Thank you emails with next order coupon
Learn how to send next-order coupon emails automatically to drive repeat purchases.
Retainful automates sending unique, single-use coupon codes for a customer’s next purchase. After setting it up, Retainful handles the follow-up emails, allowing you to focus on other tasks.
What is a Next Order Coupon?
When a customer completes an order, Retainful generates a unique coupon code for their next purchase, automatically sending it via email. No manual intervention is required.
Why Next Order Coupons are important?
Getting new customers through ads can be expensive. However, using next-order coupons to encourage repeat purchases can help you save money and make more sales.
Example If you spend $100 on ads to get 10 visitors, and only 1 person buys something for $50, you lose $50 because they don’t come back. If your ads are less effective and only 1 out of 100 visitors buys, your costs go up to $1,000, which means you lose $950.
That's why it's important to get customers to buy again. Once you've got a customer, getting them to return costs a lot less—usually about 1/10th of what you spent to get them the first time. Next Order Coupons encourage customers to come back, helping you save money and increase sales in the long run.
Best Practices for Next Order Coupon Emails
A well-timed series of emails can drive repeat purchases and increase customer loyalty. Here are some best practices:
We recommend 3-4 emails to engage customers effectively.
An effective Next Order Coupon Workflow should consist of at least three emails. The recommended sequence for these emails is as follows:
Email 1: Thank them for the purchase
This email can be sent anytime between 10 minutes to 1 hour after the purchase.
Use this email to thank the customers for their purchase and tell them that you are giving a coupon code for their next purchase, as a token of appreciation and a goodwill gesture.
Do not use this to promote your other products.
Email 2: Remind them about the waiting coupon.
This email should be sent 10 to 15 days before the coupon code expire.
While it serves as a reminder about the waiting coupon code, make sure to inform the customers about the expiry. example: "Your coupon will expire soon. Use it as soon as possible".
You can include best-selling or popular products from your store.
Email 3: Urgency
This should be sent 3 days before the coupon expires. Highlight the urgency as the coupon is only valid for the next 3 days.
Email 4: (Optional) Remind them about the expiry date.
This email can be sent 1 day before the expiry of the coupon code. Example: "Only 24 hours left for the coupon to expire"
Creating a Next Order Coupon Workflow
Login to your Retainful dashboard.
Go to Automation -> Create Workflow -> Thank You Email with Next Order Coupon.
3. Give a ‘Name’ to your Next Order Coupon workflow and click ‘Continue’
4. Now, you will be redirected to the automation workflow builder.
Trigger Setup
You can find the ‘Trigger’ at the top of the workflow. The trigger lets you determine when a customer can enter into the workflow. The trigger is set to allow anyone who makes a successful purchase at your store to enter into the workflow.
When you click on the trigger block, you will be able to see the trigger settings.
NOTE If you would like to set up any custom trigger rule or customer rule for the workflow, you can set it up inside the trigger setup. You can learn how to configure the trigger here
Coupon generation settings
The ‘Coupon’ block is the core element of the “Thank you email with next order coupon” workflow. You can click on the coupon block to find the coupon settings on the right side.
Here are the steps you need to follow to configure the “Next order coupon”.
Click on the ‘Coupon’ block.
Select the option for the coupon type.
Configure the coupon: Enter the coupon value, and set up the coupon expiry (Optional: You can enter a minimum order value if you would like to set up a minimum order value required for using the coupon).
Click on the “Update” button at the bottom to save your settings.
Now you’ve successfully configured the next order coupon block.
Email Settings
As you have configured the coupon, it’s time to set up the ‘Thank you email with the next order coupon’ emails.
You can click on the ‘Email’ block to configure the email subject line, preview texts, smart sending, and email content.
Subject Line: The subject line should be interesting enough to get the customer to open the email.
Preview text: You can set up a captivating preview text to motivate the customers to open the email.
Smart Sending: This lets you define a timeframe within which subscribers won't receive more than one email from you. This applies to all campaigns and workflows. You can learn more here.
Edit Email Content
Click on the "Edit Email Contents" button to edit the contents of the email. This will bring up the visual drag-and-drop email editor.
If you would like to change the email template, you can click on the ‘Change template’ button on the left top and select a template of your choice.
{{billing_address.first_name}} - The First name of the customer.
{billing_address.last_name}} - The last name of the customer.
{{customer_name}} - The full name of the customer (the first and the last name)
Make sure to select the ‘Use the coupon code generated by the coupon step’ in the coupon settings.
Click the "Save" button once you have added the desired content and changed the logo in the email template.
Retainful provides a few special components/blocks in the Email Editor for your Next Order Coupon emails. Here is the list of components.
