5 Tips for Making Better Shipping Notifications Emails
Customers read shipping confirmation emails—they’re the only email you send that you can almost guarantee each of your customers wants to read. Having a good shipping experience is one of the main contributing factors to a customer buying from you again. Almost as important as quick, affordable shipping is keeping your customers informed. Because customers are likely to shop from you again if they know when their package ships, where it is, and when they’ll receive it, a good shipping confirmation email is crucial. And, again, these are the emails people read. Everyone is guilty of the cliche of waiting on a shipment to be delivered the moment they get the tracking number.
Customizable WYSIWYG Email Template Editor
Very few email subject lines excite people the way “Your order has shipped!” does. While people mostly have hyperfocus on the tracking link, there is still room for customization and improvements with the design. Most basic email templates are text-heavy and lack any identifiers that the email came from the company you bought the item from. A good email template can be an engaging way to engage with customers.
When you buy from a company like Amazon, you know that your email came from Amazon. They use their branding within the email. There’s information within the body or subject line and links that keep you within the Amazon ecosystem. These are components that any merchant needs to utilize.
A Detailed Subject Line
“Your order has shipped!” may be the default subject line, but many email builders offer dynamic fields that make it more specific. Opt for something like:
Good news, [Recipient Name]! Your order # [Order #] from [Store Name] has shipped!
This gives the customer the full information they need. It increases the likelihood that a customer will open the email to track their parcel instead of missing it, assuming it’s spam mail. It also makes identifying information like order # front and center.
Showcase Your Brand’s Logo and
Including branding elements like your store’s logo and banner and font colors may seem minor, but it does elevate your brand’s image in the customers’ eyes. Since most customers don’t have insight into the scope and scale of your operations, high-quality shipping notifications can be the bow on top of a good customer experience. If you ship orders out quickly and notify customers with a high-quality email, you can gain an advantage over your competitors.
Include a Tracking Link
This one is a gimme, but it is the most crucial part of a shipping confirmation email. A tracking number is sufficient, but it can be cumbersome to copy and paste into a carrier’s website—especially given the fact that a majority of people view shipping confirmation emails on their phones. Additionally, if your tracking number isn’t hyperlinked, it can tarnish your brand image.
Include Social and Support Links
Engagement is important. Since customers are more likely to read shipment notifications, finding ways to introduce your brand’s broader platforms is a great way to increase customer engagement. While social media platform icons are common additions to most email marketing platforms, shipping notifications have the added advantage of a high open rate.
As important as social media is, customers experiencing shipping delays are very likely to take to Twitter to complain about a missing package. Including shipping support for your customers adds safeguards to the process. Instead of tweeting about an order stuck in Chicago, it’s more likely that a customer will instead reach out to you for insight.
Include Order Item Information
The shipping process is a suspenseful experience for customers and merchants alike. As satisfying as it is to have your day’s orders picked up by a carrier, there’s the fear of the unknown that comes with it. Your customers feel this too. One simple safeguard to put in place is to make sure that your shipping confirmation emails contain the items within the order that have been shipped out.
Include Suggested Items
A sales opportunity that can be capitalized on more easily when a shipping experience is good is to highlight items similar to the ones a customer purchased. Though the success rate is generally low, it’s an opportunity for free publicity. Platforms like eBay offer this in their templates and are good ways for smaller businesses, especially on marketplaces, to highlight their brand further.
SMS Notifications
First of all, not every shipping notification needs to be an email. SMS notifications are becoming an increasingly popular form of customer correspondence. The functionality and ease of use they offer has come close to email notifications.
Send Customers to a Customizable Tracking Page
If you really want to capitalize on your brand’s presence, use a customizable tracking page. Most tracking links lead to a carrier’s tracking page. However, some platforms allow you to link to a tracking page that is an extension of your shipping confirmation emails or SMS messages.
