6 automation flows to engage your BFCM shoppers

Automation flows are the one of the first things brands set up when they take up email marketing as a revenue channel seriously. Brands see at least half the email revenue from these core flows–welcome, abandoned cart/checkout, winback, and post-purchase. Email was responsible for at least 43% of the tracked sales, so using it well is key for a successful BFCM season.

But… the BFCM season demands special attention.

For starters, you want to give your shoppers a unique BFCM experience. Also, it's essential to ensure email marketing is in sync with other marketing channels promoting BFCM. The last thing you want is to confuse your shoppers with conflicting offers on different channels.

You might want to tweak your existing flows to match the BFCM vibe and add a few new ones.

1.Welcome Sequence

The Welcome email is the first interaction a (potential) customer has with your brand. It sets the expectations right and primes the customer for a long-lasting relationship. You'll find more on this here.

Make changes to it during the BFCM season to reflect your offers and coupons. The details should match with the BFCM-themed popups on your website.

Here's an example:

2.Winback Emails

Heading towards BFCM, create interest among your unengaged subscribers with a win-back sequence.

Create a sequence of emails thanking users for being a part of the fam (cliched, I know–you'll probably do a better job than what I did here), reiterate brand values, highlight the benefits they got from their past purchases, and showcase upcoming deals and discounts.

3.BFCM Contest

Keep your contest participants engaged with a journey. Create a sequence starting with an entry confirmation email. Follow up emails about contest rules, tips to win, how to win bonus points, contest countdown timer to create FOMO.

Create trigger points for the winner(s) and others. For the winner, send a congratulations email followed up with the reward email. For other participants, send a thank you email, show the winner of the contest (a leaderboard if you have one), and a reward for participating email.

4.Loyalty program

Create a journey to send out emails that encourages customers to join the loyalty program, pitches it benefits, shows customers savings, urges customers again to join. Since the December holiday season is nearing, let your incentives reflect that.

The trigger for this journey can be a delayed wait time, say 15 days, after a customer makes an order.

5.Abandoned carts

Change the messaging of your abandoned cart flows, according to the BFCM stage - pre, during, and post-BFCM. For instance, remind your customers about the impending BFCM sale if they abandon their cart prior to the event.

• Pre-BFCM - "Hey! your cart forgot to tell you that our BFCM sale is coming up soon. It wanted to give you an early coupon code and get 15% off if you complete the sale before 24 hours"
• During BFCM - "Hey! Your cart says you're gonna miss out on our biggest deal of the year. Finish your checkout within 24 hours and get free shipping"
• Post-BFCM - "Hey! Your cart feels bad you missed out on our BFCM sale. But it extended sale just for you. But only until tonight, so don't miss out again"

If you're interested in the perfect abandoned cart journey, we got you covered.

6.Post-purchase flows

Thank you messages are common campaigns that customers expect. Defy their expectations with a post-purchase journey. The first email is the thank you message like usual.

The second email is a recap of their orders and letting them know how much they've saved during this BFCM. This helps in eliminating buyer's remorse.

The last email is a post-BFCM survey with an incentive for completing the survey. The feedback helps you improve your next BFCM/holiday sale event.

BFCM will be here soon, so start planning ahead for your journeys and other campaigns. Craft well designed emails to capture your readers eyes and get the best out of email marketing for this BFCM.