Why email automation matters across industries
For every industry discussed, one principle stayed constant: email automation only works when the messaging is relevant and the path is friction-free.
As Vibu put it,
“If you can stick a tape on the leakage in your funnel, you’ll see
conversions happening.”
Across categories, automation helps brands:
Nudge users at the right step
Reduce friction during decision-making
Collect richer profile data
Improve personalization
Recover drop-offs
Drive repeat actions or purchases
The examples below show how brands are already doing this successfully.
Automation workflows for e-commerce
E-commerce heavily relies on email — and most brands already use the basics. But it’s the smart, segmented automations that drive performance.
Key workflows Vibu highlighted:
Welcome series
Product recommendations
Browse abandonment
Abandoned cart
Product refill reminders
One standout campaign showcased how deeper data collection fuels personalization.
A major e-commerce brand targeted users who viewed products but never purchased. To engage them, they ran a zodiac-style quiz that asked users to pick their zodiac sign. Behind the scenes, the real goal was collecting date of birth — high-value profiling data.
Once they had it, they personalized:
As Vibu explained:
“Knowing your customer is everything. The more relevant the data you
collect, the more relevant the experience becomes.”
This approach turned passive browsers into identifiable, segmented prospects.
Automation ideas for fintech
Fintech has unique friction points — uninstalls, drop-offs during onboarding, failed payments, or incomplete registrations. Automation helps reduce these.
Common workflows Vibu highlighted:
Welcome series
Event registration & post-event nurture
User engagement workflows
Browse & cart abandonment
Payment reminders
Lead magnet nurturing
One powerful use case was reducing app uninstalls.
When users uninstalled the app, a triggered AMP email went out instantly asking:
Users could respond inside the email. Those responses were pushed to Slack, where the support team immediately followed up.
The result?
12,000 uninstallers → 342 reinstalls
A 2.8% win-back rate, driven entirely through automated email and support coordination.
As Vibu noted:
“There’s no channel to capture uninstall feedback — email becomes that
channel.”
It’s a perfect example of plugging a leakage point and converting it into revenue.
Automation for SaaS brands
SaaS automation revolves around user education, onboarding, and product adoption. Many teams struggle because sales sequences and marketing sequences overlap — and confuse users.
Thomas summed this up perfectly during the session:
“Keep sales CTAs and marketing CTAs separate so you don’t dilute the
purpose of each sequence.”
Core SaaS workflows Vibu shared:
The welcome series is especially important because it builds early trust:
“Here’s what you can expect from us — and here’s how to get started.”
Another strong example came from fixing onboarding drop-offs.
If a user began KYC but didn’t complete it, the workflow waited 6 hours, then sent an email asking them to fill only the remaining fields.
This made the process simple and friction-free, resulting in:
14% KYC completion from users who had previously dropped off.
As Vibu explained:
“Removing resistance for the user is the simplest way to improve
completion rates.”
Automation for edtech brands
Edtech users browse courses but often don’t buy immediately. Reasons vary—price, availability, lack of clarity, or hesitation.
Automations help uncover why users aren’t converting.
A standout workflow Vibu shared:
Track course views as events
Wait 6 hours
Check if purchase happened
If not, send a form asking:
“Why didn’t you purchase?”
“Would you buy if we solved this problem?”
When users answered yes, that information went to the sales team—who now had full context.
Instead of cold-calling with
“Hey, you viewed this course,”
they called with:
“You mentioned price was a barrier—here’s a 10% discount.”
That’s the power of context. And as Vibu emphasised:
“When sales teams call with context, the conversions take care of
themselves.”
Examples of email automations in action
Vibu also walked through real email examples from Mailmodo customers:
Welcome emails
Every brand should send them — but differently based on industry.
Mailmodo’s own welcome email guides users through the first few steps inside the product.
In e-commerce, it might be:
What to expect
Loyalty perks
Personalized offers
Cross-sell / upsell examples
E-commerce brands use automation to re-engage past buyers by showing restocked items or related products.
Referral workflows
Referrals become nearly free acquisition when loyal customers are nudged at the right time with the right incentive.
Product adoption sequences (for SaaS)
If users aren’t using an important feature, automate workflows that explain:
Key takeaways
Email automation isn’t just about sending sequences — it’s about designing workflows that reduce friction, understand user intent, and nudge at the right time. Whether it’s an e-commerce restock alert, a fintech uninstall recovery, a SaaS onboarding nudge, or an edtech purchase motivator, the goal is always the same: help the user move forward with context. When workflows are simple, data-backed, and aligned to a clear outcome, they not only improve conversions but also create a better experience for the customer.
