There are three game-changing themes that are reshaping the martech industry: AI that truly enhances human capabilities, customer service that’s genuinely strategic, and data flexibility that turns information into action. Cordial is challenging the status quo with these themes and creating a fundamental shift in how brands understand and engage with customers. The future of marketing is here, and it’s more exciting – and more human – than you ever imagined.

Data flexibility: The foundation of personalization

The dream of true 1:1 marketing has been around for decades, but legacy marketing clouds and data silos have kept it out of reach. Data flexibility is the cornerstone of effective marketing. It’s not just about having access to data from any source; it’s about being able to collect, integrate, transform, and use that data in real-time across all your marketing efforts. This is where Cordial shines, with our advanced data collection capabilities, built-in data transformations and universal connector that simplify integrations with any source. “Reference customers love that Cordial integrates so easily with other technologies,” noted The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Service Providers, Q3 2024. 

The era of isolated point solutions is over. Forward-thinking brands are seeking consolidated solutions around integrated data, orchestrated multi-channel messaging, and customer identity resolution – all while flexibly adapting to each brand’s unique tech stack.

AI: Beyond content creation

While many vendors are touting AI capabilities, it’s crucial to understand that AI’s true potential in marketing goes far beyond mere content generation. At Cordial, we believe that AI should enhance marketers’ productivity and drive tangible business value.

As noted in The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Service Providers, Q3 2024, “Cordial’s AI outshines other vendors’ by enhancing marketer productivity and email value, not just creating content.” Our top-rated vision and AI approach focuses on empowering marketers to work smarter, not just automate tasks or generate content. By leveraging AI to analyze vast amounts of message and customer data, we enable marketers to uncover deep insights and deliver truly personalized experiences at scale. This isn’t about replacing human creativity – it’s about augmenting it with data-driven intelligence.

Moreover, we’re using Cordial AI to understand – understanding your customers, your messages, and you, the marketer to drive better results. This human-centric approach to AI empowers platforms to engage marketers in more meaningful ways, fostering a connection that goes beyond traditional data points to enhance user experience and achieve business objectives effectively. This level of sophistication is what sets apart truly effective AI implementations in marketing.

Strategic services: The human touch in an automated world

In a world of automation, we believe that AI cannot replace the human expertise, strategic guidance, nuanced understanding and relationship-building capabilities of a seasoned professional services team.

Cordial’s approach to customer service goes beyond traditional support. We provide a full spectrum of professional services, with cross-functional experts driving rapid and precise implementations, offering strategic consultation, and proactively anticipating needs. This white-glove service is not just a nice-to-have – it’s essential for enterprises focused on driving real business results.

Our commitment to service excellence, in our opinion, has not gone unnoticed. As Forrester Research shared in the Forrester Wave, “Cordial’s values, transparent pricing, flexible technology, professional services model, and customer-informed development roadmap deliver…” This human-centric approach has earned us top scores in customer satisfaction and made us the preferred choice for enterprises seeking true partnership.

Cordial’s industry-leading services team builds loyal partnerships through human conversations that AI simply can’t match. They tailor strategic guidance forged from experience, understanding each brand’s unique objectives and context. 

In the coming months and years, it’s clear that success will hinge on the ability to harness AI intelligently, provide strategic human guidance, and maintain ultimate flexibility with data. At Cordial, our dedication to these principles is unwavering. We believe this is reflected in The Forrester Wave, which recognizes ‘Cordial’s strongest current offerings are its integration, AI, and agency services.’ We are committed to maintaining our leadership in these areas, helping brands build strong customer relationships and send a better message.”    

As you evaluate your marketing technology stack and strategy, consider how these three pillars – AI, strategic services, and data flexibility – align with your goals. The future of marketing is here, and it’s more personalized, more intelligent, and more human than ever before.

Get instant, form-free access here to The Forrester Wave: EMSPs and discover why Cordial was named a Strong Performer.

