Email strategy teardown: Target
Great marketing is successful because it treats users as individuals.
Why Target?
A successful email marketing strategy treats your subscribers as people rather than as email addresses on a master list. It uses what you know about your subscribers to send relevant, timely emails that drive sales
I decided to break down the email strategy of Target — the second-largest discount store retailer in the United States.
I signed up for emails with Target. Took a few actions.
Then watched to see how the experience unfolded.
We wanted to see if a brand this huge has crafted an email marketing strategy as big and successful as their name, and if there’s anything that could be done better.
The backstory of Target
Target was founded in 1827 and has 1,828 stores around the world. They sell everything from beauty and health products to electronics to food — pretty much everything — and are good at it.
Here's what happened...
We signed up for email newsletter and received a welcome series and email newsletters.
We abandoned a cart and received robust abandon cart auto responders.
We purchased after the abandoned cart and received order confirmation and shipping emails.
Email deep dive
Let’s look at their three week email strategy.
1. Sign up for their emails
2. One week later abandoned a cart
3. Make a purchase a week later
Target emails
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Email strategy deep dive
Let’s look at their three week email strategy.
1. Sign up for their emails
2. One week later abandoned a cart
3. Make a purchase a week later
Daily email strategy
|
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Day 4 |
Day 5 |
Day 6 |
Day 7 |
Day 8 |
Day 9 |
Day 10 |
Day 11 |
Day 12 |
Day 13 |
Day 14 |
Day 15 |
Day 16 |
Day 17 |
Day 18 |
Day 19 |
Day 20 |
Day 21 |
Day 22 |
Day 23 |
Day 24 |
|
Subscribed to emails |
Abandoned cart |
Purchase |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Welcome |
Welcome 2 |
Weekly ad |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Order confirmation |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Weekly ad |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
Promo |
||
|
Weekly ad |
Abandoned cart |
Abandoned cart 2 |
Order shipped |
Order delivered |
The good, the bad, the ugly
Customer experience
They provide a great customer experience throughout the purchasing process. Everything from “good to know” post-purchase info to status updates on delivery.
Abandoned cart reminders
Ecommerce customers who received multiple abandoned shopping cart emails are 2.4 times more likely to complete the purchase than those who receive only one follow up email. (Source: Experian, 2016). Target sent two abandoned cart reminders and incorporated my abandoned product into their weekly updates and daily promotions.
Overwhelming
The weekly ads and promotion emails had too much going on. Focus on one promotion paired with a clear call to action
Mix it up
The second abandoned cart email was identical to the first. Adding a discount to the second email might help increase recovery rates.
In conclusion
Target provided a great customer experience throughout the buying process and added a cool spin to their newsletters by incorporating abandoned products. They can work on cleaning up their emails by making them a little less cluttered and overwhelming.
