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Behavioral email

What is a behavioral email?  

A behavioral email, also known as transactional email is an automated email sent to users based on a specific action, behavior, or interaction they perform on a website, an application, or a platform.

Unlike bulk emails that are sent to everyone at the same time, behavioral emails are triggered by user activity and delivered at the most relevant moment.

For example, if a customer adds products to their cart but leaves without completing the purchase (customer behavior), an abandoned cart email is automatically triggered to encourage them to return and finish the checkout process.

When are behavioral emails triggered?

Behavioral emails are highly personalized because they respond to what a user actually does, such as:

• Signing up for an account.

• Browsing a product.

• Abandoning a cart.

• Resetting a password.

• Completing a purchase.

• Becoming inactive for a period of time.

• Requesting for an OTP.

• Rescheduling an appointment.

Why are behavioral emails important?  

1. Improve customer engagement: Sends timely and personalized communication based on user behavior or actions.

2. Enhance user experience: Helps users complete actions, access information, or continue their journey smoothly at the right moment.

3. Increase conversions and revenue: These emails reach users at the right moment with content that matches their actions, interests, or stage in the customer journey. Since these emails are highly relevant and timely, people are more likely to engage with them and take action.

4. Build customer relationships: Makes communication feel more relevant and helpful instead of promotional.

5. Support customer retention: Re-engages inactive users and keeps customers connected to the product or brand.

6. Automate communication at scale: Businesses can send contextual emails automatically without manual effort.

Types of behavioral emails  

• Welcome emails: Sent when a user signs up for an account, subscribes to a newsletter, or joins a platform.

• Onboarding emails: Guide new users through product setup, feature discovery, or first-time actions.

• Abandoned cart emails: Triggered when shoppers add items to their cart but leave without completing the purchase.

• Browse abandonment emails: Sent when users view products or pages without taking further action.

• Purchase confirmation emails: Provide order details, payment confirmation, and shipping information after a transaction.

• Password reset emails: Help users securely reset or recover their passwords.

• Account verification emails: Ask users to verify their email address or account ownership.

• Product recommendation emails: Suggest products or services based on browsing history, purchases, or preferences.

• Re-engagement emails: Target inactive users and encourage them to return to the platform.

• Renewal reminder emails: Notify users about upcoming subscription or membership renewals.

• Feedback or review request emails: Sent after a purchase or interaction to collect reviews, ratings, or feedback.

• Milestone or anniversary emails: Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, loyalty milestones, or usage achievements.

• Transactional alerts and notifications: Inform users about important account activity, payment updates, security alerts, or status changes.

How to send behavioral emails for your business

To send behavioral emails, businesses first need to identify the key user actions such as sign-ups, purchases, abandoned carts, or inactivity. These actions are then used as triggers to send relevant emails at the right time automatically.

It's always important to pick the right email sending service to send these time-sensitive emails. Using a reliable transactional email service like Zoho ZeptoMail, businesses can create automated workflows, personalize content based on user behavior, and ensure reliable delivery of transactional and behavioral emails.