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Cordial is committed to addressing these challenges head-on. During our Spring Product Showcase, we unveiled 11 new capabilities that empower marketers to overcome these obstacles. These capabilities align with three investment themes: 

1. Accelerating connectivity and marketing strategies
2. Optimizing user-experience and workflow
3. Unlocking human understanding with AI

Take a closer look at highlights of Cordial’s spring innovations, and get a sneak peek into what’s on the horizon. If you want an overview of all the new releases, which we’ve listed below, be sure to check out the full webinar here:

New Releases 

Accelerating connectivity and supercharging marketing strategies 

Cordial strives to help marketers consistently nail their campaigns with maximum efficiency and productivity, turning success into a regular and repeatable occurrence. We developed the following products to make it easier for marketers to implement interconnected marketing strategies and seamlessly integrate Cordial with their diverse tech stack and vice-versa. 

Universal Connector: Integrations made simple

Recognizing our clients’ reliance on third-party apps for vital marketing elements, we prioritize seamless integrations to accelerate time to market and ensure smooth data flow. That’s why we’ve developed Cordial’s Universal Connector, supporting both inbound and outbound real-time data streams to simplify the integration process between Cordial and other applications.

Programs: Optimize marketing strategies against business KPIs 

Programs provide marketers with comprehensive data on entire marketing strategies and their impact on larger business objectives. Combining all Cordial products and tactics, programs offer a cohesive approach for scalable, repeatable, and measurable marketing success. Interested in tracking the impact of daily and real-time automations and optimizing strategies accordingly? Our Programs product enables precisely that. In the future, we’ll leverage Cordial AI to optimize against any custom business variable, like margin or inventory turnover.

Optimizing User-Experience and Workflow

At Cordial, ensuring user satisfaction is always our top priority, all while streamlining workflow. This batch of spring releases is tailored to provide marketers with intuitive tools that simplify message creation, testing, and audience segmentation. Cordial’s user experience and workflows assist marketers in running error-free campaigns and delivering personalized experiences to their customers.  

SMS/MMS Enhancements: Supercharging Cordial’s SMS Product

Cordial clients are using SMS to interact with their customers in a timely and engaging way, and with our latest SMS enhancements, they’re able to establish fresh connections with their customers compliantly and promptly. Previously, Cordial clients could utilize Promotional and Automated SMS. This spring, we introduced Transactional SMS. Now, you can set up and send transactional messages without requiring a double opt-in. These messages notify customers about everything from order confirmations to delivery updates. At Cordial, compliance is a priority. That’s why we’ve also adjusted our SMS quiet hours to ensure all messages are received when customers aren’t sleeping. 

Unlocking human understanding with AI

Cordial AI empowers marketers with a comprehensive approach for deep customer insights, optimized messaging, and a natural language AI interface to humanize understanding at scale, making it more than just a suite of tools but the key to unlocking a comprehensive understanding of your customers, your messages, and you – the marketer. With the AI hype being everywhere, making simplistic AI tools is table stakes. At Cordial we’re creating something more powerful. We’re using AI to unlock understanding at scale. 

Here’s what we mean by this: Skipping straight to generating without understanding only adds more tests without real learning. To predict accurately, you need to understand first. Then, with prediction comes the ability to prescribe solutions. And when you can prescribe solutions, you can automate them. Our vision for AI is to develop AI tools to lay the groundwork for a deep understanding, paving the way for significant transformation.

Send Time Optimization: Engage customers at the perfect moment 

Understanding the right time to send a customer a message to get them to perform the action that you, the marketer, wants is crucial for driving engagement. Cordial’s Send Time Optimization (STO) stands out by leveraging past interactions to pinpoint the best moment to engage customers. Unlike other STO tools, our STO considers past engagement, order history, and browsing behavior, driving significant increases in engagement and revenue. Tests with a major outdoor retailer showed a remarkable 30% increase in average order value and a 29% increase in revenue per email.

Message Analysis: Make your messages count

We believe the foundation of generation and automation lives with understanding, once you can understand, you can predict, and when you can predict, you can automate. With Message Analysis, marketers can gain deeper understanding into message performance through automated labeling and modeling. And what we mean by labeling, is that we’re labeling image types, discount inclusions and more to further understand. 

