Remind and Conquer: Replenishment Email Campaigns Tips

“Retaining customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones.”

That’s a phrase you’ve undoubtedly heard time and time again, especially if you’re looking to grow your e-commerce business and maintain long-term revenue.

But with more brands and competitors shifting to digital and enticing customers with new offers and promotions, customer retention is often easier said than done.

Merchants selling replenishable items may already have the upper hand as replenishment emails are a great way to encourage repeat purchases.

In this article, we will explain what replenishment emails are, why they are effective and our best practice tips - so you can get the most out of sending your customers reminders.

What are replenishment campaigns?

Replenishment email campaigns are automated messages that remind customers to reorder a specific product they have previously purchased from your store.

The email contains a link back to the website - often directly to a pre-loaded cart at checkout - making it easy and convenient to replenish their products.

It differs from subscription models which are intended to automatically send out the product at a set schedule, for example, every four weeks. More often than not, your subscription timetable doesn’t match your customers consumption rate, which can lead to periods of time without the product, or too much of it; and both of these deliver a bad customer experience.

Conversely, replenishment emails can be set to land in your customer’s inbox just in time to place another order and have it arrive before the last of the initial order runs out.

 

How effective are replenishment email campaigns?

Existing customers are much more likely to shop more frequently, spend more money and recommend your store to others compared with the average customer.However, every merchant knows that turning first-time shoppers into loyal customers can be a challenge.

To combat this, many have turned to subscriptions or membership models to secure regular repeat purchases - but that usually comes at a higher operational cost and can be difficult to manage both in the logistics and the capture of payment.

With replenishment emails, customers can set their own schedule with a pay-as-you-go alternative that has absolutely no commitments.

This way you can maintain an ongoing relationship with customers and even offer them a loyalty discount when they return for their next re-purchase.

5 Best Practice Replenishment Campaign Tips

If you’ve decided that replenishment email reminders are something that will work for your store, it’s important that you use them to your advantage.

To ensure you get the most out of a replenishment email campaign we’ve put together a list of best things that you need to know…

1. Timing - With replenishment emails, timing is everything. Sending out a reminder too soon could result in customers repurchasing before they need to, but leaving it too late and you risk losing relevancy and inadvertently sending them shopping elsewhere. 
   
   
2. Incentivise - From time to time you might decide to reward repeat customers for their loyalty with special offers, such as free shipping or discounts. If so, make sure any promotions are really clear - especially if they’re time-sensitive.
   
   
3. Optimize - Today’s highly connected consumers want nothing more than instant gratification. When it comes to replenishing, that means ensuring a speedy checkout process. Linking directly to the product page, or better yet, pre-loading a customer’s cart can make their life a whole lot easier - meaning they are more likely to repurchase.
   
   
4. Messaging - Consider the wording of your replenishment emails. Creating urgency is key to capturing your customer’s attention but remember, less is more - you don’t need to sell the benefits of a product they’ve already purchased and enjoyed. Instead focus on highlighting how easy it is to re-order straight away rather than writing reams of text.
   
   
5. Design - Replenishment emails can be another great branding opportunity. Make sure your customer knows straight away who the email is from by including your brand name and logo at the top of the email. Also, include a high-quality image of the product as a reminder.

Try Replenish Reordering

If you’re a Shopify merchant, the Replenish app can make sending replenishment emails easy and simple.

Replenish is an automated end-to-end replenishment email campaign app that allows customers to opt-in to receive a re-purchase email reminder for the items just purchased.

All you have to do is install the app, answer a few simple questions and you can start sending your customers’ replenishment emails right away.

Try Replenish for free by clicking the link here!