Trigger Email

Trigger email refer to emails, which are sent based on certain events or are trigger-related. The event by which an automated email is sent is predefined. Customer birthdays, special discounts, or newsletter subscriptions can be occasions or triggers for the automated sending of emails.  

General information

While conventional advertising emails or newsletters are sent at regular intervals, trigger mails are only sent when a certain event occurs or a condition is met. Trigger emails, like other marketing campaigns, should lead to certain user actions. They should strengthen the perception of the brand, increase sales volumes or increase the customer base. Loyalty programs or measures for online customer loyalty are also possible.

Types of trigger emails

In trigger-based marketing the following events are defined:

• Welcome messages: As soon as a user registers or a customer logs in with their data, a welcome email will be sent.
• Thank you emails: When a customer has made a purchase, he will receive a thank you for his trust in the supplier’s products or services, for example.
• Transactional emails: When an order is completed, an email will be sent to confirm the purchase or sends an invoice to the customer. The shipping of the product can be confirmed as well. In this case, the customer is also often given the option to track the shipment of the product by means of a code.
• Activation emails: If a customer acquires a particular product, the provider can assist him in explaining its functions. If the product needs to be activated, the provider can notify the customer of the full functionality available.
• After-buy-emails: Customer surveys may be done and customer reviews obtained after purchasing a product.
• Special promotions: Up- and cross-selling can be implemented using the customer history and special discount actions with trigger emails.
• Behavior-related mails: Various data from the customer history and web analysis can be used as events for trigger emails. The use of customer data, such as their search behavior or the browsing process should be utilized with caution. In some circumstances, these tactics can deter customers when they feel that the provider does not handle their customer data with the utmost of care.
• Time-related emails: A customer may receive an electronic birthday card on his birthday and a personalized promotional code. Name days, anniversaries or the length of membership with the provider’s company are also possible.
• Other trigger emails: Events such as the absence of customer actions over a long period of time, a service contact, or seasonal events can also act as triggers to increase the customer engagement and thereby stimulate sales.

Practical reference

Trigger Based Marketing depends to a large extent on the technical possibilities of the system. While some shop systems already have an integrated email distributor and special trigger functions, others don’t. Then there are numerous email marketing solutions available if the latter applies. They allow you to precisely define the triggers or conditions to fully automate trigger emails. If the shop system has been significantly modified, programming interfaces may be necessary to ensure the interaction between email distributors, website, and database.

Relevance to online marketing

Trigger emails are part of online marketing standard actions to achieve the highest possible customer loyalty and increase conversions. Such emails are highly relevant because they are always event-induced and equivalent to a one-to-one marketing approach. A personalized email is sent at the precise moment when an event occurs. Due to the fact that trigger emails are sent immediately, a high level of customer commitment is to be expected. The cost-benefit calculation is an advantage for the provider. Once the system has been implemented, it works automatically. Automation is a decisive advantage for providers, since no follow-up costs are incurred.

For certain events, such as a completed order, the customer expects a confirmation. Trigger emails thus meet customer expectations and can help keep customer loyalty at a high level throughout the customer lifetime value. This aspect is even more important from the customer’s point of view. Providers who exceed customer expectations can expect a correspondingly high level of commitment. The example of birthday emails with tailor-made discounts illustrates this well.

As with all commercial emails, certain information is legally binding. For example, a opt-out-button when signing up for a newsletter or sending an invoice to confirm the transaction. Certain legal aspects should be taken into consideration in the case of trigger-based marketing, in order not to attract the disappointment of customers and legislators.