Omnisend Ecommerce Marketing Automation: Your Ultimate Implementation Guide
- UveGotMail Team
- Jul 3
- 8 min read
So, you're running an e-commerce store and you've identified Omnisend ecommerce marketing automation as a serious contender to help you grow. You understand that to succeed in today's competitive online landscape, you need smart, efficient, and personalised marketing that works for you even when you're sleeping.
You've come to the perfect place.
Feeling a little overwhelmed by the prospect of setting up complex automated workflows is completely normal. The good news is that with a clear strategy, implementing automation is not only achievable but can become one of the most powerful assets for your online store. It's the key to turning one-time buyers into loyal fans and recovering sales you thought were lost forever.
In this ultimate guide, we will walk you through a step-by-step strategy for implementing automation using Omnisend. We'll cover everything from foundational setup to building your first high-impact campaigns.
But choosing the right tool is a critical part of your strategy, and that includes understanding the features and the value you get for your investment. That's why we'll also take an honest look at how Omnisend's e-commerce-focused platform compares to a broader professional marketing suite like GetResponse, including how their pricing models reflect their different philosophies. Understanding this landscape will empower you to select the platform that not only meets your needs today but will also scale with your future ambitions.
Ready to transform your manual marketing efforts into an automated sales engine? Let's begin.
Why E-commerce Focused Automation is a Game-Changer
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of implementation, let's quickly solidify why a tool built specifically for e-commerce, like Omnisend, is so effective. Generic marketing tools are good, but e-commerce has unique challenges and opportunities that require specific solutions.
A dedicated e-commerce automation platform allows you to:
Recover Lost Revenue Seamlessly: The abandoned cart is the bane of every online store owner. E-commerce automation is designed to tackle this head-on with perfectly timed, multi-channel reminders.
Communicate Across Channels: Modern customers don't just live in their email inboxes. E-commerce automation platforms often integrate Email, SMS, and even web push notifications into a single, cohesive workflow, allowing you to reach customers wherever they are.
Personalise Based on Shopping Behaviour: Go beyond simple name personalisation. True e-commerce automation lets you segment and trigger messages based on what customers have viewed, what they've purchased, and how much they've spent.
Boost Customer Lifetime Value: Automated post-purchase follow-ups, product recommendations, and loyalty campaigns encourage repeat business and turn one-time buyers into valuable, long-term customers.
Save Incredible Amounts of Time: Once set up, these automated systems work for you 24/7, freeing you from repetitive tasks so you can focus on big-picture strategy, product development, and customer service.
Your Comprehensive Strategy: Implementing Omnisend Ecommerce Marketing Automation
Let's get practical. Here is your hands-on, phased approach to getting Omnisend up and running to drive sales for your store.
Phase 1: The Foundation – Setup and Integration
Rushing into building workflows without a solid foundation is a common mistake. Get these initial steps right, and everything that follows will be much easier.
Connect Your E-commerce Store: The very first step inside Omnisend is to connect it to your store (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce). Omnisend has deep, one-click integrations with major platforms. This is a crucial step as it allows Omnisend to sync your products, customer data, and order history, which will power all your automations.
Install the Tracking Snippet: Omnisend will provide you with a code snippet to add to your website. This is essential for tracking live visitor behaviour, such as product page views and cart activity, which you can use as triggers for your automations.
Set Up Your Brand Kit: Before you send a single email, head to Omnisend’s settings and set up your Brand Assets. Upload your logo, set your brand colours, and link your social media profiles. This ensures all your future communications are consistent and professional.
Import Existing Contacts & Plan Segmentation: If you have an existing list of subscribers, import them into Omnisend. During this process, be sure to tag them appropriately (e.g., "existing_customer," "newsletter_subscriber"). Begin thinking about your segments. Omnisend offers powerful pre-built segments like "High-spending customers" or "At-risk of churn," which are fantastic starting points.
Phase 2: Building Your First High-Impact Workflows in Omnisend
Don't try to automate everything at once. Start with the "quick wins"—the automations that will have the biggest and most immediate impact on your revenue.
Workflow 1: The Abandoned Cart Recovery (Your No. 1 Priority) This is the most profitable automation you will ever set up.
Trigger: In Omnisend, select the pre-built "Abandoned Cart" trigger. It automatically fires when a known contact leaves items in their cart for a specific time (e.g., 1 hour).
The Sequence:
Message 1 (1 hour after abandonment): A simple, helpful reminder. Use Omnisend's "Product Picker" to dynamically pull in the exact items they left behind. The subject line could be "Did you forget something?"
Message 2 (12-24 hours after): If they still haven't purchased, send a follow-up. You can add social proof here, like star ratings or a customer testimonial.
Message 3 (Optional - 48 hours after): This is your final shot. Consider offering a small, time-sensitive incentive like free shipping or a 10% discount to nudge them over the line. Omnisend allows you to easily create unique discount codes.
Workflow 2: The Welcome Series This is your chance to make a great first impression and convert a new subscriber into a customer.
Trigger: "Signs up to a list."
The Sequence:
Email 1 (Immediate): Welcome them to your community! Deliver the discount code or lead magnet you promised on your signup form. Briefly introduce your brand's story.
Email 2 (2 days later): Showcase your best-selling products or different product categories. Use high-quality images and clear calls-to-action.
Email 3 (4 days later): Build trust. Share customer testimonials, user-generated content from social media, or press mentions. Show them that other people love your products.
Workflow 3: The Post-Purchase Follow-Up Turn a one-time buyer into a repeat customer.
Trigger: "Order is fulfilled."
The Sequence:
Email 1 (3-5 days after fulfillment): A simple check-in. "How are you enjoying your new [Product Name]?" Provide a link to helpful content or a setup guide.
