What are email confirmation messages?

Chances are, we have all received some sort of confirmation email from an online business at some point. For a smooth experience, eCommerce businesses should send confirmation emails to customers every step of the way. They are the perfect excuse to stay in contact with customers, both old and new, and make sure that communication is always running smoothly. 

Confirmation emails are about more than just authorizing a purchase. They let a customer know that whatever action they have taken with your company is valid and has been accepted. Nobody likes to be left in the dark. Sending a customer confirmation email simply lets people feel acknowledged and that whatever they are trying to do on your site has worked. 

Sending out these messages is a great way of building your brand reputation, and increasing trust and loyalty. It even helps to improve communications across the board. 

Why are they important? 

Confirmation emails add a huge amount of value to a customer experience. This is because people choose a firm to invest time and money into and want to know that everything went well at the other end. They also want to know that they won’t have to spend excess time chasing up a company to know it’s all okay. 

It doesn't matter if a company is a small startup business or a huge established enterprise. Sending a confirmation email is a simple, yet very effective, way for firms to communicate with customers. It’s basically a way of saying, “Thank you very much for investing in our firm. Everything is going smoothly”. 

Sending an automated email is all it takes. But the email should be upbeat, unique and confirm the action the customer has taken. 

Emails are usually sent after a customer has: 

• Signed up to the firm (this could be through creating an account or signing up to a newsletter) 

• Made a purchase

• Canceled an order

• Updated profile information

• Made a booking 

• Deleted the account

The message should say what the user has done and if there are any follow up steps to be taken. By using the best customer service software out there, emails can be pre-made and sent out automatically with the right message. 

Sending emails like this isn’t just to keep your customers happy. It creates more interest in your firm and allows you to engage customers in different areas. It also means that should a problem occur, it’s easier to find out what has happened. 

What to include:

Any content of the emails needs to be clear and precise. That means no confusing messages that will end up in transferred calls to the customer call center. 

The email title can be as simple as “Confirmation” so that customers will know what it is and are more likely to open it. The content of the message needs to come across as personal and follow the tone of the brand in terms of voice, even though it is an automated message. Make sure that it is clear who is sending the message. You can do this by making your logo big in the message and ensuring the brand name is clear. 

As a responsible eCommerce company, you also need to ensure you are following GDPR compliance as well, storing data safely, and getting permission from clients to send follow up emails. Just like customer care lets people know they are monitoring phone calls, it’s important to let people know what you are doing with their data. 

You also need to make sure that the company contact details are included and that there is an option to unsubscribe if they want. 

As part of the confirmation email, people may need to know what to do next. So, any instructions need to be clear and guide users. The emails should be opening and welcoming and so you should let people know they are welcome to contact you should there be any issues. 

Example email

An example may look like this: 

“Hi, Rob, 

Welcome to the Big Commerce community! 

This is to confirm you have officially signed up for our weekly newsletter. Thank you so much for signing up, we think you might like it here. 

As part of our newsletter, you can find out all about our bigcommerce themes, what’s new with us, and what we have in store for you. 

Now you have signed up, you don’t have to do anything right now, just sit back and enjoy the newsletter. 

If you do have any questions, feel free to phone us on XXX XXX XXX”

You might even want to take an opportunity to advertise your other services or products. 

Conclusion

Confirmation emails are an excellent way of creating loyalty, as well as making customers feel appreciated. Remember to be friendly in your messages and to make sure they are clear. Keeping customers in the loop with every step not only gives you a good reputation but keeps people coming back time and time again.