Natural Language Audience Builder: Create audience segments with natural language

Cordial’s new Natural Language Audience Builder uses AI to simplify audience creation for marketers. Marketers can ask questions like, “Show me engaged customers who bought shoes and pants in the last 30 days,” and Cordial instantly builds the segment, speeding up campaign launch and optimization.

A look at what’s coming soon 

At Cordial, progress is perpetual. We’re constantly innovating and refining our offerings to provide marketers with products that enable them to connect with their customers more efficiently and effectively. Here’s a sneak peak at the exciting developments Cordial has in store for the coming months!

Predict Frequency and Channel

Predict the ideal cadence and channel for sending individual customers messages to increase engagement and reduce risk of unsubscribes. 

Natural Language Analytics

Ask questions of your data such as, “How much revenue did I generate from SMS shoppers in NYC?”

If you liked what you saw here and are interested in trying out one of these products, speak to your Cordial Rep, or if you’re not a Cordial client, schedule a demo today. Don’t forget to join us for our Summer Product Showcase.

The post Spring 2024 Product Showcase recap: Balancing innovation and efficiency appeared first on Cordial.

Enter the new Google Postmaster compliance page — a helpful addition to Google Postmaster Tools that simplifies how you obtain your compliance data in all the important areas. 

What is Google Postmaster?

Before we delve into the latest update, let’s quickly recap what Google Postmaster is all about. Google Postmaster Tools is a free service provided by Google that offers insights into a sender’s email performance within Gmail. It provides data on delivery errors, spam reports, sender reputation, and more, allowing senders to identify and address issues that may be affecting their email deliverability.

The importance of compliance

Compliance with email industry standards and best practices is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation and ensuring inbox placement. Failure to comply with these standards can result in emails being filtered as spam or even blocked outright by email providers like Gmail.

The new compliance page

The new Google Postmaster compliance page is designed to help senders better understand and adhere to Gmail’s sending guidelines and policies. It provides a comprehensive overview of a sender’s compliance status, highlighting key issues that could impact deliverability.

Features and benefits

1. SPF and DKIM authentication
Ensure that your emails are properly authenticated using SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), reducing the likelihood of them being flagged as spam or phishing attempts.

2. From header alignment
Verify that the “From” header in your emails aligns with the DKIM signature, enhancing trust and improving inbox placement.

3. DMARC authentication
Verifies that your DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) record is present and correct.

4. Encryption
Pass/fail result letting you know whether your emails are encrypted in transit, safeguarding sensitive information and enhancing security.

5. User reported spam rate
Lets you know if your user reported spam rate is below the acceptable threshold.

6. DNS Records
Verifies your domain’s DNS A and PTR records.

7. One-click unsubscribe
Coming soon – there are no published details on this but we assume this will be a pass/fail if your email header has a RFC 8058 compliant one-click unsubscribe or not.

8. Honor unsubscribe
Coming soon – again there are no published details but we would hazard a guess that this will monitor whether or not senders continue to email recipients after they have requested unsubscription.

How to access the compliance page

Accessing the compliance page is simple for senders who are already using Google Postmaster Tools. Look for the text link at the top of your Postmaster tools homepage:

The post The email marketer’s guide to Google Postmaster’s new compliance page appeared first on Cordial.

As I discussed in a recent webinar , Large Language Models (LLMs) enable intuitive questioning against data using everyday language. Sophisticated SQL then translates these natural language queries into accessible insights without the need for specialized technical skills.

Cordial delivers such capabilities for marketers through an intuitive technology designed for natural conversation. Without technical expertise, marketers can explore campaign metrics, audiences, and other key data through everyday language—as effortless as speaking to another marketer.

Natural language: The key to unlocking marketing data

At Cordial, the seamless connection of natural language and data analytics democratizes marketing data, making it accessible to all marketers, no matter their technical level. Marketers can ask questions or provide instructions in plain language, transcending the need for specialized knowledge in SQL or reliance on technical analysts. This paradigm shift enables marketers from diverse backgrounds to access and analyze data, enhancing the reach and utility of data analytics.

