Turning Customer Service Calls into Cross-Sell Gold—The Christmas Tree Method with Greg Zakowicz

Email automation is a powerful yet underused  revenue driver. Automated campaigns generate 37% of email sales while only representing 2% of total send volume.

In this episode of Email After Hours, hosts Guy Hanson and Danielle Gallant welcome Greg Zakowicz, a 19-year email marketing veteran, to explore how businesses can leverage automation effectively to drive engagement and revenue while reducing manual effort.

What you'll learn:

- How to structure a post-purchase automation series that builds customer relationships beyond transactional messages

- Why back-in-stock automations deliver an exceptional 5.83% conversion rate compared to regular campaigns

- The three essential automated campaigns every email program needs: welcome series, browse abandonment, and cart abandonment

- The "Customer-First" framework for creating valuable post-purchase content that reduces support calls and increases cross-sells

…and so much more!

If you’d like to send in your email marketing hot takes, questions, or queries, you can email us at emailafterhours@validity.com, or head to https://s.fame.so/email-after-hours-the-podcast-for-email-senders to send us an audio message.

Greg Zakowicz is a seasoned email marketing expert with 19 years of experience in B2B and D2C marketing, specializing in email automation strategies. As a recognized authority in automated email campaigns, he has helped brands achieve 25-40% of their email revenue through automated messages while only using 2% of send volume. His expertise spans from working with small businesses to high-growth SaaS companies, focusing on optimizing automated workflows and customer engagement strategies.

In this episode, Greg shares invaluable insights on email automation best practices, including innovative approaches to post-purchase sequences, data strategy implementation, and cross-channel automation. His practical experience includes notable successes such as transforming a brick-and-mortar business's email program during COVID-19 to generate 25-30% of their email revenue through just three automated sequences. Greg's strategic approach to automation, which he describes as "letting the robots do the heavy lifting," has helped countless brands streamline their processes and increase revenue through sophisticated yet practical email marketing solutions.

Danielle Gallant - Danielle is a Senior Email Strategist at Validity. She has over seven years of experience working with global brands to craft strategies that amplify email performance. She is a self-professed email nerd, dog lover, and podcast fanatic.

Danielle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-gallant-6443a248/

Guy Hanson - Guy is Vice President of Customer Engagement at Validity. He has led global consulting teams working with clients to improve email deliverability, subscriber engagement, and revenue. He believes in giving back to his community and is a regular speaker at flagship events, providing training and producing fresh and insightful thought leadership.

Guy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guyhanson/


Topics We Discuss:

(02:46) Back-in-stock automation: The hidden revenue driver

(05:20) Three essential automated campaigns every brand needs

(07:38) Data strategy essentials for email automation

(11:02) Smart SMS integration: When and how to ask for phone numbers

(14:26) Creating a unified omnichannel automation strategy

(16:51) Building Effective post-purchase email series

(21:31) Real success story: From zero to 30% revenue with basic automation

(23:39) The future of email automation: AI and predictive timing

(26:00) Closing story: Finding success in niche marketing

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