Transactional Emails as the name suggests are Emails sent by companies to facilitate a transaction or an action taken on their website. These emails are auto-generated and do not require the user’s consent as they are means to communicate crucial information to the customers.
In fact, they are triggered because of the action taken by the customer on the website, like a purchase confirmation, delivery confirmation, signup email, etc. Now, what is the difference between a transactional email and a marketing email?
Transactional emails are a means to facilitate a transaction, marketing emails are meant to promote a brand, inform about a sale, etc. For sending a marketing email a company or a website must acquire permission from the user.
You can use a transactional email as a way to upsell a product or inform customers about a sale, but it can be done only in that one email. You cannot send any marketing information in the future if the user doesn’t consent to send marketing emails.
Email laws are very strict in a few countries. Make sure you separate your transactional emails from your marketing emails by sending them via different mail ids. Also, try using different domains and IP addresses for that purpose.
Since both of these types of emails are different their structure would be very different. Let us look at some common examples of transactional emails.
- Order Confirmation Email
Order confirmation emails are triggered when a user places an order on your website. They indicate that the transaction has been successful and it sent as a way to inform customers that. Now for the order confirmation email to be useful to a user, it must contain;
- Details about the product
- Details about the price
- Details of the customer
- Details of the shipment
- Shipping Notification Email
A shipping notification email lets the user know the information about the dispatch of their order. It is a way to let the user know that they can relax as the order is on its way.
If the customer is well informed about the progress of the delivery they won’t call the support team continuously to know the details of the shipment. Also, you can add the tracking link where customers can monitor the details of his/her order. Updating customers regularly is the key.
For a shipping transactional email to create value it must have the following information;
- Details of the customer (name, address, etc)
- Details of the price
- Delivery Date
- Current status of the shipment
- Live tracking link
- Delivery Confirmation Emails
Delivery confirmation emails help build trust between a brand and its customer. Delivery Confirmation adds to the customer experience and satisfaction of the customer. It also ensures that the product has reached the right hands.
If the customer receives a delivery confirmation mail and the customer has not received the purchased goods, he/she can inform the company about the misplaced delivery.
It is important that a delivery confirmation email has details about the delivery personnel. In case of any queries with the order, the customer can always contact the delivery personnel.
- Sign Up Email
Signing up is an action a user takes when he/she creates an account on the website of the company. A customer does so by providing the information relevant to the brand.
As the company acquires this information, it is necessary that the company builds trust with the customer by sending an email and confirming that their information is in safe hands and won’t be misused.
This is a great opportunity to let the customer know about the services your brand website offers in addition to what the customer has signed up for.
- Password reset emails
Just like sign up emails, password reset email lets the user know that the information provided by you is safe with them and won’t be lost or forgotten. This is a great way to build rapport with the customer and increase the customer experience. For a password reset mail to be functional, it needs to have the following information:
- Details of the customers
- Details of the Account
- Password reset link/email recovery link
- Guide to secure the account better.
Conclusion
Many companies today are using transactional emails as a means to brand themselves. Not only are they used as a way to communicate with the customer, but they also can upsell their products. And many companies are using it successfully. Transactional emails can be designed well and need not be dull. This can help craft the personality of the brand.