Archive for the ‘ROI’ Category
Encourage your potential customers to complete their purchase with an ‘abandoned basket’ email
No company will have a 100% conversion rate on their website; it is inevitable people will abandon their basket before completing their purchase for one reason or another.
You can improve that rate, though, by sending an abandoned basket email. It can help encourage some of these potential customers who have added something to their basket on your website and abandoned the purchase process, to return and complete their transaction.
Below I have included answers to a few of the most common questions we get when it comes to abandoned basket emails.
How long after the potential customer abandons their basket should I send the abandoned basket email?
This is something that needs to be tested, as the length of time will vary depending on if it is a high involvement purchase or a low. You don’t want to send the email immediately after they have abandoned their basket, you don’t want to give the impression of stalking! Plus if the recipient got distracted while adding items to their basket it is possible they are still busy. Or if they simply needed a little time to think about the purchase before placing their order, this wouldn’t have given them enough time. Equally you don’t want to wait too long after the recipient has abandoned as they may have bought the product elsewhere in that time. I would recommend anywhere between 3 and 24 hours.
What should be included within the abandoned basket email?
- Avoid cluttering the email; including other messages could confuse the recipient.
- Pull the products the recipient has in their basket into the email creative, reminding them of what they wanted to purchase.
- Place a strong/clear call to action within the email, e.g. ‘return to your basket here’, or ‘have you not found what you are looking for’.
- Reinforce your brand values: why would they buy the product from you?
- Offer the recipient help and assistance in order to complete their transaction, include a phone number they can call in case they are having problems purchasing online.
Should I include an incentive?
Many people ask whether they should use incentives within their abandoned basket emails. To answer this, you need to consider why people would have abandoned the basket. Did they get distracted by something else? Were they not 100% sure about the purchase (do I really need this?!)? Was it a cost issue on price or delivery?
If they simply got distracted you don’t want to offer the recipient a discount, when they may have purchased anyway, with just a reminder. You also don’t want to teach your regular customer that abandoning their basket will result in a discount, encouraging them to do this every time before they make a purchase. Therefore if you are going to offer a discount, first do some testing to ensure that offering a discount is actually increasing the number of conversions enough to justify the discount. Also offer it irregularly, so customers don’t come to expect it. Maybe create a series of two abandoned basket emails, with the first one reminding the recipient that they have things within their basket and then send the second if the recipient has opened the email and not completed the purchase containing the added incentive.
How do I automate this process?
Adestra’s Conversion Capture feature allows for real time emails to be automatically sent to those recipients who have abandoned their basket on your website. For further information click here or contact your account manager.
Debunking the myths of big data at DataIQNOW! 2013
Unlocking the true value of your precious data is high on every marketers agenda. With phrases like “Big Data”, “modern marketing” and the steady stream of new ways to get your message out there, this may seem like a momentous task.
In his presentation at DataIQNOW! last week, Parry debunked the myths of “Big Data”, in favour of focusing on “Little Data”. This is the data that you can proactively use straight away.
In an email marketing context, there are three simple examples:
Open rates: If you increase your open rate, you’re giving yourself a chance. The main thing here is to have an effective subject line strategy – don’t view each email as a one-off, view them as part of a long-term branding campaign and ensure your subject lines build your brand on a sustainable basis.
Click through rates: Action speaks louder than words – structure your emails so they drive action. Consider the psychological state of your customers and create your emails so they drive people to take action.
Conversion rates: These days there’s no excuse to not be able to attribute revenue to email. Start tracking your conversions now. This way, you can see what variables within your control make you more money.
You can watch his 90 second synopsis of his presentation here >
Lifecycle Programs – 5 steps to increasing relevance and engagement
Lifecycle programs are becoming the secret weapon in the email marketer’s bag of tricks. They allow you to take your subscribers on a journey and build a relationship, from the very first click through to a re-engagement campaign.
Below are 5 key stages in a lifecycle program to help keep your subscribers active and engaged:
- Welcome series: it’s easy to make a great first impression with your subscribers. By sending an automated trigger email once a user has signed up to received your mailings, you can acknowledge they’ve subscribed and outline the type and frequency of messages you’ll send in the future.
- Updating details: it makes sense to collect data when new subscribers are already engaged, so take advantage of the times they’re interacting with your company (e.g. by filling in forms or updating contact data) to collect a few more details. Using a preference centre to collect information allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails. Also use this opportunity to find out what they don’t want to receive, reducing the risk of unsubscribes or complaints.
- Dynamic content: with each purchase, event sign-up, or piece of demographic information, you have more data available to personalize the content of your emails. Using dynamic content can make each campaign more targeted to your recipients’ interests and behaviour. Including their name and location, or filtering by hobbies and events, personalized content is a great way to keep subscribers active and engaged
- Automation: timing is everything in a lifecycle program. How about sending automated follow up emails to your subscribers based on previous actions or details? If you have information about your recipients’ birthdays, anniversaries or subscription date, you can automate a trigger email to offer incentives or reminders. This can also work well for abandoned basket emails if a user hasn’t completed the sign up process or confirmed an order. By using our Conversion Capture technology, you can encourage users to complete their online purchases and increase your ROI.
- Re-engagement campaigns: at some point your recipients may become less active. Re-activation campaigns are a great way to engage inactive subscribers and freshen up your data. Give them a chance to update their preferences so they can unsubscribe from less relevant mailings, or offer incentives to get them clicking again.
There can be many more stages in the lifecycle program, depending on the relationship you want to build with your recipients. Your Account Manager is available to give strategy and advice on how to make the most of a lifecycle program.