In the default email templates, the Call-to-Action (CTA) button is linked to your store using the shortcode {{retainful_shop_url_with_coupon_code}}. This shortcode ensures the coupon code is automatically applied at checkout when customers click the CTA button and are redirected to your shop.
NOTE To know more about blocks in the email template editor, click here.
Once you have completed editing the email template, you can test the email.
With an email customized, return to the top of the email editor and click the ‘Send Test Email’ button to make sure all of the content displays as expected in your inbox.
Click the "Save" button once you have added the desired content and changed the logo in the email template.
Creating a series of emails in the workflow
Followed by the 1st Email block, we have the ‘Wait’ block in place to let the customer wait for 14 days before moving forward to the 2nd email block.
You can edit and customize the wait condition based on the expiry days you’ve set for the coupon.
Also, make sure to edit the 2nd email block and select the ‘Use the coupon code generated by the coupon step’ in the settings. And, you can customize the email subject line, preview texts, and email content if you want.
You ‘Save’ the email template once when you’re done with editing it.
Similarly, you can set up the 3rd wait condition based on the expiry days you’ve set for the coupon.
And, edit the 3rd email subject line, preview text, and email content. Most importantly, make sure to select the ‘Use the coupon code generated by the coupon step’ in the settings in the email template.
Click ‘Save’ when you’re done editing the email template.
Going Live
If you are ready to set live the Next Order Coupon Workflow, you can click on the ‘Start Workflow’ button on the right top to set live the workflow.
That’s it. You’ve successfully set live your Next Order Coupon Workflow in Retainful.
How to Test Your Next Order Coupon Workflow
This article will let you know how you can test the Next Order Coupon Workflow in your store
Make sure you have set live the Next Order Coupon Workflow at your Retainful dashboard -> Automation (The status of the workflow should be ‘Live’)
The recommended way to test your next order coupon workflow is by placing a successful order in your store. You can consider choosing a low-value product in your store for placing this order
Open your storefront (your online storefront) in a Private / Incognito window (so that you can test like a customer)
Place a successful order
You should receive the first Next Order Coupon email based on the interval you’ve set.
Example
By default, a customer will enter into the next order coupon workflow as soon as he/she placed a successful order
If you've set the 'Wait' condition as 10 minutes before sending the first email, then you should receive the first next order coupon email 10 minutes after placing the order
FAQs
Can I include the referral link in the next order coupon emails?
Yes, you can. Add the shortcode
{{referral_link}}to the email template. Note: Make sure the referral program is enabled in your Retainful dashboard.
Is it possible to send the next order coupon emails only if certain products are purchased?
Yes, you can send the next order coupon emails only when certain products are purchased. Use the 'Product Name' or 'Product ID' trigger rule to specify the products for which the next order coupon workflow will trigger.
How can I check the performance of the next order coupon workflow?
Go to your Retainful dashboard -> Automations -> Find the Next Order Coupon Workflow and click the Analytics icon next to the Edit Flow button to view workflow performance.
Where can I check the next order coupon conversions?
Go to your Retainful dashboard -> Metrics -> Conversions, and select ‘Post Purchase’ in the filter on the right side to view conversions made by the next order coupon (post-purchase) workflow.
Can I use the next order coupon emails to upsell/cross-sell products?
Yes, you can use the next order coupon emails to upsell/cross-sell products by adding static product blocks manually to the email templates.
How can I restrict customers from entering the next order coupon workflow more than once?
Edit the next order coupon workflow, click on the “Trigger” block, then select ‘Customer Rules’ on the right. From the dropdown, choose ‘Number of re-entries per customer’ to set the re-entry rule.
When will a customer exit from the next order coupon workflow?
By default, customers exit the workflow if they match any of the following criteria:
They unsubscribe from emails
They complete their path in the workflow
They match a custom ‘Exit Rule’ set for the workflow
How can I make customers exit the workflow as soon as they use the next order coupon?
In the workflow editor, click on the ‘+’ between the 2nd wait block and the 2nd email block, and add ‘Conditional Split Rules.’ In the split rule settings, click “Add Rules,” select ‘Flow behavior,’ and set ‘Coupon -> not used.’ Now, customers will receive the 2nd email only if they haven’t used the coupon. If a customer uses the coupon after the first email, they will be diverted to the ‘No’ path and can exit the workflow.
Where can I find the next order coupon emails?
Go to your Retainful dashboard -> Metrics -> Outbox, and select the next order coupon workflow name from the dropdown to view sent emails.
Can I restrict customers to use the next order coupon on specific products?
Currently, it’s not possible to set product-based usage restrictions for next order coupons.
Can I generate the next order coupons based on the previous order value?
At the moment, generating next order coupons based on previous order value is not supported.
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