What features to look for in eCommerce email platform
“Email is dead!” – you probably heard many times before.
But is it really?
With the many recent privacy policy changes, first-party data is becoming more and more important in the digital marketing landscape.
Email marketing, amongst other owned marketing channels such as your website, app, blog, SMS, and any other media that you have complete control over, always was and still is the most reliable way to speak to your audience, both in B2C and B2B worlds.
Think about it – what do you do every day when you start and finish work? According to Optin Monster data, 99% of email users check their email every day, some as much as 20 times a day! It’s often the first thing people do online; 58% of users check their email before they check out social media or the news.
With more control over your customer data, email allows you to control messaging, and segmentation to build a personalised journey for each customer. 2022 saw 37% of brands grow their email budget and 77% of marketers report an increase in email engagement. As we enter 2023 it’s no surprise that the brand focus is on building robust, personalised and automated eCommerce email marketing strategies.
There are many platforms offering a deluge of functionality, but if you’re looking to invest in email marketing for eCommerce, it can be difficult to know where to start. To help we have put together five things to consider when choosing the right email marketing platform for your business.
1. Integrations
If you use different apps across your tech stack, check if your chosen email platform integrates with each one. Ecommerce email platforms with pre-built integrations for your apps allow you to synchronise customer data easily, providing a seamless journey for customers.
Best email platform for integrations: Omnisend has a huge range of pre-built integrations including Shopify, Magento and Salesforce as well as options for 3rd party reviews, customer support and back-in-stock apps.
2. Email automation
Email automation flows will set your customers on a personalised email journey, from the moment they subscribe. Engaging your audience with customised emails based on the actions they take on your e-commerce site will not only increase the brand sentiment but also your customer return rate and lifetime value.
Automation on email marketing platforms can include
- A welcome journey upon signing up
- Post-purchase journey reminding of delivery dates and providing tracking information
- Abandoned cart journey to remind customers of products they left in their cart before exiting the website
Best email platform for automation: Klaviyo has a huge range of automation templates for you to choose from, including; welcome journey, post-purchase messaging, abandoned cart reminders as well as AI-based flows that predict the next order dates and more.
3. Dynamic content
With overcrowded email inboxes customers are more likely to open emails that are addressed directly to them and their needs. But how can you personalise each customer journey, whilst working at scale?
This is where dynamic content can help. This function allows you to change different aspects of email design depending on the customer data. This could be something as simple as changing their name, sending gender or interest-specific items and personalised discount codes.
Most email platforms will allow you to personalise text, visuals or calls-to-action (CTAs) to target your communications with customers and increase engagement.
Best email platform for dynamic content: Omnisend allows you to segment and personalise your emails using basic data. It also provides you with contact tagging which will allow for hyper-personalised messaging.
4. UI
We know that for busy marketing teams, it is vital that any new software that is introduced is easy to use, so you can quickly and seamlessly integrate email into your eCommerce marketing plan.
If you need to set up and start using email quickly, we recommend looking for a platform that has an easy interface, quick integrations and simple customisable templates as well as audience segmentation.
Best email platform for UI: Even though most platforms have pretty similar interfaces, Klaviyo has the most intuitive, simple-to-use content management system (CMS). Klaviyo also offers has pre-built automation, real-time segmentation and customisable campaign templates.
5. Pricing
We understand that whether you’re just getting started on email marketing or you have an established email platform that you are looking to optimise for premium engagement, the price will always play a big part when deciding which email platform to choose.
Most platforms work on a sliding scale with the more subscribers the higher the monthly cost, so we always recommend keeping your list clean to avoid overpaying for your ESP (Email Send Provider).
Setting up an effective eCommerce email marketing plan can be resource heavy, which can be difficult for already stretched marketing teams. Consider teaming up with an email marketing agency to get support from the experts.
Here’s how we worked with a beauty brand Maria Galland to come up with an integrated digital strategy that communicated to customers at different buying stages resulting in improved engagement with the brand. This led to a +126% increase in email revenue year-on-year with email becoming the strongest conversion channel for the brand with a conversion rate (CR) of 6%.