Autoresponder

An autoresponder is a feature present in many email marketing applications and consists of automatically sending scheduled and sequenced emails to contacts. For autoresponders to be sent, the actions or events configured as autoresponder triggers must occur or not.

1. examples of autoresponders

The first example of an autoresponder is very simple and is present in all email clients, it is sent when the user is out of the office. It’s as simple as accessing the email manager’s settings and indicating that any email received will be answered automatically with the message “Out of the office”.

In the second example, an autoresponder is programmed to send a course, consisting of twelve lessons that will be sent every 7 days. The autoresponder would have the following structure:

• First email: After the student registers, the first lesson is sent immediately.
• Second email: After the first message, the system will wait seven days and send the second lesson.
• Third email: After the second message, the system will wait seven days and send the third lesson.
• Fourth email: After the third message, the system will wait seven days and send the fourth lesson.
• …
• Twelfth email: After the eleventh message, the system will wait seven days and send the last lesson.

In this second example, all the autoresponder emails are sent without the autoresponder recipient being able to change them. All actions are positive and happen in order, without variation.

In this third example, after buying a product, the customer receives confirmation that the purchase has been successfully completed. 10 days later, they are sent a satisfaction survey and, if they answer the survey, 10 days later they will be sent a 20% discount for future purchases. If they don’t answer the survey, they will receive a 5% discount for future purchases. The autoresponder would be set up with the following structure:

• First message: After payment confirmation, the customer receives a thank you email with information about the delivery process, explaining that the item will arrive within 48 hours.
• Second message: after the first email, the system will wait 10 days and send a link to a satisfaction survey.
• Third message: if they respond to the survey within 5 days, an email will be sent with a 20% discount and a thank you for taking part.
• Fourth message: if they don’t respond to the survey within 5 days, only a 5% discount will be sent.

In this third example, the behavior of the email recipient will affect the autoresponder. If the subscriber takes action, a specific email will be sent to them, but if they do nothing, another email will be triggered automatically. The same subscriber can’t receive the entire sequence of emails; their actions define the emails they receive.

2. Advantages of using autoresponders

The use of autoresponders brings significant benefits. Using an email marketing system like Mailrelay that has an autoresponder gives your business an advantage by making it easier to send scheduled emails to your contacts and subscribers.

– Cost savings: automations allow you to save time and therefore money, as you can invest the time saved in other tasks.

– Precise segmentation: an autoresponder allows us to adapt the message according to the type of customer we are communicating with, for example, based on the subscription form from which they registered on our subscriber list.

– Message control: This type of system allows us to have absolute control over the messages we will send and ensure that they are consistent with our marketing plan. Controlling to whom, what, when, where and why each email is sent.