The smartest marketers in the world. Learn from Amazon

Previously, we translated and published an article that tried to reveal the secrets of success for Dropbox. Judging by the number of views, the topic was claimed. Therefore, we decided to translate another article about the company, which for many, including us, is a benchmark in certain areas. So, Amazon has 237 million active customers . If they all lived in one country, then it would be the fourth in the world in terms of population. In the US, for example, Amazon owns 30% of the e-commerce market - such a market, even with all the desire, can not be called niche.

What made this company so big? After all, it has access to exactly the same tools, people, software and infrastructure as any other retailer. The answer to this question, though simple, covers every small detail in the business: Amazon is based on an innovative culture . Let's try to figure it out? If you share your thoughts about this - we will be grateful.
In 2013, the company spent 6.5 billion on research and development. Although this is certainly an impressive amount, it is only 5% of how much the government spends a year. It is fair to say that investing in research and development cannot be equated with innovation. The key to the latter is not money. It is the desire to tirelessly try something new, often make mistakes and quickly improvise.
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At Amazon, innovation has crept into every aspect of the business, from the top to its very bottom. Here is an excerpt from Jeff Bezos's speech from the board of directors meeting (2011):

If you constantly invent something, but at the same time are ready to fail, you will never reach the point where you need to put a whole company at stake. The Amazon Web Services project started about 6 or 7 years ago. At the moment, we are committed to planting more and more seeds, which are still too early to say, however, we intend to plant them further. And I can guarantee you that not everything that we do will work. And I never worry about it. We are unshakable in our vision, but flexible in details.

Unshakable in strategy, flexible in tactics

The purpose of this article is not to praise Amazon. Rather, it is a consideration of the practical significance of their innovations, especially as regards email and content marketing.

In the usual advertising department, email marketing is highly dependent on advertising messages and newsletters. Coupons, information about discounts and product is sent to a huge number of customers and potential buyers. Occasionally they acquire something. It looks like a shot in the dark.



I am not saying that template messages and calls to action do not work, this is not so, however, at best, they are addressed only to a small proportion of recipients.

Amazon has a completely different approach. Each email is personalized using the share of information that the company has about its users: behavior on the site, past purchases, amounts spent, location, age, gender, etc.



Instead of showing you random samples drawn from our inbox, we created a new account on Amazon, made a couple of purchases and started collecting emails. What we found is really interesting, and very impressive. Below you will find both the letters that came to us and the reasons for which we received them (our behavior, purchases, etc.). You can use these templates in another business to compose the right messages and send them at the right time, always.

LIFESTYLE

Amazon Posting Method

This method is not beautiful, it is functional. A company like Apple devotes a lot of time to aesthetics, while Amazon pays a lot to efficiency. The entire purchase process is fully debugged, from start to finish.
When it comes to emails, Amazon doesn't waste time on “special effects.”

However, Amazon has message templates that can be personalized based on your behavior. And the longer you are their client, the more information they have on you.

START HERE

1 Welcome letter



Since Amazon doesn't know much about me yet, they can do almost nothing to personalize the message. They offer a brief overview of their services and show where to find the most important information about my account. There is a clearly marked call to action, and the yellow button contains a clear, harmless message.

Why? - one of the questions often asked in business. This is a good question. A no less good question: Why not?

Jeff bezos

It is worth noting that the information that Amazon has added to the message is not vital for a new user, but may well push him to action, and, therefore, will allow to collect more data about him. The letter mentions the following: support service, best product, availability of digital content, a special mobile application, and a link to Twitter and Facebook. (Remember that you can really make purchases on Amazon through Twitter!)

This message, in fact, is transactional, but it contains much more. Amazon sent over 200 million welcome emails - they narrowed down the options for templates and content so that people visit their website and make purchases as quickly as possible (for those working with SAAS, learn how to shorten the path from a trial version to paid access) . A transactional letter with cleverly interspersed advertising is a juicy fruit that one wants to pluck.