Email 2 (14 days after): Ask for a product review. Make it easy by linking directly to the product page. Positive reviews are marketing gold.
Email 3 (30 days after): Now is a great time for a cross-sell. Based on their initial purchase, use Omnisend's Product Recommender to suggest related items. "Since you loved X, you might also like Y."
Phase 3: Leveraging Omnisend's Multi-Channel Power
Once you've mastered these basic email flows, start integrating other channels.
Add SMS to Your Workflows: In your Abandoned Cart workflow, consider making the second touchpoint an SMS message instead of an email. "Hi [Name], still thinking about the items in your cart? They're waiting for you here: [Link]". SMS has incredibly high open rates and can be very effective.
Use Web Push Notifications: Prompt website visitors to subscribe to push notifications. You can then include a push notification as the very first step in your abandoned cart flow—firing just 30 minutes after they leave, catching them while they're still potentially Browse.
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Vision: Omnisend vs. GetResponse
You've now seen how to build a powerful automation strategy using Omnisend. It’s a fantastic tool with clear strengths. But as your business grows, your marketing needs will evolve. Is a specialized tool always the right choice, or could a more comprehensive platform better serve your long-term vision? This is where a comparison with a professional marketing suite like GetResponse becomes valuable.
Where Omnisend Shines (Features): Omnisend's value proposition is its laser focus on e-commerce. Its strengths are undeniable:
Deep E-commerce Integration: It’s built from the ground up to talk to platforms like Shopify, pulling in product data and customer behaviour seamlessly.
Integrated Multi-Channel Workflows: Its ability to easily drag-and-drop Email, SMS, and Push Notifications into a single automation sequence is a key feature and very powerful for e-commerce stores.
E-commerce Specific Features: Pre-built segments for e-commerce, product recommenders, and gift boxes are all designed to make an online seller's life easier.
Where GetResponse Offers a Broader Professional Toolkit (Features): The question to ask yourself is: "Is my business only an e-commerce store, or is it a brand that also needs to engage in content marketing, lead generation, and building a community beyond transactions?" This is where GetResponse presents a compelling alternative.
An All-in-One Marketing Ecosystem: GetResponse goes beyond e-commerce automation. It's a complete marketing suite. It includes a built-in Webinar Platform, a powerful Landing Page Creator with A/B testing, a Website Builder, tools for managing Paid Ad Campaigns, and a Conversion Funnel Builder that visualizes your entire sales process. If you ever plan to host a product launch webinar or build a funnel for an educational course related to your products, you'd need separate tools for that with Omnisend. With GetResponse, it's all in one place.
Universal Automation Power: While GetResponse has excellent e-commerce features (including deep integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, etc., abandoned cart emails, and product recommendations), its visual automation builder is designed for any business model. It includes advanced features like Lead Scoring, which is crucial if you have a longer sales cycle or a B2B component to your business.
A Look at Pricing and Value
Features are only one part of the equation; the other is what you get for your investment. Both platforms offer free plans and tiered pricing based on your contact list size, but their models reflect their core philosophies.
Omnisend's Pricing Model: Omnisend offers a free plan that includes basic email campaigns and popups, which is great for getting started. Its paid plans (like Standard and Pro) unlock more advanced automation features and increase your sending limits. A key point to note is that while SMS and Push Notifications are integrated, they operate on a credit system, which often means an additional cost on top of your monthly subscription fee, depending on your usage. You are paying for a highly specialized e-commerce communication tool.
GetResponse's Pricing Model: GetResponse also offers a generous "GetResponse Free" plan that includes not just email marketing but also a website builder and landing pages for up to 500 contacts. As you move into their paid plans, for an investment comparable to Omnisend's, you're not just unlocking more emails or automation features—you're unlocking the entire marketing suite. Features like the webinar platform, conversion funnels, and advanced automation are included in the higher tiers without needing separate subscriptions.
The Value Comparison: This is the crucial question: what does your money buy you? With Omnisend, your investment gets you a best-in-class tool for e-commerce communication channels (Email, SMS, Push). With GetResponse, a similar investment gets you a complete marketing ecosystem. If you find yourself needing to run a webinar six months from now, that feature is already in your GetResponse toolkit. If you decide to launch a new collection with a dedicated sales funnel, the tools are there. This approach of consolidating tools into one platform can offer a significantly higher long-term value and a lower total cost of ownership than buying a specialized tool and adding other software subscriptions later.
The Verdict: The choice depends on your business's scope and future vision.
Choose Omnisend if your world revolves 100% around e-commerce transactions and you want a tool that is deeply specialized in multi-channel (Email/SMS/Push) communication, and you're comfortable with a separate credit system for SMS.
Consider GetResponse if your e-commerce store is part of a larger brand strategy. If you see yourself hosting webinars, building complex content funnels, or simply want the power and value of a single, predictable subscription for your entire marketing universe, GetResponse offers a more powerful, scalable, and integrated solution.
Ready to Build Your Complete Marketing Funnel? Try GetResponse for Free!
You've learned the exact steps to implement powerful automation, and you now understand the strategic differences in features and value between a specialized tool and a complete marketing suite. If the idea of having all your marketing tools—from e-commerce automation and email marketing to webinars and sales funnels—under one roof for one predictable price appeals to you, then you owe it to your business to see what a true all-in-one platform feels like.
Stop juggling multiple subscriptions and disconnected tools. Experience the power and simplicity of an integrated marketing ecosystem.
Explore its seamless e-commerce integrations, build your first automated workflow with the intuitive visual builder, and see firsthand how a comprehensive platform can not only boost your sales but also save you time and simplify your entire marketing process.
Your journey to smarter, more effective marketing starts with the right tools. Take the first step and discover what a complete marketing suite can do for your business.
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