Transform new customers into loyal buyers with email marketing

Understand the phases of the customer journey

A key part of an email marketing strategy, as well as the marketing strategy in general, is keeping an eye on the customer journey. To better understand the structure of the customer journey, we break it down here into five simplified phases:

1. Awareness
2. Consideration
3. Conversion
4. Retention
5. Positive word of mouth and loyalty

Awareness and consideration

In the first two phases, potential customers are most often receptive to information as they seek to fulfil a need.

It is also possible that they have not yet discovered their existing need. This is where brand awareness becomes an important factor in the first phase, as it can give potential customers a familiarity with your brand that will benefit you at a later stage. It may also be that you awaken a need in them that they were not aware they had.

It is also in these top-funnel phases that potential customers compare products and the benefits of choosing between different brands.

Conversion

When customers enter the conversion phase, most have gathered sufficient information to make a purchase decision. Here it is important to support their decision by sending relevant and compelling emails that speak to their intent. This can take the form of product recommendations based on their previous interactions, exclusive offers, or reminders about products they have shown interest in.

For those waiting for just the right moment to make a purchase, it can be effective to use strategies such as time-limited offers or teaser emails about upcoming sale periods. It is about creating a sense that they get something extra by shopping with you.

Retention

Once the customer has placed an order and you have dispatched it, the retention phase begins. Here it is crucial to create a great customer experience, starting with order confirmations and shipping updates. Automated emails informing customers of shipping status and expected delivery date create peace of mind and build trust. After delivery, a follow-up email with a thank-you message and a request for feedback can ensure the customer feels valued. Also offer guides or tips on how to use the purchased product to increase customer satisfaction and engagement.

Positive word of mouth and loyalty

This is the final and potentially most influential phase for you as a business. Here you have the opportunity to turn new customers into returning buyers. To succeed, it requires a targeted strategy and effective execution:

• Implement loyalty programmes that reward repeat purchases with points or discounts.
• Develop VIP programmes that offer special benefits to your most loyal customers.
• Highlight customer reviews and success stories to build social proof and encourage positive word of mouth.

By consistently delivering value and recognition, you can not only retain customers but also turn them into brand ambassadors who spread positive word of mouth and attract new customers through the story of your brand — and the great experiences associated with it.

Automation supports a great customer experience

To deliver the most relevant messages to your customers at each stage of the customer journey, you should configure essential flows to automate the process of sending the right message at the right time (e.g. welcome flows, browse abandonment flows, abandoned cart flows, post-purchase flows, etc.).

In these flows you can include thank-you emails, cross-sell flows, review requests and more. When aiming to turn a new customer into a returning buyer, you should focus most on post-purchase flows, as these provide opportunities to attend to the new customer's satisfaction with their first purchase or to encourage and reward their continued loyalty.

The leading email platforms for e-commerce that can help achieve this include ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo:

We most often recommend ActiveCampaign to smaller clients who are not ready for extensive personalisation and want a simpler setup. This platform is more cost-effective and suits businesses with a limited budget.

Klaviyo excels in its ability to use data to create highly personalised and targeted campaigns, as well as its strong integration and customisation options. If the budget allows, it is the platform we most often recommend to our clients, as it offers extensive features and flexibility.

As is well known, you generally get what you pay for, and it is clear that the better you can tailor your communication, the better results you will achieve. By choosing the right platform and configuring effective email flows, you can ensure that new customers have a great experience and are encouraged to return, maximising their value to your business.

Increase your customers' lifetime value

We cannot say it enough — because far too many underestimate the importance of focusing on loyalty and repeat purchases. So let us just take a small calculation example drawn from the real world of one of our clients, where we are working to increase their repeat purchase rate:

• The client had a repeat purchase rate of 1.06. That means customers returned and purchased on average 1.06 times within the period we measured.
• The average order value was DKK 801.55 during the period.
• The client had orders totalling DKK 4,558,544.55 during the period.

With these figures we could calculate how much the client would earn by increasing the repeat purchase rate from 1.06 to 1.16. In this case it would give the client additional revenue of approximately DKK 431,235 in the given period — assuming the average order value does not change. Can you guess why the client wanted to increase their repeat purchase rate? Yes, it is a bit of a no-brainer, isn't it?

To encourage a new customer to return and make a repeat purchase, you can implement several initiatives:

1. First and foremost, the customer must be satisfied with their first experience with your brand. And the best way to find out is to ask! Adding the option to leave a review to your automations in Klaviyo or implementing a post-purchase survey are great ways to capture general sentiment from your customers. In addition to boosting your online reputation, reviews also provide valuable insight into where you can improve.
2. When a customer is satisfied and ready to make a new purchase, they are most receptive to retention strategies such as cross-sell and VIP flows that encourage and reward loyalty. Cross-sell or upsell flows are an excellent way to deliver personalised product recommendations to new customers based on the products they already know and love. This can also increase customer lifetime value (CLV) and average order value (AOV) on individual purchases. It is important to remember, however, that the primary goal is to continue delivering value to your customers, not merely to win additional sales.
3. Rolling out a structured loyalty programme that awards points for purchases, or using a VIP welcome series flow to recognise top buyers, are proven ways to deliver ongoing value to customers in the form of discounts or rewards for their purchases. Customers who feel valued and recognised by you as a brand are more likely to become returning buyers and may even end up as brand ambassadors. These help build momentum for your brand and drive new leads to your website. It is therefore important to continue nurturing loyal customers — even after their second purchase.

How to optimise the customer journey with Klaviyo

For everyone who dreams of turning new customers into returning buyers, here are the best tips for using Klaviyo:

1. Tailor your flows to the customer journey: Analyse customer behaviour and segment them based on their interactions with your brand — or lack thereof. Design flows that are tailored to meet customers where they are in their journey, from when they sign up to your loyalty club to when they potentially drop off at a later stage. Ensure that each flow is relevant and personalised to maximise engagement and conversion.
2. Test and optimise regularly: Do not forget your flows once they are up and running! Test different approaches regularly, analyse the results and make sure to refine your messaging. If, for example, you notice a low open rate in your welcome emails, consider adjusting the subject line or the time delay in the flow.
3. Engage your subscribers and focus on more than sales: Use Klaviyo to engage with customers — the focus should not be solely on sales. Build an online community, share informative content and create a meaningful connection with your customers. Show them that you value their engagement, not just the fact that they occasionally make a purchase.
4. Seek feedback: Always encourage customers to share their feedback. It is a goldmine of information that can help you improve your products, services and overall customer experience.
5. Reward loyalty: When a new customer becomes a returning buyer, it is important to celebrate this and reward them for their continued loyalty. Offering special discounts is just one of many ways to recognise your VIP customers.

Turning new customers into returning buyers is no easy task, but with the right tools and strategies it is entirely achievable. Remember that the core of any successful business is satisfied customers who feel valued by you. By personalising their experience and consistently adding value, you can drive repeat conversions and turn customers into brand ambassadors.