Encourage your potential customers to complete their purchase with an ‘abandoned basket’ email
No company will have a 100% conversion rate on their website; it is inevitable people will abandon their basket before completing their purchase for one reason or another.
You can improve that rate, though, by sending an abandoned basket email. It can help encourage some of these potential customers who have added something to their basket on your website and abandoned the purchase process, to return and complete their transaction.
Below I have included answers to a few of the most common questions we get when it comes to abandoned basket emails.
How long after the potential customer abandons their basket should I send the abandoned basket email?
This is something that needs to be tested, as the length of time will vary depending on if it is a high involvement purchase or a low. You don’t want to send the email immediately after they have abandoned their basket, you don’t want to give the impression of stalking! Plus if the recipient got distracted while adding items to their basket it is possible they are still busy. Or if they simply needed a little time to think about the purchase before placing their order, this wouldn’t have given them enough time. Equally you don’t want to wait too long after the recipient has abandoned as they may have bought the product elsewhere in that time. I would recommend anywhere between 3 and 24 hours.
What should be included within the abandoned basket email?
- Avoid cluttering the email; including other messages could confuse the recipient.
- Pull the products the recipient has in their basket into the email creative, reminding them of what they wanted to purchase.
- Place a strong/clear call to action within the email, e.g. ‘return to your basket here’, or ‘have you not found what you are looking for’.
- Reinforce your brand values: why would they buy the product from you?
- Offer the recipient help and assistance in order to complete their transaction, include a phone number they can call in case they are having problems purchasing online.
Should I include an incentive?
Many people ask whether they should use incentives within their abandoned basket emails. To answer this, you need to consider why people would have abandoned the basket. Did they get distracted by something else? Were they not 100% sure about the purchase (do I really need this?!)? Was it a cost issue on price or delivery?
If they simply got distracted you don’t want to offer the recipient a discount, when they may have purchased anyway, with just a reminder. You also don’t want to teach your regular customer that abandoning their basket will result in a discount, encouraging them to do this every time before they make a purchase. Therefore if you are going to offer a discount, first do some testing to ensure that offering a discount is actually increasing the number of conversions enough to justify the discount. Also offer it irregularly, so customers don’t come to expect it. Maybe create a series of two abandoned basket emails, with the first one reminding the recipient that they have things within their basket and then send the second if the recipient has opened the email and not completed the purchase containing the added incentive.
How do I automate this process?
Adestra’s Conversion Capture feature allows for real time emails to be automatically sent to those recipients who have abandoned their basket on your website. For further information click here or contact your account manager.
Debunking the myths of big data at DataIQNOW! 2013
Unlocking the true value of your precious data is high on every marketers agenda. With phrases like “Big Data”, “modern marketing” and the steady stream of new ways to get your message out there, this may seem like a momentous task.
In his presentation at DataIQNOW! last week, Parry debunked the myths of “Big Data”, in favour of focusing on “Little Data”. This is the data that you can proactively use straight away.
In an email marketing context, there are three simple examples:
Open rates: If you increase your open rate, you’re giving yourself a chance. The main thing here is to have an effective subject line strategy – don’t view each email as a one-off, view them as part of a long-term branding campaign and ensure your subject lines build your brand on a sustainable basis.
Click through rates: Action speaks louder than words – structure your emails so they drive action. Consider the psychological state of your customers and create your emails so they drive people to take action.
Conversion rates: These days there’s no excuse to not be able to attribute revenue to email. Start tracking your conversions now. This way, you can see what variables within your control make you more money.
You can watch his 90 second synopsis of his presentation here >
Lifecycle Programs – 5 steps to increasing relevance and engagement
Lifecycle programs are becoming the secret weapon in the email marketer’s bag of tricks. They allow you to take your subscribers on a journey and build a relationship, from the very first click through to a re-engagement campaign.
Below are 5 key stages in a lifecycle program to help keep your subscribers active and engaged:
- Welcome series: it’s easy to make a great first impression with your subscribers. By sending an automated trigger email once a user has signed up to received your mailings, you can acknowledge they’ve subscribed and outline the type and frequency of messages you’ll send in the future.
- Updating details: it makes sense to collect data when new subscribers are already engaged, so take advantage of the times they’re interacting with your company (e.g. by filling in forms or updating contact data) to collect a few more details. Using a preference centre to collect information allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails. Also use this opportunity to find out what they don’t want to receive, reducing the risk of unsubscribes or complaints.
- Dynamic content: with each purchase, event sign-up, or piece of demographic information, you have more data available to personalize the content of your emails. Using dynamic content can make each campaign more targeted to your recipients’ interests and behaviour. Including their name and location, or filtering by hobbies and events, personalized content is a great way to keep subscribers active and engaged
- Automation: timing is everything in a lifecycle program. How about sending automated follow up emails to your subscribers based on previous actions or details? If you have information about your recipients’ birthdays, anniversaries or subscription date, you can automate a trigger email to offer incentives or reminders. This can also work well for abandoned basket emails if a user hasn’t completed the sign up process or confirmed an order. By using our Conversion Capture technology, you can encourage users to complete their online purchases and increase your ROI.
- Re-engagement campaigns: at some point your recipients may become less active. Re-activation campaigns are a great way to engage inactive subscribers and freshen up your data. Give them a chance to update their preferences so they can unsubscribe from less relevant mailings, or offer incentives to get them clicking again.
There can be many more stages in the lifecycle program, depending on the relationship you want to build with your recipients. Your Account Manager is available to give strategy and advice on how to make the most of a lifecycle program.