Example: A marketer asks, “Create a segment of active customers in my premier loyalty segment who haven’t purchased in the last 30 days.” On legacy platforms, this query would require proficiency in SQL. However, Cordial’s natural language interface translates this request into an SQL query, not only yielding straightforward answers but also automatically creating the segment for immediate use in your marketing campaigns, all without the need for complex technical skills.

A platform that understands marketers

Cordial AI is not another complex platform for you to learn. We believe that marketers should get to focus on what they do best—creating impactful strategies and compelling content. Cordial’s focus on enabling marketers allows the platform to deliver unique advantages, including:

1. Pre-built models: Unlike generic query tools, Cordial provides pre-built models tailored to common marketing questions and KPIs. This enables marketers to leverage natural language immediately, without the need for extensive setup or customization.
2. Cross-channel view: Cordial’s strength in data unification ensures that analysis isn’t siloed. Natural language queries can seamlessly consider email engagement alongside social interactions or website behavior, providing a holistic view of customer interactions.
3. Actionable results: Insights are directly integrated with Cordial’s Orchestration Builder. Upon identifying a high-potential segment, marketers can build and launch targeted campaigns with just a few clicks, streamlining the process from insights to execution. This means you can go from asking a question to executing a targeted campaign in minutes, not days or weeks.

The integration of natural language processing and SQL in Cordial AI represents a paradigm shift in the way marketers leverage and understand data. By combining the power of natural language processing with the structured data capabilities of SQL, Cordial is enabling marketers to unlock unprecedented insights, optimize campaigns, and achieve measurable results through human understanding at scale. Learn more about Cordial AI.

Where natural language and marketing converge

The post What if your marketing platform was as effortless as speaking to another marketer? appeared first on Cordial.

The benefits of embracing customer obsession

Before we dive into the practical steps, let’s talk about why customer obsession matters. Companies that truly embrace customer obsession enjoy a multitude of benefits, including:

• Accelerated revenue growth: Customer-obsessed companies grow their revenue 1.6 times faster than their counterparts.
• Improved customer retention: By putting the customer at the center of everything they do, these companies foster loyalty and keep customers coming back. Delta Airlines, for example, made operational changes like backing planes out at a 45-degree angle and stocking repair parts to improve on-time arrivals, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and retention.
• Boosted employee engagement: When a company is customer-obsessed, employees feel more connected to the mission and are more motivated to deliver exceptional experiences.

On the other hand, companies that fail to prioritize customer obsession risk falling behind. They may lose market share to more customer-centric competitors and see their revenue decline over time. A billion-dollar retailer could lose up to $37 million over 12 years by not investing in customer obsession. That’s a mistake no enterprise can afford to make.

The four hallmarks of customer-obsessed companies

So, what does it mean to be customer-obsessed? Here are four key characteristics that set customer-obsessed companies apart:

1. They are customer-led, not just customer aware. They don’t just know who their customers are; they use a deep understanding of customer needs, wants, and motivations to guide every aspect of their strategy. Revolve, for example, uses social media data to determine sourcing, inventory, and product strategies based on customer trends.
2. They are insights-driven, not just data-rich. They don’t just collect data; they derive meaningful insights from it and use those insights to inform decision-making.
3. They are fast, not perfect. They prioritize speed and iteration over perfection, allowing them to respond quickly to changing customer needs.
4. They are connected, not siloed. They break down internal barriers and foster collaboration across departments to create seamless, cohesive customer experiences.

5 steps to start implementing your customer obsession strategy

Now that we understand the benefits and hallmarks of customer obsession, let’s talk about how to start putting it into practice. Here are five actionable steps you can take to begin your customer obsession journey:

