How to Use Post-Purchase Follow-Ups to Sell More

If you’re feeling restless with your e-commerce business & want to earn more revenue ASAP, you need a savvy post-purchase follow-up to boost your sales & earn repeat customers. Post-purchase emails are a simple way to connect with customers & give them a reason to come back for more. From thank you emails to refer-a-friend programs, here’s what to know about post-purchase emails to win big.

What is a Post-Purchase Email?

Post-purchase emails are touchpoints you send your customers after they make a purchase. You can deploy them automatically or schedule to send them a few weeks or even months later. It gives customers a reason to come back to your online store & gives you the opportunity to foster their business through repeat sales. Although many e-commerce businesses focus on standard order confirmation emails, you can give your post-purchase emails a twist to drive more sales.

Send a Thank You Email (with an Incentive)

When your customers buy an item, a thank you email is a must with all their important information, from their tracking number to their order number. But you can also offer a limited-time coupon code to invite them back for a favorite item or hidden product just for VIPs. When your customers are already & in the mood to shop, they’re more likely to indulge in that one last product they were on the fence about.

One of the most powerful parts of sending thank you emails is how many customers open them. Research shows that thank you emails generated a 42% open rate & a 14% CTR, while general marketing emails generated a 12% open rate & a 6% CTR. They could be the most popular emails you ever send from your ecommerce business.

Surprise & Delight Your Customers

The cornerstone of a thriving e-commerce business is earning repeat customers who love spreading the word about your store. But you need to give them a reason to shop & keep opening your marketing emails. A coupon, free gift, or VIP access all make customers feel like superstars.

If you’re on a budget & don’t want to extend a coupon, you can also focus on creating incredible content. From quirky video tutorials to stunning graphics, there’s always a way to intrigue your customers & draw them into your marketing channels.

Introduce New Product Designs

The power of print-on-demand is its flexibility to sell more & scale without the overhead. There’s no need to wish you had rolled out that seasonal T-shirt or hoodie a week earlier when you enjoyed a traffic boom. Instead, you can send out a post-purchase email to introduce your freshest designs to a warm audience that’s ready to buy.

Upload your designs to your CustomCat library, apply them to your favorite products, & grab one of our easy integrations for your online store. When someone buys your product, we’ll get to work fulfilling it & sending it out on behalf of your online store. There’s no minimum order, so you can enjoy making more money, whether you have one order or a hundred.

Get started with CustomCat here.

Ask for a Review

Asking for a review helps create more credibility for your online store while triggering the next sale. Research shows that 54.7% of consumers read at least four product reviews prior to purchasing a product, & about 44% read three or less. The more reviews you amass, the more sales you can drive.

There’s more to do in your next post-purchase email than ask for the review. You can also use it as an opportunity to introduce a new product or promote an upcoming sale. Add it to the bottom of your email with a call-to-action to come back & shop before the offer is gone.

Offer a Discount to Tell a Friend

Drum up more business for your online store by incentivizing recent customers to tell all of their friends. An app like ReferralCandy enables post-purchase pop-ups, emails, pages, & automated customer rewards. The goal is to foster relationships with your current customers while earning new ones.

Once you get your preferred referral app set up & ready to go, it’s largely an automated process that helps grow your revenue. Research shows 92% of people trust recommendations from friends & family over other forms of marketing. ​​

Analyze Your Data

You won’t know which post-purchase follow-ups work best without measuring & analyzing them. Dig into your analytics to look for recent trends & double down on what’s working best. You may realize that when someone buys a customized, print-on-demand camping mug, they’re more likely to order a water bottle or premium Sherpa blanket from a post-purchase follow-up. Or you may find that post-purchase follow-ups work best when they follow a sale or holiday season. Trends can also change, so make sure to revisit your data & make changes accordingly.

What’s your favorite post-purchase method to sell more? Let us know by leaving a comment below!