In 2016 when I first joined SmartrMail the vision was simple: most merchants don’t know where to start when it comes to email for commerce, they need an app that with the push of a button will send the right products to the right customers .
We set out building a basic tool that sent weekly emails with a personalized recommendation of products for each customer. We thought it would be an overnight hit, but like most merchants we quickly learned that email is a lot more than a simple weekly blast. To really succeed with email you need the bells and whistles, abandoned carts, welcome emails, winbacks and more. Over the last 4 years we built all of these, bringing on 18,000+ customers and adding 16 happy Smartr People from 6 countries along the way.
Through all this one thing has remained true: most merchants don’t know where to start when it comes to email for commerce, they need an app that with the push of a button will send the right products to the right customers.
In 2020, through a global pandemic, we managed to bring that vision a whole lot closer and make SmartrMail the most powerful email tool for commerce, with more super powered multi-step automations, still with a simple push button start.
Here’s what we made:
New automations
It wasn’t that long ago that sending a single welcome email was the norm. Now the expectations and tools have evolved. A welcome series should be a collection of emails split between customers and non-customers. The first split thanks them for their purchase, emphasizes your story, and adds a whole lot of brand butter to turn them into a customer for life. Those that haven’t purchased should get similar, but the messaging needs to be different. You’ve got their email, they’re interested, do everything you can to get them to make their first purchase!
This complexity is now required across most automations and is a necessity if you want to compete with the best. With our new automations you get these all out of the box when you install SmartrMail.
But that’s not where it gets interesting. As a merchant you’ll see these complex flow charts but…
- How do I design my template?
- What products do I add to my email?
Magic designer
After 3 brand updates, I must admit even I don’t remember our colour hex codes off by heart. Uploading logos, choosing fonts, matching colors is a pain when you first setup an app.
Now with SmartrMail, as soon as you install our app. Our magic fairies get to work designing an email template that perfectly matches your site. Logo, colours, fonts, social links, you name it. It’s all ready for you when you go to set up your first newsletter or automation.
You’re probably already ready to push that button, but wait there’s more.
Smart product blocks
The early days of SmartrMail were a seemingly simple app that sent a weekly email, with some pretty powerful product recommendations underneath the hood. By the end of the year these product recommendations will be rolled out on every email type in SmartrMail.
The “standard” email app for commerce gives you a winback series template with a black and white email and a few lines of text. You’ve got a whole lot of work to do before you activate it.
In SmartrMail it’s done for you right when you install. A winback series to reactivate lapsed customers, an email template that matches your brand, and the products that will actually get them coming back to your site already added. All you have to do is press that button!
One more thing: Our new Popup
It’s not push button automations done for you, but it’s too good not to mention. Other popup apps are good, but delve too far away from a template and it’s like you’re flying a Boeing 777 with the auto-pilot off as you navigate through seemingly hundreds of controls. We launched a new popup builder this year that gives you a pop up that matches your brand by default but also allows you to truly customize the look and feel with the ease of use SmartrMail is loved for.
Looking ahead
The list of features built by the SmartrMail team this year is too long for one blog post. The work we were able to get done this year in the midst of a global pandemic has been impressive. We also have our amazing customers to thank who’ve battled with us through a challenging year.
2021 will be filled with more prebuilt automations, smarter recommendations, premade blocks like coupons and instagram galleries, and a fresh new coat of paint that’s already in the works. SmartrMail is and will be easier, quicker and more powerful than any email marketing app for commerce.
We’re due for a quick breather, but we can’t wait to get started. See you in 2021!