1. Use email as a strategic tool: Email is more than just a promotional channel. With the help of an advanced email marketing platform, it can be a powerful tool for identifying customers across platforms, conducting market research, and building long-lasting relationships. Cordial client Adore Me uses a shopper’s email address to identify users across mobile push and SMS and deliver personalized product recommendations based on a unified customer view, resulting in a 4x increase in click rates.
2. Create interactive email experiences: Engage customers within the email itself by incorporating interactive elements. Cordial client Orveon, a leading beauty company, continued website quiz conversations via email to capture valuable first-party customer data and increase conversions by 3x. 
3. Empower your email team: Your email team is key to customer obsession. Equip them with the technology to nurture their creativity, foster collaboration, and leverage data-driven insights. By empowering your email team, you can create more meaningful, personalized experiences for your customers. For example, Cordial client L.L.Bean uses email to strengthen brand relationships by tailoring content to individual customer tastes, sending a mix of educational guides to some and editorial features to others based on their preferences.
4. Practice empathy: Empathy is at the heart of customer obsession. Listen, interpret, act, and monitor to practice empathy and create human connections with customers through email and other touchpoints. Continuously listen to feedback, interpret it for actionable insights, act on those insights, and monitor results.
5. Start small, but start now: Becoming customer-obsessed is a journey. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to start putting the customer at the center of your strategy. And don’t think of it as a trade-off with other priorities. Begin by establishing mechanisms to listen to, collect, and act on customer feedback. Take small steps each day to integrate customer insights into your decision-making, and watch your customer obsession grow.

By implementing these practical strategies and focusing on the customer at every turn, you can start your journey toward becoming truly customer-obsessed. The road ahead may be challenging, but the rewards – in terms of revenue growth, customer loyalty, and employee engagement – are well worth the effort. So take that first step today, and watch your organization transform as you put the customer at the heart of everything you do.

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Many consumers frequently jump between channels – from email to SMS, in-app, and beyond – as they evaluate the products they want to purchase. Given all the channels for companies to market and for consumers to engage, marketing interactions can easily become disjointed or the data lost. Marketers have the important and lofty task of keeping up with the when, how, and why behind where consumers are interacting. Being able to trigger an action based on data—immediately—rather than waiting five days, is critical to staying top-of-mind with customers.

The competition to gain new customers and maintain their loyalty is at an all-time high. Companies can’t afford to sit on the sidelines—the time to level up your marketing game is now. But not all marketers have access to real-time customer data. Once marketers unlock data access, companies can reach new levels of personalization, relevance, and customer connection.

What are the pitfalls of delayed data?

Imagine a prospective customer is in the market for a new tent. As they research your website, they fill out a form for a discount, browsing information picks up on their activity, and your marketing platform starts sending promotional messages for tents. They purchase the tent and are eager to embark on their next adventure, but still might need additional equipment. This presents a prime upsell opportunity.

However, your purchase and browsing data are delayed, and you are still sending tent promotions days later, missing the chance to sell related items. This poor experience misclassifies the customer as a “prospective tent buyer” rather than a “committed buyer” ready for other camping gear. The issue lies in the data being days too late. Purchase, checkout, and browsing data are delayed too long post-purchase, due to a lack of data availability, portability, and flexibility.

You can seize major business and upsell opportunities by giving customers what they want, where they want it, and when they want it. In this case, you could achieve better conversion (and a better connection with the customer) through timely messaging promoting related camping gear. Having a deep customer profile updated in 5-minutes or less determines long-term wallet share, brand perception, and loyalty potential. You only have one chance to make a great first impression, so don’t mess it up by sending irrelevant or outdated messages.

How can retailers leverage real-time data effectively?

A retailer that excels at leveraging real-time data to provide hyper-relevant experiences is REVOLVE. Their marketing team uses Cordial’s platform to trigger personalized email, SMS, and app campaigns based on customer behaviors like cart and browse abandonment and events such as birthdays, weather data, and anniversaries. By combining complex business and customer data, REVOLVE deploys highly relevant marketing messages, such as low inventory alerts for favorite items or new arrivals from preferred designers. Through this data-driven approach, REVOLVE maintains an impressive average order value of $279, with 79% of merchandise sold at full price. They’re not regularly discounting to make the sale—they’re using data to create a custom experience for each customer. By acting on customer data in real-time, REVOLVE tailors each shopper’s online experience to their individual preferences and needs, fostering loyalty and driving revenue growth.

What does it take to leverage real-time data?

