Creating a seamless customer experience is crucial to an eCommerce brand’s success and is high on the agenda for heads of eCommerce and marketing directors alike.

But what components make up a great customer experience and how can you use these to enhance your email marketing?

In this blog post, we explore six pillars of customer experience and look at examples of how you can use these in your email marketing strategy.

What is customer experience?

Customer experience is the total experience a consumer has with a brand over the course of their relationship. Email marketing is an important tool to nurture that relationship and enhance customer experience.

To design a compelling customer experience, you need to consider every customer touchpoint and how each of these can be enhanced. Emails are an important touchpoint in a customer’s journey—and one that is ripe for optimisation.

The 6 pillars of customer experience

So, what are the components that we should be considering when it comes to creating a great customer experience?

Research by KPMG, identifies the six pillars of customer experience as:

• Personalisation
• Time and effort
• Expectations
• Integrity
• Resolution
• Empathy

Read on to find out what each of these mean, and how you can make sure your email marketing aligns to each pillar.

1) Personalisation

Brands can build an emotional connection with their customers by tailoring each person’s experience to their specific needs.

Sending emails with personalised product recommendations is one way eCommerce brands can use personalisation, upselling and cross-selling items based on past purchases or interests. Behaviour triggered emails also add a personal touch by engaging people based on their individual behaviour. Behavioural targeting means that you can ensure your email communications are not only relevant, but also timely.

This birthday email from ASOS that greets the recipient by their name is a great example of a personalisation in action. What feels more personal than celebrating a birthday? The informal and chatty tone used throughout makes the email feel human, like a friend sending a birthday card.

Asos personalised birthday email

2)    Time and effort

Time is precious and customers enjoy experiences that allow them to achieve their goals quickly and simply, without any friction.

This order confirmation from MOO is a simple example of how to save your customers time and effort. It details the order and estimated delivery date, providing links to track and manage the order or download a receipt—saving customers the need to call customer services.

Moo Order Confirmation

3)    Expectations

Brands need to be clear on what customers’ expectations are and go out of their way to exceed these.

An expectation all consumers share is to only be contacted with things that are relevant, with the option to unsubscribe easily if they no longer want to hear from a brand. J Crew does a great job of meeting this expectation with its unsubscribe page.

The page gives people the option to change preferences, without being pushy about it. Customers do not have to hunt for the unsubscribe option, which is clearly visible at the bottom of the page where you’d expect to find it. J Crew Unsubscribe Example

4)    Integrity

Customer experience is enhanced when customers feel the brand stands more something and shares their values or concerns.

Starbucks are ahead of the game when it comes to using their emails to promote causes they believe in. This email promoting their “Raise a cup” campaign (where they promised to donate 5p to a good cause for each purchase from their festive menu) creates a strong sense of integrity.

Starbucks Cause-led Email

5)    Resolution

Problems are an opportunity for brands to show their resolution skills, putting the customer in a better position than when they started. A brand’s ability to solve problems swiftly and constructively improves customer experience.

A common problem for eCommerce customers is discovering that a product they want to purchase is out of stock. This “back in stock” email from Style ensures the customer doesn’t miss out on the product they wanted. It also recommends items to go with it, improving the customer’s experience.

Read more: Learn the top customer experience trends to watch in 2018.

Style Back in Stock Email

6)    Empathy

To show that they empathise with customers, the way a brand communicates need to convey the right emotions at the right times. Using the right tone of voice can make all the difference.

This re-engagement email from Loft speaks to readers in a fun, fashion-conscious tone and tells them they’re missed without coming on too strong. This is an appropriate tone to pique interest and remind consumers why they liked the brand.

Loft We Miss You Email

Takeaway

Emails are a key touchpoint in your customers’ journey and a great opportunity to enhance customer experience. Keeping in mind the six aspects that make up a good customer experience helps to focus your email strategy, ensuring every email you send nurtures the relationship between your customers and your brand.

From triggered emails to celebrate a birthday, to re-engagement emails telling customers you miss them—each email tactic featured in this post is easy to recreate with our behavioural marketing and personalisation tools.