Automations could make all of the difference this holiday season

Review these 4 tips to help you maximize holiday sales ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Mailchimp]( [Drive holiday sales with advanced customer journey automation]( Automated emails have grown in popularity because they are effective and efficient. Not only do these emails see an average of a 93% increase in open rates and 174% in click rates compared to bulk email, they also help create a more personalized connection with your customers. Customer journeys are what enable that automation. So while you may have some basic journeys set up, we want to help you level up with a step-by-step guide to take full advantage of the holiday season. [Start Your Own Customer Journey]( [Connect your store and other business tools]( STEP 01: Connect your store and other business tools The first step is easy but crucial: make sure your online store is [connected to Mailchimp](. By routing the data from your online store to the Mailchimp platform, you gain the ability to create customized automations based on customer behaviors. You can also connect with business tools such as Facebook, LiveChat, Zapier, and more to bring even more useful data into your account. [Create a starting point]( STEP 02: Create a starting point Every automation begins with a starting point. Starting points are the first action a user takes that kicks off a series of predetermined actions. For example, when a user makes a purchase (starting point), they are automatically sent a confirmation email to follow up (action). To learn more different starting points you can set, click the link below: [Explore Our 20 Starting Points]( [Add rules and actions]( STEP 03: Add rules and actions Once you’ve set a starting point, there are a number of different actions and rules you can apply to it. For instance, "If/Else" rules can help you deliver relevant messages to your customers based on their on-site behaviors. These types of rules create a fork in the customer journey where their individual actions can take them down different paths. Here’s an example: IF) If a user has opened our email in the past 7 days they will get a reward thanking them for being a valued customer. ELSE) If they haven’t opened our email in the past 7 days they will get a message with an offer to bring them back to the site and get them re-engaged with the brand. To take some of the complexity out of setting actions and rules, we've created Pre-Built Customer Journeys to help guide you. You can use the ones we've made, or just use them as inspiration to build your own custom journeys. Visit the link below to learn about them. [Explore Our Pre-Built Journeys]( [Keep exploring and building your journey map] STEP 04: Keep exploring and building your journey map One automated journey is great, but the real magic of automation comes when you’ve built an ecosystem of automations to nurture and retain your customers. One “welcome” email is a good start, but try adding follow-up emails for abandoned carts or, if you made the sale, related products to purchase. Make it a regular practice to keep building out multiple automations so you can automatically connect with your customers at every point of their journey. The holidays provide a unique opportunity for you to increase your sales, and setting up customer journey automations may make all the difference. For more tips like this on how to make this a successful holiday season, don’t forget to sign up for our free E-commerce Masterclass Series going on right now. Thousands of small business owners are joining our live, expert-led courses to get ready for the peak season. [Click here]( to get your name on the list before spaces fill up. [Mailchimp] ©2021 Mailchimp [675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Suite 5000, Atlanta, GA 30308]( | [mailchimp.com]( [Unsubscribe]( • [View in Browser]( • [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Download on Google Play]( [Download on the App Store]( Mailchimp is a registered trademark of The Rocket Science Group. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Mac App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.