2 Receipt



From the receipts that are sent by e-mail, one thing is required - they must be useful. They are intended to communicate purchase information. So the buyer is much easier to keep track of the latter.

Amazon brought such letters to a new level, adding additional functionality. Take, for example, the links in this post. By clicking on the order number, you will be taken directly to the page with the order itself. There you can track it, write a review or purchase something else.

We can afford to focus on the smallest defects and eliminate them in the bud. This reduces costs simply because it works.

Jeff bezos

Right under the product name there are links to share them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Why not? It is unlikely that so many buyers, but by sending millions of receipts a year, Amazon can turn an ordinary customer into a seller. Social proof is undoubtedly one of the key factors by which a company sells.

You may also notice that Amazon has added the “Your Recommendations” link to the email. This signals the start of data collection. Clicking on this link allows you to go to the page of recommended products, dynamically created specifically for a particular customer.

3 Delivery Confirmation



This letter is almost identical to the receipt, except that the button here points to the tracking information for the package, not the purchase details.
No need to disassemble this message block by brick, as we did it above. However, you need to ask yourself one question: how effective should this letter be if Amazon sends the same content and call to action twice?

4 Thank you letter

“Thank you for your purchase on Amazon. Here are some ways to help you make more purchases, on any device and platform. ”



Essentially, this letter means exactly what it says, however, Amazon does an excellent job using it to work with new customers. Let's take a look at everything that is in it:

• Amazon Prime: Pay an annual fee and get free two-day delivery and other membership benefits.
• Amazon Mobile App: Shop for your smartphone.
• Gold Box: Promotions for products, downloadable content and even for events in your area.
• Subscribe & Save: Subscribe to any product, and Amazon will automatically purchase it every month.
• Kindle: Read (and buy!) Books.
• Fire Tablets: Amazon's iPad rival, which also has shopping apps.
• Amazon Fire TV: Analogue of Roku and Apple TV, gives users access to digital content through a premium subscription.
• Fire Phone: A smartphone that comes with a premium subscription and improved customer support from Amazon.
• Facebook: Stay up to date with various promotions.
• Twitter: Add items to your list of desired purchases on Amazon using the hashtag.

This letter, without any doubt, is of an advertising nature, however, for all the time that I was purchased on Amazon, I had no idea about the existence of these things. This is really useful information. Few companies greet their customers in this way. If you can offer more than one service, why not introduce the rest of your business to newcomers?

5 Invitation



Maybe because I made a purchase immediately a few days after creating a new account, Amazon decided to strike while the iron is hot. In this letter, they invite me to register on the website called MyHabit.com, which oversees the sale of clothing and other fashionable products.

There are two things in this post that I find very interesting:

1. There is a clear trend.
Within five days of registering an account, I made two purchases.
• October 21: Account Registration
• October 23: Purchase # 1
• October 26: Purchase number 2
• October 31: Invitation to visit MyHabit.com
My shopping history speaks for itself. They needed to do quite a bit to tempt me to purchase goods. They see this as a signal that I am ready to spend my money, and they are trying to instill in me the habit of frequent purchases.

We at Amazon have three main principles that we have been following for the past 18 years and which are the reasons for our success: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

Jeff bezos

In accordance with what Nir Eyal, the author of The Customer on the Hook, writes, frequency is the fastest way to develop a new habit.

In a recent study by University College London, participants tried to inculcate the habit of using flossing. It showed that the more often new behavioral elements appeared, the more the habit increased. As well as brushing your teeth with the help of a thread, frequent visits to sites or the use of applications will most likely form new habits.

2. Here we see the use of demographic data
This letter, like the site itself, shows men's clothes in public about my age. When I click "Show Now", then, instead of the home page, it throws me at the men. Here you can see stylish looking guys, whose age ranges from 25 to 30 years.
MyHabit.com sells me the best version of me, and he does it right through email.



* Image transfer: A person who is a potential buyer + your product = Awesome person who can do amazing bullshit!