Smells like (pre)teen spirit (and why the purchase email is so important)

Early in January, my 10-year-old walked into the dining room sniffing his armpits and said he wanted to go shopping for deodorant, “I want some of the Old Spice stuff that Daddy has. It smells good.”

My husband nearly choking on his morning coffee deferred to me.

I have a lot of opinions on personal care products and most of them lean towards the ‘clean and green’ side–where Old Spice doesn’t fit in.

“Leave it to me,” I squeaked out. “Let me find something with some different ingredients. No baking soda either because you’re probably sensitive like me to it.”

Now I’ve tested a ton of more natural deodorants over the years and my favourite requires using my fingers to swipe cream from a pot. My kid wasn’t going to do that (yet).

And after a good Google session, I hit order.

The 15-year-old angsty girl inside me who listened to Nirvana on a bright yellow Walkman reminded me that this would be the perfect life moment to cue up “Smells Like Teen Spirit”…

... while the mom in me who is sad her baby is almost in middle school, looked through my son's baby photos.

Just as I was moving on to his toddler years, I received this purchase confirmation email from Native:

Ohhhh, hello fun email that distracted me out of my baby’s growing up funk.

Here we are now, entertain us…

And then this product shipped email arrived a few hours later.

Yeah, hey

So what does all this deodorant, peek into my inbox, and 90s music flashback have to do with you?

A good number of things (but let’s settle on 2 for now)...

1. Buying something is never just buying something.

People aren’t buying your course, your coaching session, or your product. They are buying how it makes them feel. They are looking for a solution for whatever pain they’re in.

In my case, if I had to buy my baby his first ever deodorant I wanted it to be a healthier choice than what I could typically find on my drugstore shelves. Buying a better option let me love on him–and Native deeming me, "Healthy Sara" reinforced what I felt I was doing for my son.

So, how can you love on your customers right after they buy from you? How can you love on them to reinforce their good decision?

2. The customer purchase email sequence is often a forgotten sequence.

Businesses spend a ton of time and marketing dollars on getting people onto their list so they’ll buy, but once someone purchases they’re often served up an email that’s as bland as toast. Thanks for purchasing. Attached is your receipt for your records. #yawn

It’s a missed opportunity to further develop your relationship with someone who has trusted you enough to buy. Ongoing relationships take work.

So, what’s next?

Look at your after purchase emails and see how you can add more personality, more YOU to them.

Forever listening to Nirvana,

Sara