I’ve received a number of well designed email campaigns in the last few weeks from (mainly retail) web sites. What I haven’t received yet is any marketing messages in transactional emails from sites I engage with. Just the other day I reset my password for my account on a large retail store website. I don’t shop there much but I know I have an account which makes ordering easier. The email came through with clear instructions on how to reset my password and gain access to the site. What they missed was an opportunity to provide an additional marketing message about products on sale for the christmas season. In fact they missed an opportunity after I reset my password too! I still ordered something, but I may have ordered more if I had been tempted – and fallen for the upsale. Everyone loves a deal.

Transactional email is underestimated as a tool to deliver your message. It doesn’t mean you need to send a full marketing campaign with each password reset, or with a notification that someone has posted on your wall. It is however a great opportunity to tell your users about new features, new products or simply something about your company that makes them know that they are valuable to you.

Transactional emails have an almost perfect open rate. When compared to mass emails a simple notification in a transactional email might put you one step ahead of your competitors who are ending up in the junk folder.

Are you missing an opportunity? We think you might be.

Find out more at Sailthru.com

Seriously, come on people!

How many of you spend more than two hours writing and designing your monthly newsletter? A newsletter that will get an open rate of under 20%.

Now how long did you spend writing and designing your reset password email? You know the email, the one people get when they have forgotten their password and haven’t been to your site in a while. The one that gets an open rate close to 100%.

You might want to tell them something about your site, a new feature perhaps or a discount?

I ask you to think differently about your email in future. Spend time where it should be spent, on transactional email then your marketing emails.

Please use the comments below to tell me your most valued transactional email and what you’ve done to make it more powerful to your business.