The Importance of Post-Purchase Email Flows for Optimising Engagement
The post-purchase experience is a make-or-break moment in e-commerce, one that dictates whether your brand will be a fleeting encounter or a long-term relationship in your customer's life.
From order updates to tailored product recommendations, you can get a lot out of Klaviyo’s email automation to seize the post-purchase moment, and we’re here to show you how.
What is a post-purchase flow?
A post-purchase flow serves as the bridge between a completed sale and an ongoing customer relationship. This automated sequence, easily facilitated by Klaviyo, kicks in immediately after a purchase. Its primary purpose is to engage beyond checkout, providing order confirmations, delivery updates, product recommendations, and more.
Image source: Klaviyo
Seamlessly integrated into the customer's journey, post-purchase flows not only enhance the shopping experience but also pave the way for customer loyalty, advocacy, and the likelihood of repeat purchases. What more could you want?
Your post-purchase emails need to do more than deliver transactional acknowledgements; they’re strategic tools for communicating your brand’s personality.
You can reinforce your customers’ decision to shop with you through post-purchase flows, providing reassurance through order updates, and opening channels for feedback and support. Well-crafted post-purchase emails also encourage retention and loyalty.
Example Post-Purchase Emails You Can Use for Your Business
There’s a whole world of post-purchase emails that you can incorporate into your marketing strategy. But just because you can take the post-purchase journey so much further than confirming the order doesn’t mean you should overlook these initial transactions.
Transactional Emails: Beyond the Basics
Transactional emails form the foundation of post-purchase communication. They should include all the important details, like the order number, product specifics, shipping information, and customer support contacts. This is what your shoppers will be looking for when they first head to their inboxes. But the key to standing out here is injecting these basic alerts with a little personality.
Image credit: Dribble
Order Confirmation Emails
This will likely be the first post-purchase interaction with your customers, but they can still dig a little deeper than simply confirming the order. Reassure your customer about their purchase decision by complimenting their choice, for example, and start building a relationship. You can also take the chance to welcome the buyer to your community and make them feel part of something bigger.
2. Shipping Confirmation Emails
Essential for keeping your customers happy and in the know, you’ll want to inform shoppers as soon as their order is on the way. You can also try to include additional details (or animations) about their item’s journey if you can.
3. Delivery Confirmation Emails
These emails reassure and inform, which is great for maintaining trust. They also mark the end of all essential post-purchase communication. From here on out, it’s in your hands to get creative (or the hands of your Klaviyo email marketing agency, nudge nudge).
Marketing Emails: More Than Logistics
It’s time to increase your value offer and seize the post-purchase moment for what it is: a chance to turn one-time buyers into brand advocates. Here are some great examples of post-purchase emails that build trust and strengthen connections with your audience.
Thank-You Emails
Showing your genuine appreciation for your customers can go a long way. This is especially powerful for small businesses, but it shouldn’t be overlooked by companies of any size. Thank-you emails can bring your brand back down to earth. They’re a chance to show your personality and even share some of your backstory. A letter from the founder, expressing what the purchase means or how they got started, can help bridge the gap between business and buyer.
Image credit: Alexandra Mosher/Melusine Studio
2. Educational or How-To Emails
If your product requires specific knowledge or care, follow up with an educational email. This can be a guide on how to use, maintain, or assemble it. Not only does this add value and increase engagement, but it could also reduce returns and negative reviews. With Klaviyo’s integrations, we can add dynamic blocks that display specific information about products and make the most out of your customer data. For clothes or jewellery, give customers information on how to look after and style your pieces.
Image credit: Memara/Melusine Studio
3. Review Request Emails
Asking for customer feedback after you’ve given your shoppers time with a product can gauge valuable insights for future improvements, but it also generates social proof to further boost your marketing efforts. After your customer has received their purchase, check in with them to find out how their experience is going. See what we did for Indi in one of their post-purchase emails. Asking for a review from your customers and rewarding them after will open the connection between you and your customer base. This is also a proactive way of fostering customer loyalty.
Offer rewards like discounts or loyalty programmes to incentivise your customers to share their thoughts. We partner with Okendo to streamline the review request process for our clients.
Image Credit: Indi/Melusine Studio
4. Cross-Sell or Upsell Emails
Post-purchase emails provide the perfect opportunity to introduce related products or new collections. Personalise your suggestions based on your customers’ purchase history but also by upselling complementary products using a dynamic product feed.
Image credit: Klaviyo
5. Loyalty Programme Invitations
After a purchase, it is an excellent time to highlight the benefits and rewards of continued engagement with your brand, encouraging repeat purchases. Offer points for continued purchases or discounts if your customers refer your brand. VIP schemes with perks and rewards for reaching different tiers are also a great way to encourage loyalty. We make curating a loyalty programme that your customers will love that little bit easier with the help of our partner Smile.IO.
Image credit: smile.io
6. Referral Programme Promotions
Increase engagement and the all-important brand advocacy with incentives for referrers and referees, like discounts on future purchases. Use app integrations and email connections to get the most out of referral marketing. Tools like ReferralCandy, which is compatible with all eCommerce stores, can be used to send automated emails after a customer completes a transaction. You can use these to ask customers to sign up for your referral programme and offer customisable rewards.
Image credit: Lily & Bean/Melusine Studio
7. Subscription Opportunities
In the spirit of building lasting relationships, introducing a subscription service can be a game-changer. Tools like Recharge allow you to offer personalised, convenient subscription options for your products. Whether it’s a monthly delivery of your best-sellers or a regular replenishment of essential cosmetics, subscriptions create a continuous engagement loop. Stay consistently relevant in your customers’ lives, reaffirming their decision to choose you with every delivery. This also opens doors for gathering ongoing feedback, refining your offerings, and solidifying your place in your customers’ everyday routines.
Making a sale is just the start.
The goal of post-purchase emails isn’t to hassle, but they shouldn’t just be about confirming orders either. Use the post-purchase experience to create a comprehensive customer journey that extends far beyond checkout. Each email needs to not only serve a functional purpose but also contribute to building a stronger, more personal connection with your customers.
Klaviyo has all the tools for perfecting your post-purchase flows, but if you want to get it right, book a call and find out how we can help supercharge your email game. As a Klaviyo Gold Partner email marketing agency, we know a thing or two about curating email automations that really drive results.