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Mastering Customer Retention Emails to Keep Users Engaged

Last updated on Wed Nov 06 2024


When you have a product, the next thing you would want is to have your product attract users and retain them. Guess what? Users also want to find a product that just does it for them without jumping from one product to another. But most times, it just doesn't happen that way!

Nowadays, we see a lot of products losing customers. For example, the average mobile app loses 90% of its daily active users within 30 days. Shocking right? That is a massive loss percentage but that is also the reality of things. This has become a great source of concern for SaaS products which rely on free trials to draw users in.

Fortunately, there are now a lot of tested and trusted methods for customer retention. Most times, all you need to do to re-engage your users and keep them conscious of your product, is as easy as just saying “hello” to them through an email. These kinds of emails are known as customer retention emails. If you are a Product manager who is serious about reducing this customer loss rate, then you should see these emails as a very effective way of reaching your users.

Other methods have been discussed in our article on how to enhance user engagement. You can check it out.

Now, let us take a look at some companies using this emailing technique and pick a lesson or two from them.

Companies Doing Customer Retention Emails Right

If you take a walk through your email inbox right now, there is a 100% chance that you will find an overflowing inbox filled with a lot of unread emails with most of them being from apps you signed up for but are no longer using.

These emails are called retention emails and they each play an important role in keeping you reminded that they still exist. Funny, now that you think about it. Yes, you are that user!

Here are 10 companies that have been listed for you:

1. LinkedIn: Welcome Email

LinkedIn: Welcome Email

When we think of “retention”, we think along the lines of “an afterissue”. In our heads, we probably think “Oh they will sign up and get to explore the page a bit. Then at that point, we will throw some retention strategies at them”.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but some users do not even wait to finish the sign-up process before they leave. Welcome emails are those emails that are used to tackle churn straight away because the actual risk of churn starts as soon as these users subscribe.

For LinkedIn, this is what they do: As soon as a user signs up, a welcome email is sent to welcome the user and to declare the value of what LinkedIn stands for right away. They remind users that networking on the world's largest professional platform is valuable.

Many other welcome emails do this as well, but what singles LinkedIn out is its call to action (CTA). The welcome email comes with a broad CTA at the top of the mail that redirects users back to the site and a number of other smaller CTA that cover key propositions.

2. Chubbies: Abandoned Cart Email

The second company on the list is Chubbies. Their best form of customer retention email is the “Abandoned cart” email. This is because an alarming 69% of online shoppers leave their carts before clicking “purchase.” You can’t say you haven’t done this before!

Well, good news: Abandoned cart emails are here to save the day! According to statistics, about 1 in 5 shoppers open these emails and half lead to a purchase. Amazing right?

Chubbies often make use of a unique style and imagery to re-engage users. The image helps to remind them of the items they left behind, while the copy creates a sense of care and helpfulness.

3. Mailchimp: “Later Customer Education” Email

Every app has its major features which it uses to draw users quickly. But, some of these apps also have peripheral features that empower users even more.

Mailchimp is an example of this kind of app. Mailchimp's primary feature is to make bulk emailing easy and achievable. However, it also has an automation system that can help customers save time.

They inform customers about this through their “later customer education.” email. Instead of including just a link to talk about its automation feature, they also include a video that effectively shows users how to do complex tasks. This also showcases an amazing communication strategy.

4. Quora: Product Habit-Building Email

Despite having many forms, Quora’s major and primary product remains content. They share quality content which attracts users to always check out and encourages creators to engage deeply.

Just like other social media platforms, Quora promotes a product habit in its users. Quora uses personalized data to craft exciting triggers, making its content digest unique compared to many other emails. Hence, most times you receive an email that seems tailor-made for you.

5. Grammarly: Promotional Offer Email

Grammarly: Promotional Offer Email

When done right, promotional emails can help you gain paid memberships. However, if done poorly, they may be marked as spam.

Grammarly comes up with an amazing ideal promotional offer that speaks to anyone who is passionate about writing well. The crisp email allows the CTA to shine, while the accompanying GIF elevates the message.

6. Shopify: Expiring Trial Email

A lot of times, free trial users never convert. After using the free trial, they run off to probably look for the next free trial. However, there are some users who actually do upgrade to a paid account. There is also the case of people who sign up for the free trial but never get to try out the product.

Shopify's email acknowledges these users who sign up but never try the product. Hence, their email focuses on the core value of building an online store and offers a CTA for extending their trial to encourage them to try out their product.

7. Buffer: Progress Email

Progress emails are one of the best retention emails. They are usually used by companies to keep their users engaged without appearing intrusive or spammy. These kinds of emails help remind your users of your product’s existence-: “Hello, hi, I still exist. Don’t forget me!”

Buffer makes use of these progress emails to inform users when their content queue is empty or when post analytics are available. This motivates the users to do more and engage with the product.

8. Amazon: Deals and Offers Emails

Amazon: Deals and Offers Emails

Amazon is another company that utilizes customer retention emails very well. They send out deals and offers with attention to personalizing each one, which helps them to stay out of spam and safely inside the inbox.

With Big Data, they can track user behavior and are able to send out tailored emails that focus on deals that are related to the users’ preferences.

9. Groove: Feature Announcement Email

With Feature announcement emails, businesses are able to inform their users about new features on their products.

Groove makes use of this type of retention email so well by tracking customers’ feedback through feature requests. When the new feature has been added, they notify users through in-app messages and email the specific customers who requested the feature.

This makes users feel that their feedback matters and they also develop a sense of satisfaction and belonging.

10. Spotify: Milestone Email

These types of emails celebrate users' achievements, while also engaging consistent users by acknowledging their usage patterns. These emails are good for reminding users about the product’s value.

Spotify uses these emails to highlight users' streaming habits and gamify their experience. Through sending out personalized interactions, Spotify manages to keep its customers feeling valued and more connected to the platform.

Best Practices for Writing Customer Retention Emails

In writing any retention email, there are certain things that are similar to all retention emails. Certain features appeal to readers across all types of emails and these features have been grouped into four principles below:

  • Use their name in the subject line.

    Personalization matters. Users love it when certain things seem curated just for them. It makes them feel special. So why not just give people what they want?

  • Make sure your subject line is catchy and engaging: this can be a deciding factor as to whether a user will open your mail or not. When you make use of an engaging subject line, you are

    offering customers a reason to open your email!

  • Always Include at least one CTA:

    Your aim is to bring users back! Make it easy for them with just a click of a link. You can make use of tools like retail digital signage tools to enhance your email campaign game.

  • Write in your brand voice.

    Your tone should always match your app and marketing materials. It gives your users more trust in your product.

Use Different Retention Emails to Maximize Retention

There are various reasons different customers stop using your product. If you send only one customer retention mail type, it might solve one customer’s problem but what about the others that left for other reasons? Sending a single type of email is not effective enough.

To maximize your product’s productivity, you should build a range of retention emails that can be used to reach various user types and engage with them.

A very vital tool to always look out for when trying to identify why a group of users has become inactive is your product data. When you analyze your product data, you can optimize and monitor the level of user engagement with your product.

Customer Retention Email FAQs

How Do You Encourage Customer Retention?

Make sure you are always giving value. If users see the value in a product regularly, they will be more compelled to stay. However, if your products see churn early on, then you may need to enhance their onboarding process.

What Is a Retention Email?

Retention emails are emails created for the main purpose of retaining users and reducing churn. They manage to communicate the product's value and bring back users through various tactics.

Does Email Marketing Retain Customers?

Yes. Email marketing remains an effective marketing channel to retain customers. Emails have a 21.33% open rate across industries, making them a budget-friendly way to remind users of your app’s value.