.
- Cart Abandonment: If a customer adds products to their cart but doesn’t complete the checkout process, a triggered email can remind them.
- Purchase History: Emails can be triggered after a purchase to follow up with product recommendations or special offers.
By automating these triggered emails, you ensure timely and relevant communication, which is crucial for re-engagement.
Timing Is Key
The timing of your emails plays a critical role in the effectiveness of your re-engagement campaign. You don’t want to overwhelm your customers with too many emails, but you also want to catch their attention when they’re most likely to engage. Shopify allows you to set up email delays, so you can send the right message at the right moment.
For example, if you haven’t heard from a customer in three months, you could send them a reminder email. If they still don’t interact, you can send a special offer or discount a week later. The timing of each follow-up email is important for keeping your customers engaged without annoying them.
Optimize for Mobile
With many customers browsing emails and shopping on their phones, it’s essential to make sure your re-engagement emails are mobile-friendly. Shopify’s email templates are designed to be responsive, so they look good on both desktop and mobile devices. Before sending out your emails, make sure they are easy to read, and all the links are clickable on smaller screens.
Analyze Results and Adjust
Once your re-engagement campaign is up and running, it’s important to track its performance. Shopify provides analytics that show how many emails were opened, how many links were clicked, and how many sales were made as a result. By reviewing these metrics, you can see what’s working and what isn’t.
If you notice that certain emails are getting more opens or clicks, try to understand why. Was the subject line particularly compelling? Did the offer resonate with customers? Use this information to improve future campaigns. On the flip side, if some emails are underperforming, adjust the content, timing, or offers to boost results.
Leverage Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned cart recovery is one of the most effective ways to automate re-engagement campaigns. Shopify allows you to set up automatic emails to remind customers about the items left in their cart. These emails can be triggered by a cart abandonment event and sent at various intervals.
For example, you could send an email an hour after a cart abandonment. The email could feature a reminder of the abandoned items, a special discount, or free shipping. These types of emails are highly effective at bringing back customers and completing their purchase.
Use A/B Testing to Improve Campaigns
A/B testing is a great way to figure out what works best for your audience. With Shopify, you can test different subject lines, images, and offers to see what drives the most engagement. For example, you might find that a discount code works better than free shipping, or that a personalized subject line leads to higher open rates. By continuously testing and improving your emails, you ensure better results over time.
Don’t Forget to Monitor Frequency
While it’s important to send re-engagement emails at the right times, you also don’t want to overdo it. Too many emails can annoy customers and lead to unsubscribes. Shopify allows you to set up email frequency rules to avoid bombarding your audience. Test different sending frequencies and find a balance that works.
Conclusion
Re-engagement campaigns are a crucial component of customer retention and growth. By using Shopify’s automation features, you can reach out to inactive customers with personalized, timely messages. Automating your emails saves time and ensures your messages are always relevant. Through careful planning, personalization, and testing, you can bring back lapsed customers and increase your sales.
By following these steps, you can automate your re-engagement campaigns with Shopify and achieve long-term success.