Happy New Year! Welcome to the final Email Hall of Fame of 2018, highlighting some the best and worst transactional and triggered emails for December.
We hope you enjoy them — and learn from them — as much as we do.
Hall of Fame:
Who:
Capital One Eno, the credit card company’s ‘intelligent assistant’
What’s Good:
What’s not to love about this email? Capital One detected two identical charges, from the same retailer, occurring at exactly the same time. But rather than waiting for the customer to dispute the duplicate, the unusual card activity triggered this email, asking the customer if the second charge might have been a mistake.
That’s what we call a phenomenal customer experience.
What’s Exceptional:
If your credit card company sends you an email with the subject line, “It looks like you were charged twice,” what are you going to do? You’re going to open it, of course, and immediately.
And once opened, the body of the email is clean and uncluttered, providing everything necessary — who, what, where, when, how much — and nothing else. Providing the last four digits of the card number is a nice touch, particularly for a customer who has multiple cards.
And the copy on those CTA buttons virtually screams clarity. There’s very little that could possibly be easier to understand than, “Yes, I made both,” and, “No, help me fix this.”
And bonus points for allowing the customer to rate the helpfulness of the information from right inside the email itself.
Who:
Wayfair, the home decor and furnishings e-commerce company
What’s Good:
We’ve featured a Wayfair email before but damn, they’re good at this. Their shipping notifications tell the customer everything they need to know right up front — when the order was placed, when and by what method it was shipped, the destination address, when delivery can be expected, and the item ordered.
What’s Exceptional:
Wayfair exceeds expectations by including a photo of what the customer ordered. Customers appreciate the visual reminder but it’s surprising how many retailers fail to include an image (see Amazon below).
But there’s more — Wayfair also offers related product recommendations and daily deals. It might seem like a lot — and it is — but by putting the most important information first, Wayfair makes sure the additional content doesn’t detract from the email’s primary purpose. And it’s a pretty safe bet those offers generate revenue.
Who:
Wealthsimple, the online investment management service
What’s Good:
That GIF.
The email itself is simple and straightforward, offering an existing customer a clearly-explained, newly-launched service.
What’s Exceptional:
BUT THAT GIF!
It’s simply gorgeous and quite mesmerizing. But even beyond the novelty factor, the GIF is totally on brand. The Wealthsimple website is peppered with equally beautiful animations, all incorporating their signature gold color.
And with a product targeted toward millennials, a well-conceived GIF is never out of place.
