Welcome to another post-purchase flow breakdown.
In this series, I dissect how successful D2C brands turn one-time buyers into repeat customers through strategic post-purchase email marketing.
Today, we’re analyzing soap brand Dr. Squatch.
Before we begin
Dr. Squatch sells a consumable product with shorter repeat purchase cycles. It’s a naturally retention-friendly product, and their strategy relies on that. What works for them may completely flop for another brand.
With that said, let’s get into it:
Transactional Emails (Days 0-30 post-purchase)
What I’m looking for here is easy access to customer support (CS) and timely order/shipping updates. You don’t want the buyer to have a bad experience — otherwise you risk losing them for good.
This is a pretty standard shipping update. What I’d highlight is the quick access to CS. The easier it is for the customer to reach out to you with a question, the better it is. If they get connected to an actual human, not an AI chatbot, even better.
I like that they managed to fit their USP in a shipping email.“Kiss funky smells g’bye”. Most shipping updates are pretty boring, so the copywriting stands out. Adding a social proof bar with logos is smart as well.
Again, super simple, but it doesn’t need to be anything fancy.
I love the copy here. It actually reads like a fun brand, not a corporation. The hero grabs your attention immediately. And again, it’s important to provide immediate access to CS.
Collecting social proof is definitely important. You can use the testimonials on your product pages and/or Meta ads and acquire higher quality customers. No matter what you sell (except maybe high-end luxury where it’s more about brand heritage) — you should collect reviews on your products. Again, convenience is key here — the less effort it takes to leave feedback, the better.
Takeaways
Dr. Squatch uses simple and timely transactional emails that work. I would’ve loved to see a social proof email with testimonials here to reduce some buyers’ remorse. Otherwise, a solid job.
Some consumable brands also send a “new beauty routine” email, but I didn’t think that was necessary here.
Retention Emails (Days 0-60 post purchase)
Now let’s have a look at some emails aimed at increasing retention rates. Depending on the brand, these are emails usually sent within the first 60 days after the purchase.
For a soap brand like Dr. Squatch, the easiest way to re-convert one-time buyers is to offer customers what they already bought, at a discounted price. Replenishment emails play a big role here.
This is a subscription email disguised as a cart abandonment email. I like it. It’s a creative idea, and I love how they’ve already done the heavy lifting for the customer by putting their same order in the cart. All you have to do is press a button and checkout.
Subscription upsells are more likely to work on customers that have already bought several times. For that reason, it makes sense to segment your audience here based on order frequency.
The first replenishment email. Again, the safest choice here is to offer the same product, not another category. Timing matters a lot here, so you need to have somewhat of an idea how long it usually takes for the customer to run out of your product.
Looking at sales data could give you some answers here. If you see that most soap buyers come back within 30-35 days (as an example), then sending this email around that timeframe makes a lot of sense.
New product launches can be a great re-engagement tactic. You just have to make sure the product is relevant to the previous purchase.
I love the hero of this replenishment email. It’s funny, on-brand, and gets you to engage. If you sell a consumable product like Dr. Squatch, these post-purchase emails are exactly what you need.
Again, there’s no cross-category selling, it’s the same soaps in a different smell.
Takeaways
You probably noticed that all these retention emails are super simple. They act more as reminders — you’re not trying to convince someone to buy another category. For Dr. Squatch, it’s more about staying on top of mind. There’s no social proof or anything like that — so if the customer likes your product, they will probably order again.
Winback Emails (Days 60-120 post-purchase)
Let’s have a look at some of Dr. Squatch’s winback emails. Ideally, you’d want to activate this flow when customers aren’t engaging with your emails anymore. Taking the 60-90-120 day approach is usually the way to go — the longer the user hasn’t engaged, the more pushy your messages should be.
Here are some examples:
Quizzes can be a fun, interactive way to get customers to share their opinions. I’d love to know the CTR of this campaign, but I’d imagine it’s up there.
Sending a survey is another way to get disengaged subscribers to click. Notice how short this email is. If there’s anything I’d change, it would be to add an incentive in exchange for filling out the survey.
I love the copy here. It’s short, conversational, and on-brand.
If none of the previous campaigns worked, then you can send this “one last chance” email before deleting subscribers from your list. You could even add an offer here and create urgency around it. If there’s one thing missing from this winback flow, then it’s the discount/offer.
Takeaways
You probably noticed most campaigns here were plain text. I think those are smart pattern breakers. Your winback emails should differ from your daily/weekly campaigns. There are no right or wrong tactics here. Anything you think might get your audience to re-engage before they churn.
Quizzes and surveys can work surprisingly well for re-engagement because they require active participation.
What we learned
Easy, human CS access is critical
- Communicate your USP even in transactional emails (shipping updates)
- Use fun, on-brand copy to stand out from competitors
- Collect reviews/social proof to reduce buyer’s remorse
- Keep your transactional emails simple — information is key
Sometimes, retention is about reminders, not persuasion
- Avoid cross-category selling for one-time buyers — stick to re-selling the same product
- Try to time replenishment emails based on actual sales data and your buying cycle
- Segment audiences by order frequency before upselling subscriptions
- New product launches work only if relevant to previous purchase
Winback emails need to break the pattern and incentivize
- Use a 60-90-120 day unengaged cadence — be more pushy the longer someone hasn’t engaged
- Plain text feels more personal and breaks the marketing pattern
- Interactive tactics (quizzes, surveys) can work well as re-engagement tactics
- Add incentives when asking for surveys
- Create urgency around a discount/offer in the final “last chance” email
What’s next?
Go buy some soap. Also, subscribe to my newsletter and access 36 post-purchase emails to convert repeat buyers.