To fully leverage real-time customer data, you need a marketing platform with these key capabilities:

• Data transformations: Unify, transform, and enrich all of your data from any sources in real time.
• Segmentation: Create audience segments based on real-time data to ensure messages reflect recent customer behavior up to the time of send.
• Identity resolution: Leverage an identity graph to resolve anonymous users and engage more customers across channels.
• AI-powered insights: Optimize the custom journey by automating routine decision-making, bolstering creativity, and serving as a trusted advisor to make smarter decisions.

Using real-time data to connect with your customers is the ultimate key to growing your business. Choosing a marketing technology partner with a powerful data platform that integrates with your tech stack is the first step to creating the most personal and meaningful customer experiences.

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The goal is to reignite interest and recapture the attention of customers who are showing little-to-no engagement with your brand. When you understand customers as individuals, sales become easier and affinity grows. Lifecycle automation is the key to retention, referrals, and organic revenue growth over time.

We’ve compiled 6 proven lifecycle automation strategies into an actionable ebook designed to reactivate each customer. From seasonal campaigns to targeted win-back offers, read on for actionable tips to recapture attention and drive repeat purchases.

1. Remind customers to buy again

Similar to a replenishment campaign, this doesn’t require a product to be a consumable (e.g., food, cosmetics). Instead, you can suggest a customer repurchase a product based on numerous factors. For instance, if they bought one chair, you could suggest they buy another to complete a set. Repurchase reminders demonstrate you understand their tastes and nudge repeat buys.

2. Nudge customers to complete the set

Emails with personalized product recommendations have higher click-to-open rates versus generic messaging. Include a “complete the set” call-to-action with product recommendations that complement a previous purchase. For example, furnishings that match a customer’s new sofa, or winter accessories to go with their latest jacket purchase. Matching items keep customers engaged after initial purchases and inspires return visits.

3. Re-engage customers with exclusive offers

Re-engage customers who are lapsing— meaning they haven’t clicked or made a purchase over a predefined period of time. This could include a special offer, a contest to spark their interest, a loyalty rewards balance, or an exclusive experience to make them engage again. Limited-time exclusives add urgency to take action. Special deals and contests help re-engage subscribers who haven’t interacted with your brand in a while. Tailor the offers to customers’ interests based on past behaviors.

4. Send timely replenishment reminders

Triggered replenishment campaigns can earn some of the highest engagement. The key is sending timely reminders when a previously purchased consumable item is likely running low. Follow up based on past purchase history and product usage data. You can also use replenishment touchpoints to upsell the next purchase or provide complementary product recommendations. The reminders demonstrate you understand the customer’s needs and offer convenient re-ordering.

5. Deliver seasonal relevance

As seasons change, so do your customers’ needs and wants. Personalize product recommendations and offers based on the season, past purchases, customer location, and weather patterns. For example, promote warm weather apparel as temperatures rise in your customer’s geographic areas. Localized, seasonal relevance boosts interest and conversion.

6. Win back lost customers

Aimed at subscribers who are “lost” and are no longer considered active. There are several approaches including preference updates, a compelling offer, or something outside the box. Protect your deliverability reputation by automatically including a small portion of lost users back into daily send segments. Win-back outreach demonstrates your commitment to ongoing relationships beyond initial purchases.

With the right lifecycle automation strategies, you can reactivate customer relationships and inspire lasting loyalty. Download the full ebook for expanded tips, real brand examples, and stats on each customer reactivation technique. Investing in lifecycle automation now will pay through through retention, referrals, and repeat purchases. Read more about how to activate and convert customers.

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We’ve compiled 11 proven lifecycle automation strategies into an actionable ebook designed to nurture each customer. From back-in-stock alerts to wishlist conversion campaigns, this guide connects data-driven automation tactics to customer loyalty.

The goal is to demonstrate value, build trust, and make it easy for shoppers to keep engaging. When you understand customers as individuals, sales become easier and affinity grows. Lifecycle automation is the key to retention, referrals, and organic revenue growth over time.

1. Back in stock campaigns

When a shopper browses or signs up for an alert about an out-of-stock item, let them know as soon as it’s available again via SMS or push notifications for immediacy and high open rates. Give them the option to purchase with one click right from the alert while excitement is high. Back in stock alerts show you care about availability of desired items. They demonstrate your commitment to inventory management and desire to satisfy customer needs.

