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December 6, 2023

This Email Strategy Skillfully Combats Long Wait Times // Local Marketing Insider #071

How one shoe company navigates 2 months from purchase to delivery.

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Back in August, I bought a pair of dress shoes online. 

I had never heard of the company before seeing the social ad. A company named Beckett Simonon.

But man, did they look good at a decent price. Beauties.

So I bought them. Done. A few weeks later, I got an email the shoes would be ready in 2 months. 2 months…what the? What did I buy?

This precise moment – a moment of surprise and remorse – is where the effectiveness of Beckett’s email strategy took hold.

The emails told a story. Beckett’s craftsmanship. What Beckett is all about. And this messaging strategy completely flipped my view.

3 Ways Beckett Simonon, a Shoe Retailer, Uses Email to Keep Buyers Happy and Informed for 2 months Between Purchase and Delivery

1. It feels human

Send emails from this: “Nicolas at Beckett”

Not this: “Beckett Simonon”

Intro email

Nick’s emails are automated, but they create more of a personal connection than faceless system notifications would.

We’ve always followed a similar process here at Widewail - our emails come from an identifiable team member. 

There is an arbitrary cutoff point for this type of personalization. Somewhere around “big” or
“enterprise.” Nimble small/medium brands take note: personality can be a differentiator.

2. Order status bar

During production, Beckett sent out 3 order update emails. Each had this visual at the top of the email.

Order status

It quickly communicates two key points:

  1. Order production status
  2. Shipping timeline

3. Meet the makers

Each email introduces buyers to a member of the shoemaking team, educates buyers on the basics of shoemaking, and updates order status.

Beckett uses 3 subject lines:

[Your Beckett Simonon ORDER UPDATE] Jake, meet our shoemakers!

[Your Beckett Simonon ORDER UPDATE], meet Nancy, crafting your upper!

[Your Beckett Simonon ORDER UPDATE] Henry and Ivan Daio - Long may they last!

people

Don’t assume your buyer knows your company in the beginning

Especially if social media ads are your customer’s entry point, copy Beckett’s strategy–build affinity and encourage future purchases with email. Don’t assume buyers are familiar with the unique details of your company.

Beckett’s process communicates critical information with added charm. It builds trust and communicates the premium nature of its shoes, a key value prop.


2 months later...

IMG_3317

Their maiden voyage will be next week. To the dance floor!

See you in 2 weeks - Jake, Marketing @Widewail

Tag(s):

Jake Hughes

I’m the Director of Marketing here at Widewail, as well as a husband and new dad outside the office. I'm in Vermont by way of Boston, where I grew the CarGurus YouTube channel from 0 to 100k subscribers. I love the outdoors and hate to be hot, so I’m doing just fine in the arctic Vermont we call home. Fun fact: I met my wife on the shuttle bus at Baltimore airport. Thanks for reading Widewail’s content!

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