Thank you emails can be the difference between a customer turning into a loyal repeat buyer and never returning to your online store again. What goes into a great thank you email? How do you make your thank you emails stand out? This post will cover the anatomy of a great thank you email including gratitude, format, personalization, and a gentle, yet effective, next step. Optimizing your thank you emails can be the hidden trick for accelerating the growth of your eCommerce site.

Table Stakes for ANY Email

Consider the following qualities as the baseline for ANY email. These simple and straightforward traits should make their way into all of your customer email communications.

A pleasant disposition

Emails should feel like they were written by a human, not an amorphous entity hidden behind an online store. Your customers are looking for a connection! Getting off on the right foot with a customer, especially one that has just made a purchase, starts by being friendly and pleasant. Harsh, pushy, or aggressive language - even when written for humor or to add personality - can easily turn off a customer. Unless your entire brand presence is rooted in sarcasm or inside jokes, save the cheeky humor for a medium other than a 1:1 email.

Relevance

Sending emails that are relevant to the reader is nothing new. Increasing the relevance to create a 1:1 connection is easier said than done. Every email recipient should easily and clearly understand why you are contacting them, what value you are offering in the message, what you expect to happen next, and what value they receive if they complete that action.

An email that misses on any of those four pillars is missing the chance to be fully relevant.

Good grammar and spelling

Every email marketer on earth thinks their emails are well-written and include perfect grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Be that as it may, countless emails are sent every day that include small but noticeable errors that degrade the brand's reputation and distract the reader from the content of the message itself.

Take one more pass at that email draft before hitting send. Doing so is well worth the time.

Format

Whether you are sending plain text or HTML email, test before sending to ensure a pleasing appearance. Images that don't fit the screen, paragraphs that go on forever, line breaks that interrupt the flow...all of these things distract the reader from the content of the message and deliver a poor reading experience.

What makes a Great Thank You Email?

So what goes into a great thank you email?  As with most emails, the best way to maximize impact is to put yourself in the position of the recipient. They are likely interested in receiving emails that you, too, would be interested in receiving.  How would you want to be thanked? Better yet, what kind of message would you want to receive after making a purchase?

Gratitude

When thanking customers for their business, it's important to be genuine and specific in your gratitude. Thank them for their order, for choosing your store, or for referring a friend. Whatever the reason, make sure to thank them sincerely.

Gratitude is key in any relationship, but especially so when it comes to customers. Showing gratitude demonstrates that you appreciate their business and that you value the relationship. It can also help to build customer loyalty, which is essential for any online store.

Format

The format of your thank you email is important, too. Make sure to use a friendly tone and avoid sounding too formal or stiff. You want to come across as someone who is grateful for the customer's business and is eager to keep them coming back.

In addition, be sure to use a layout that is easy to read. Keep the text concise and broken up into short paragraphs, if possible. This will make it easier for customers to scan the email quickly and see the key points.

Personalization

Personalizing your thank you emails is a great way to show that you value the customer's business. Add their name, their order number, or other information that is specific to them. This helps to create a feeling of connection with the customer and makes them feel appreciated.

In addition, personalization can help to increase conversion rates. A study by Experian found that personalized emails resulted in a 29% higher open rate and a 41% higher click-through rate than non-personalized emails.

Take your personalization up a notch by suggesting complementary products or services or recommending things that similar customers purchased. Each of these "personal touches" improves the interaction and fosters a chance to build a lasting relationship.

Something unique to stand out (like Video!)

To really make your thank you email stand out, add something unique. For example, include a video thanking them for their purchase or referral. Windsor helps eCommerce companies create personalized videos at scale, giving store owners a chance to thank customers with customized videos without having to sit in front of the camera all day.

Standing out from all the other emails in the inbox can be a challenge. The use of a personalized video or jingle can get the customer's attention in a positive way.

A gentle call to action or next step (like a discount code or special offer)

Finally, always include a gentle call to action or next step. This could be a link to a sale page on your store, a discount code, or an offer to help them save money on their next purchase. Thank you emails are a great opportunity to encourage customers to come back and shop with you again.

Sometimes the next step isn't about the next sale at all. Offering to add the recipient to your newsletter or sharing your social media profiles and asking for a follow can be the gentle call to action that moves your relationship forward. There will be a chance in the future to promote a new sale or encourage the next transaction.

Make Your Thank Your Emails Stand Out

By following these tips, you can create great thank you emails that will encourage customers to keep coming back to your store.

Thank you emails are a great opportunity to show your customers that you appreciate their business. By using a friendly tone, personalizing your email, and adding a gentle call to action, you can create an effective thank you email that encourages customers to come back and shop with you again.

To learn how hundreds of eCommerce sites are leveraging Windsor to send personalized thank you emails without hours and hours of filming, click "get started" above. We would love to show you how the Windsor platform can elevate the customer experience for your online brand.

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