2. Browse abandonment campaigns

Remind customers about products they’ve recently viewed but haven’t purchased by sending browse abandonment emails. Recommend complementary items based on their recent browsing behavior and categorized page visits. Send personalized product suggestions and special offers through their preferred channel based on past engagement. For example, if a customer viewed hiking boots, recommend matching wool socks, durable pants or walking sticks. Make it easy for them to pick up where they left off.

3. Buying time affinity campaigns

Match products and offers to time periods when customers are most likely to buy. Connect seasonal items to relevant weather data and leverage historical purchase patterns. For instance, when the first snowfall is forecasted, suggest snow shovels, salt and cold weather accessories proactively. Remind customers of yearly needs around the same time, like school supplies in late summer. Timely outreach shows you understand their purchase behaviors.

4. Cart abandonment campaigns

Notify customers who’ve left items sitting in their online carts by sending cart abandonment emails. Include personalized offers like percentage discounts or free shipping to nudge them towards completing their purchase. Add social proof with reviews and testimonials for context. Let them know their business matters by offering an incentive to close the sale. Send timely reminders before their cart expires.

5. Low stock alerts

Prompt action by letting customers know via real-time channels like SMS when products they’ve viewed or added to their cart are running low in stock. Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity. Low stock alerts demonstrate your inventory is turning over quickly, implying positive demand. They also show your organization wants to help customers get coveted items before they sell out. Limited quantity scarcity tactics can effectively nudge conversions.

6. Milestone campaigns

Surprise and delight customers on their birthday or when they reach a loyalty status milestone. Offer an exclusive discount code or small gift as a token of appreciation. Customers will feel valued when you remember special occasions and achievements. Personalized milestone messaging fosters deeper brand connections, boosts satisfaction and encourages loyalty.

7. Post-purchase campaigns

Follow up after a purchase with order confirmations, delivery updates, product education, recommendations for complementary products, and more. Thank customers for their business and keep the relationship thriving through excellent service. Share unboxing tips, style guides and suggestions for items from the same collection that complement their purchases. Post-purchase touchpoints show you care about providing a positive experience even after the sale.

8. Price drop alerts

Urgency and value prompt action. When prices fall on items customers have shown interest in, notify them in real-time through mobile push notifications or SMS. Give them first access to deals on desired products. Price drop alerts demonstrate your commitment to offering competitive value and appreciation for their business. Timely notifications empower customers to get items they want at the best prices.

9. Product affinity campaigns

Drive highly personalized product recommendations by analyzing customers’ favorite brands, browsing history, past purchases and more. Create tailored dynamic product carousels based on their brand affinities. Help them easily discover relevant items from your inventory that align with their preferences. When customers feel understood, it builds trust and sales become easier.

10. Upsell campaigns

Entice customers to upgrade their purchase during checkout or after their initial transaction. For instance, suggest add-ons that perfectly complement items already in their cart. Offer perks for extending a subscription or upgrading to the next tier. Appropriate upsells provide value through personalized recommendations relevant to their needs. When executed consistently over time, small upsells add up.

11. Wishlist conversion campaigns

Notify customers when favorited items go on sale, have new options added, or become available after being out of stock. Give them early access to releases and special offers tied to their wishlists. When the products customers want most become attainable, they’ll be thrilled you let them know right away. Wishlist alerts demonstrate thoughtful attention and build anticipation.

The key to lifelong loyalty is understanding your customers as individuals. With the right automation platform in place, you can deliver unique value every step of their journey. Want the full guide? Download the free ebook to unlock more examples, data and tips for each strategy and start connecting with customers in new ways.

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But how can you effectively activate customers at each stage to drive repeat purchases and lifetime value? Personalized, automated campaigns targeted to each lifecycle stage are key. When you personalize messaging around customers’ preferences and behaviors, engagement and conversion skyrocket.

