3 rules for sending effective email (and how to do it using Faire)

When brands do email marketing right, it can be an incredibly effective tool. However, when brands don’t segment their emails or personalize the content for different audiences, campaigns can have the opposite effect.

We’ve heard feedback from Faire retailers that too often they’re inundated with generic, one-size-fits-all emails from brands (particularly during peak seasons or during Faire Markets). As email fatigue sets in, retailers open fewer messages and engage less with campaigns—making it harder for brands to build strong customer relationships.

The difference between an effective email strategy and one that falls flat is audience consideration—emails sent to a targeted group of customers simply perform better. In fact, analysis of emails sent via Faire shows that when brands target their outreach, conversion rates double.¹

The good news for brands: Upleveling your email strategy to identify and target specific retailers just got easier with our new CRM tool. We’ve put together this quick guide to ensure you’re able to reach the right buyers at the right time.

1. Slice your customer base into segments

Segmentation involves grouping people based on certain shared characteristics in order to customize your messages, and as any email guide will tell you, it’s the starting point for a sound CRM strategy. 

Based on feedback from our brand community, we’ve made it easier to filter and segment your contacts on Faire into highly specific, customized audiences. These include:

• Suggested email segments: Quickly surface pre-populated lists of contacts who are tailor-made for timely email outreach, such as retailers with an abandoned cart, brands whose last order was more than 60 days ago, and brands with unused Faire Direct credit.
• Order history filters: Sort your contact list for specific groups of customers based on specific products ordered, the date of their last order, total order volume, and last order delivery date. (More on how to map these filters to exact messages in a bit.) 

We’ve also simplified the experience of creating a new segment of customers on Faire. You can mix and match criteria filters like: 

• Amount in cart or when shopping cart was last modified
• Store type, location, and/or language preferences
• Whether a retailer has left your brand a review on Faire
• Whether they have unused Faire Direct credit and/or credit that expires soon

Once you narrow down your list and understand which of your customers meet certain criteria, you can save this as a new segment in the brand portal. The more specific your segments, the more tailored and specific your messaging can be for each group. Make sure to clearly label each segment you create, such as “California retailers who made a purchase in 2023,” for easy reference moving forward.

New contacts who meet a particular segment’s criteria are added automatically. For example, if you create a segment for “California stores” and you receive an order from a new customer from California, they’ll automatically be added to that segment.

2. Message retailers based on their behavior

If you want your campaigns to inspire action from retailers, they have to be relevant to the recipient. Start by considering what you know about their past purchasing behavior that might inspire them to shop with you again. To that end, brands are now able to filter their customer list on Faire and create segments based on any products they’ve purchased in the past. You can then use these segments to craft messages that encourage new purchases while calling back to a retailer’s past history with your brand. For example, you might segment based on: 

• Products they have purchased, so you can send targeted announcements of new launches, restocks, and product-level discounts
• Products they haven’t purchased, so you can effectively cross-sell or up-sell your products based on potential retailer needs
• Date of retailers’ most recent orders, so you can announce seasonal sales 

3. Tune your frequency to your audience

One of the more challenging aspects of email strategy is staying personal while avoiding email oversaturation as the volume of retailers in your database grows. Frequency is just as important as segmentation, but the right frequency is going to depend on the audience you’re reaching and the action you’re nudging them to take.

• For prospects, frequent emails risk coming across as spam and may decrease your chances of converting recipients into customers. You might consider engaging these folks a few times each month and, to ensure they automatically qualify as a Faire Direct relationship, no less than once every three months.
• Existing customers and targeted segments of retailers are more likely to engage with more frequent email. You might email these retailers once per week. Keep a close eye on your open and click-through rates, as well as total orders, and be ready to pull back if engagement rates begin to drop.

Some campaigns, like a splashy email inviting customers to shop the newest additions to your line, are only relevant seasonally—you’ll send these just a few times a year. Or, if you’ve created a segment of buyers who’ve added an item to their shopping cart in the past week, you might message that group every Monday, since that list will refresh each week. (When you do, consider including a promo code and/or making sure they’re aware of Faire’s free returns on opening orders.)

When you find a campaign cadence that works, try to stay consistent. When a retailer knows they can expect a newsletter from your brand each month, or outreach about a sale each season, they’re not only less likely to unsubscribe from your campaigns, but they will ideally look forward to your offers and insights.

A better email experience for brands and retailers alike

With these tips in mind and Faire’s CRM tools at the ready, you’ll be well on your way to sending more effective emails that drive purchase behavior and deepen retailer relationships. Good email segmentation practices make for a healthy ecosystem: Retailers have less cluttered inboxes and more time to spend discovering new products, while brands like yours can uplevel the customer experience.

Visit the brand portal to explore our new filters, start segmenting your customers, and ultimately up your email engagement rates.

We’re committed to building even more tools to help brands like yours send more effective and targeted emails. Have an idea for a helpful feature? Leave us feedback in our Brand Community Facebook group so we can continue to improve Faire’s tools together.

¹Based on brand-sent campaigns sent to <90% of audience in Q3’22