Synaps Dx: 40% growth in online revenue, with email driving 38%+ of it
Synaps Dx sold online, but email was an afterthought: a few promotional blasts, no automation, and open rates below the 20% benchmark. We rebuilt the program around lifecycle flows and segmented campaigns.
Who is Synaps Dx, and what market do they sell in?
Synaps Dx is an ecommerce business that sells online to a community of customers and subscribers. Like most online stores, it can grow revenue in two ways: pay to bring in new visitors, or sell again to people who already know the brand.
Email sits firmly on the second side. A subscriber list is an audience the business owns, so every sale it produces carries no extra media cost. In ecommerce email marketing the real question is not whether to send email, but whether the program is built to sell or only to announce.
Where did Synaps Dx start?
When we started, email at Synaps Dx was an afterthought. The list existed, but it was used for occasional promotional blasts and little else.
There was no automation at all. A new subscriber heard nothing until the next promotion. A shopper who left a full cart was never reminded. A customer who bought once was not asked for a review or shown a second product, and a customer who drifted away was never invited back.
The numbers showed it. Open rate sat at 18%, under the commonly quoted 20% benchmark, and click-through rate was 1.5%. Email produced under 5% of online revenue, almost all of it from those sporadic promotions.
The starting point in short:
- Email drove under 5% of total online revenue, almost all from sporadic promotions.
- Open rate was 18% and click-through rate 1.5%.
- There were no automated flows to welcome subscribers, recover carts or bring buyers back.
How the email program was rebuilt
- Audit Read every email and list
Map what each type of subscriber actually receives, and where they hear nothing.
- Automate Build four lifecycle flows
Welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase and win-back, each triggered by behavior.
- Segment Send fewer, better campaigns
Four to five a month, split by behavior and purchase history, on new templates.
- Test Keep what wins
A/B tests on subject lines and offers decide the next send.
- Grow Refill and wake the list
Rebuilt sign-up forms plus a reactivation sequence for dormant subscribers.
What did we change, and why?
Audit and roadmap
We reviewed every existing email and list, found the gaps, and built a roadmap that put automation and personalization first.
The audit looked at the program from the subscriber's side: what a new subscriber receives, what a cart abandoner receives, what a first-time buyer receives. At Synaps Dx the honest answer to each was nothing until the next promotion, which made the order of work obvious. Automation came first because it earns on every sign-up and every order without anyone pressing send.
Four lifecycle flows
A welcome series to educate new subscribers, abandoned cart reminders with offers, post-purchase emails for reviews and upsells, and a win-back flow for inactive customers.
Flows work because they are triggered by what a person just did, so they arrive when interest is highest. A welcome email lands minutes after sign-up, while the brand is still front of mind. A cart reminder reaches a shopper who was one click from buying. Post-purchase emails reach someone who has just trusted the brand with money, the best moment to ask for a review or suggest the next product. Win-back gives lapsed customers a reason to return before they are gone for good.
Segmented campaigns and testing
Four to five campaigns a month, segmented by behavior and purchase history, on new on-brand templates, with A/B tests on subject lines and offers.
Segmentation means each message goes to fewer people, but fits each of them better. A repeat buyer and someone who has never bought should not get the same email. Splitting campaigns by behavior and purchase history makes each email more relevant, which is what lifts opens and clicks. The A/B tests then showed which subject lines and offers to keep, so every month started from what had already worked.
List growth and reactivation
Rebuilt sign-up forms to grow the list, and a targeted reactivation sequence for dormant subscribers.
A list loses value as people stop opening. Rebuilt sign-up forms brought in 10,000 new leads, and the reactivation sequence re-engaged 25,000 dormant subscribers in the first quarter. Waking up existing subscribers usually costs far less than finding new ones, and engaged readers also support sender reputation, which helps every other email reach the inbox.
What were the results?
Every number below was measured for Synaps Dx over the first quarter, as reported in the original case study.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Automated flows share of online revenue, first 3 months | over 20%, up from under 5% |
| Best campaign month | 45% of total monthly revenue |
| Open rate | 18% to 35% |
| Click-through rate | 1.5% to 3.2% |
| Dormant subscribers re-engaged, first quarter | 25,000 |
| New leads from rebuilt sign-up forms | 10,000 |
| Growth in online revenue | 40% |
| Email share of online revenue | under 5% to 38%+ |
| Email ROI | up 5x |
What one quarter of rebuilt email produced
- 40% growth in online revenue Measured over the first quarter
- 5x increase in email ROI
- 25000 dormant subscribers re-engaged First quarter
- 10000 new leads from rebuilt sign-up forms
Measured over the first quarter.
Before and after the rebuild
Every bar is a measured value from the Synaps Dx program. Email went from an afterthought to a top revenue channel.
Open rate
Click-through rate
Automated flows share of online revenue
Email share of online revenue
"We knew our community was filled with potential, but we needed a fresh strategy to rekindle that connection and motivate our audience to take the next step with us."
Erin and Sarit, Founders, Synaps Dx
Why did it work?
Three things did most of the work. First, automation filled the silence. Every sign-up, abandoned cart, order and lapse now triggered a relevant email, so revenue no longer depended on someone remembering to send a promotion.
Second, relevance went up. Segmented campaigns and tested subject lines explain why open rate nearly doubled and click-through rate more than doubled. People open what feels written for them.
Third, the list itself got healthier. New subscribers came in through better forms and dormant ones were woken up, so each campaign reached more engaged readers. Together, these took email from under 5% to over 38% of online revenue.
What can other ecommerce businesses learn from this?
Build the flows before the next campaign
If your store sends promotions but has no welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase or win-back flows, those four are usually the fastest revenue to add. Once built, they run every day without new work.
Judge email by revenue, not by opens
Privacy features in some mail apps now inflate open rates, so opens are a weak signal on their own. Track the share of online revenue that email produces, as we did here.
Treat dormant subscribers as an asset
A reactivation sequence costs little to run. It either brings people back or tells you who to remove, and removing them protects deliverability for everyone else.
Which service produced this result?
This project used our email marketing work. Welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase and win-back flows plus campaigns in Klaviyo, HubSpot or ActiveCampaign, measured by the revenue they bring in.
Frequently asked questions about this case
How long did the Synaps Dx results take?
The results on this page were measured over the first quarter. Automated flows reached over 20% of online revenue within the first three months, and the 40% growth in online revenue was measured over the same quarter.
Which email flows made the biggest difference?
The four core flows worked together, so we report them as one number: automated flows grew from under 5% to over 20% of online revenue in the first three months. Welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase and win-back each cover a different moment in the customer journey.
Would this work for a smaller online store?
Usually, yes. Flows earn from every new subscriber and every order, so they pay off on lists of a few thousand. Results depend on your offer, list and market, which is why every project starts with an audit.
Results are as reported for this client over the period shown. Results for your business depend on your offer, list and market.
Which other case studies are worth reading?
- Scalability: 150+ qualified leads a month and 50+ sales consultations in 3 months.
- Maestro: 65% more sign-ups from segmented cold email.
- Soulful Evolution: $500K in new annual revenue from a 60% jump in program sign-ups.