Our new ebook, Activate: 9 Lifecycle Automation Strategies for Retailers, provides a blueprint for captivating customers from sign-up and beyond. Here’s a preview of the nine activation strategies covered:

1. Brand Affinity

Send highly personalized product recommendations by analyzing customers’ favorite brands, browsing history, past purchases, and more. If a customer frequently buys athleisure from a brand, suggest relevant items like new leggings in their size and colors, or sports bras with features they tend to prefer. Tailor dynamic product carousels and browse abandonment emails around their brand affinity. This helps customers discover relevant new items easily.

2. Contest/Sweepstakes

Contests and sweepstakes are proven to boost engagement and grow your active subscriber list. Offer compelling prizes like experiences related to your brand or your latest products. Promote the contest across channels like email, SMS, mobile push notifications and your website to maximize reach. Adapt the contest style and prizes to align with your brand. Collect opt-ins during the entry process to build your subscriber base. Contest prize data can also provide insights into your audience’s preferences.

3. Cross-Channel Acquisition

Reduce churn and strengthen engagement by connecting with customers across multiple channels. Offer email subscribers exclusive discounts or early access to sales if they opt-in for SMS alerts from your brand as well. Or provide a special coupon code to loyalty members who enable mobile push notifications about new collections or events. Coordinating messaging across different channels makes customers more likely to engage and reinforces the value of being subscribed.

4. Location-Based Messaging

Location-based triggers enable sending timely, personalized messages tied to physical locations. When customers enter a brick-and-mortar store location, you could send an SMS coupon for $10 off a $50+ purchase valid for that day only. For customers near a store, geofencing could promote new in-store exclusive products. Location-based messaging adds convenience and relevance. Keep copy and design consistent with your brand while taking advantage of the timely, geotargeted nature of location-triggered messages.

5. Loyalty Campaigns

Loyalty programs encourage repeat purchases from your best customers. Segment your members by loyalty tier and cater rewards and experiences to each level. For example, high-tier members could get surprise upgrades like free expedited shipping or early access to new arrivals. During loyalty members’ birthdays, offer a complimentary gift or discounted order based on their tier’s perks. Tailoring exclusive perks and offers to each tier makes the VIP experience more personalized and meaningful.  Leverage loyalty data to deepen emotional connections with your brand.

6. Referral Programs

Referrals from existing customers can be one of the most effective acquisition channels due to established trust and peer influence. Offer existing customers incentives for successful referrals of their friends and family. For example, provide $20 off for both the existing customer and the new referral once the referral makes their first purchase. To encourage sharing, make it easy to access referral codes and links from account dashboards and post-purchase thank you pages. Sweeten the deal with extra rewards when milestones like 5 or 10 successful referrals are hit. Referral rewards help turn your satisfied customers into brand ambassadors.

7. Review Collection

Product reviews and customer testimonials provide social validation that builds trust and credibility for your brand. Prompt customers to leave ratings or reviews after a purchase by sending a simple email or post-checkout survey. To incentivize quality responses, offer a discount code usable on their next order when they leave a review. Curate and display the best reviews prominently across your online store, website pages, emails, and other channels. The impact of reviews demonstrates the influence of peer opinions on purchasing decisions.

8. Surveys and Quizzes

Inject fun while gaining valuable customer insights using short interactive polls and quizzes. Add a quick qualifying quiz during your sign-up flow to gauge customers’ needs and interests before they hit your website. For example, an outdoor apparel brand could ask “What is your adventure style?” or “Which activities do you participate in?” Fashion retailers might poll preferred colors, styles, and shopping habits. Keep surveys short and personalized based on existing data like past purchases or browsing behavior. Surveys also provide first-party data to inform future personalization and product development.

9. Welcome Campaigns

The first impression you deliver to new subscribers sets the tone for the entire future relationship. Welcome new email or SMS subscribers with fun, branded creative that reflects your style. Include personalized content catered to their interests, like top products based on their quiz answers during sign-up. Offer an exclusive discount code as a ‘thank you’ for joining to incentivize first purchases. Send new loyalty members a branded welcome kit with their status perks. A thoughtful welcome experience gets customers excited to engage further. Make new subscribers feel special right off the bat.

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