Welcome Message Lessons from Email Experts
The welcome message might at first seem trivial as many marketers would assume once a customer has signed up, the deed is done and they are validated in their role. As marketers, however, it is our job to guide users through the entire experience with the company, with the goal of promoting an ever-increasing customer lifetime value.
One of the most important aspects of the user experience is the first impression. This first impression can set expectations and if underwhelmed, customers may decide to end their journey right then and there.
Many companies fail to acknowledge how important onboarding can be. A failure to educate users of the many areas the company can offer value can spell disaster for the company’s future. The welcome message can be the silver spoon to feed customers this vital information.
So, what are the components of a successful welcome message campaign? From studying the companies that are successfully onboarding users at scale with their welcome message campaigns, there are some common themes:
- Send from a human’s email address.
- Personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name.
- Outline what customers can expect next.
- Offer free content and resources along with discounts.
- Promote referral marketing.
Implementing these strategies within your email welcome messages can help increase click-through rates and engagement. Personalization in emails alone has been found to increase open rates by 26%.
Another interesting trend in email is to provide motion animations within the visuals to quickly attract the eye and keep it engaged. GIFs, for example, provide only a few frames which keep the file size small and allows for HTML emails to maintain a relatively quick load speed.
Referral marketing has become another great inclusion within the welcome message to promote the business through word of mouth. When a customer shares their recent sign-up or purchase with a friend it can be the most powerful conversion tactic, which is why the first email is a great time to plant this seed. One of the best strategies to promote successful referral marketing is to make a two-sided offer. This provides both the customer who is sharing and their recipient with an incentive to act on the referral.
Using strategies like these and more for your email welcome message campaigns can help promote healthy user onboarding and a positive customer experience. Use the visual below from CleverTap to guide your welcome message strategy.