Transactional email

A transactional email is an email that is sent to a single recipient as a result of an action.

There are many types of transactional emails, and you have surely received one not long ago. Some of the actions that trigger the sending of a transactional email include password recovery, validating a purchase, confirming registration from a form, verifying the validity of an email address, requesting a service review, tracking an order, etc.

1. Advantages of transactional emails

Transactional emails are very important in any business and you have to take care of their content as much as you do when you create an email marketing campaign and design the email you will send. Some of the advantages of transactional emails are:

– Increase loyalty. Sent at the right time and in the right manner, these types of emails foster loyalty and create a sense of closeness.

– They favor brand awareness. Customers usually want to receive transactional emails as they provide valuable information and create a clear opportunity to improve your branding strategy.

– Reduce workload for customer service. By providing customers with updated information, you can reduce the number of inquiries about order status or general questions.

– Improve user experience. They are very valuable in ensuring a satisfactory experience in any type of situation.

– Personalize communications. Although they are automated, they are sent individually to each contact, which adds a personal touch for each customer.

– Enable cross-selling and up-selling. Since these emails are expected by the customer, their open rate is very high, making them a key element for increasing sales.

2. Differences between email marketing and transactional email

Mass emails or email marketing campaigns differ a lot from transactional emails. Here are the differences between both types of emails:

• Email marketing allows you to reach many recipients at the same time, whereas transactional emails are more personalized communications, as they are a response to a specific action carried out by a particular person.
• In transactional emails, there is no obligation to include an unsubscribe link, whereas it is necessary when creating mass email campaigns.
• The recipient of a transactional email is someone who has interacted with our website or app (they do not necessarily have to be customers), whereas in email marketing, recipients are established or potential customers.
• Transactional emails must be delivered as quickly as possible, as an immediate response to an action. Meanwhile, in email marketing campaigns, newsletters can be scheduled since the recipient doesn’t expect an immediate response or notification.