E C O MMER C E MARKETING. The 4 Campaigns Guaranteed to Boost Your Revenue

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1 E C O MMER C E MARKETING The 4 Campaigns Guaranteed to Boost Your Revenue

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3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 3 Abandoned Cart s 10 Up-Sell & Cross-Sell s 17 Promotional Offer s 25 Customer Loyalty s 34 Open Your Own Online Store with Bigcommerce

4 Introduction Marketing your online store can seem daunting. With so many digital channels and strategies to consider, it s tough to know where to focus your efforts. There s also the money problem marketing can be expensive! It s not cheap to hire a quality SEO agency or pay for prominent online ad space. Enter marketing. is the most economical of all the major marketing tools, plus it allows you to directly engage with your shoppers in a highly relevant way. As an ecommerce marketing strategy, it has proven to be especially successful the number of customers acquired through marketing has quadrupled since Even better, the Direct Marketing Association reports the average ROI of marketing campaigns is a mind-blowing 4000%, or $40 per $1 spent. Whether you re an ecommerce newbie or a seasoned online pro, marketing should play a major role in your marketing strategy. 1

5 You know marketing is important, but what types of campaigns should you focus on? In this ebook, you ll learn about four remarkably effective marketing campaigns for ecommerce: Abandoned cart s Up-sell and cross-sell s Promotional offer s Customer loyalty s These four campaigns are the major contributors to that super high ROI. Not only are they highly automatable, but they provide great opportunities for personalization, which is the real key to marketing success. As you study the examples in this ebook, be on the lookout for ways other brands are tailoring their messages to the needs and interests of individual shoppers. You can even run your own experiments by signing up for s from other stores you admire. Make a list of ways you can implement more personalization or catchy copy into your own campaigns and then do it! 2

6 Abandoned Cart s Share this ebook

7 Abandoned Cart s Let s start with the lowest hanging fruit: the almost-customers that loved your products enough to add them to their cart. Whether your potential customer was about to check out and their ipad battery suddenly died, or they decided the cost of shipping was a dollar too much, they were just a click or two away from a coveted sale. Seven out of 10 online shoppers abandon their carts, but many of your would-be customers don t leave because they lost interest. In fact, 75% of cart abandoners intend to return. So why not send them a friendly reminder? By investing in an abandoned cart saver campaign, you can easily win back business, even as you sleep! What are abandoned cart s? A series of one to three reminders to finish checking out after a shopper has left your site without purchasing.

8 Multiple reminders Over half of the top 500 internet retailers that use abandoned cart saver s are sending more than one message to disappearing shoppers. Sending a second abandoned cart yields an average of a 54% lift in revenue versus sending just one message. We d highly recommend you automate a series of two to three cart reminder s. Send your first within an hour while you are still on your shopper s mind. Since 72% of website visitors who purchase do so within 24 hours from their first visit, send a second the next day. Then wait a few days to send a third . content While your marketing content should be your own and reflect your brand, there are some basic elements that you should include as part of each in your abandoned cart series: Photo of each item left in their cart Features or benefits of the products 5

9 Prominent CTAs in multiple locations with a direct link back to the cart Contact information in case they have questions Messaging Each in your abandoned cart saver series should have a little different twist on messaging. Here s how to use each to tackle the various obstacles preventing a sale. 1: For the silent questioners Don t be pushy, just offer help. Often people don t purchase because they have unanswered questions about the product, returns policy or checking out. Ask them what you can help them with and make sure you provide a clear way for them to get answers to their questions. 2: For the procrastinators Create urgency. Present a window of opportunity to purchase. Whether the price may increase or the product may go out of stock, give them a 6

10 good reason to come back NOW! Try to hold off on a discount or offer until the last in the series, though. You don t want to condition your customers to expect a price cut before they ll buy. 3: For the bargain hunter Unleash the offer. For those who truly can t justify the cost of shipping or need to feel like they re getting a deal, this is where you can incentivize them with a discount or free shipping. Be sure your offer is for a limited time only. 7

11 Abandoned cart examples

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13 Up-Sell & Cross-Sell s Share this ebook

14 Up-Sell & Cross-Sell s When someone makes their first purchase on your site, do you call it a win and move on? Let s hope not! It s much easier, and cheaper, to generate repeat business from existing customers than to acquire new customers. Up-selling and cross-selling are two ways you can easily increase your average order value, profit margins and customer lifetime value. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Up-selling involves recommending a more expensive version of a product (how about the iphone 64GB instead of the 32GB?) What are up-sell and cross-sell s? Personalized recommendations for relevant products or add-ons based on the shopper s interests and buying behavior. Cross-selling and up-selling are more often secondary messaging within another campaign.

15 while cross-selling suggests complementary products (need a case for that iphone?). Hopefully you re already championing these two revenue-generating tactics on your site. According to Forrester, is the most effective sales influencer for repeat shoppers nearly a third of purchases from repeat customers were initiated by an . So let s get a closer look at how you can carry over these strategies into your efforts. triggers The most effective cross-sell and up-sell recommendations are based on shopper behavior. Build on what different customers like, buy and engage with to get the most out of these campaigns. Recent purchases: Suggest a warranty or other add-ons for the item they purchased. Also recommend other products that complement their purchase. Web analytics: What other items did they look at before they checked out? Remind them of the products they showed interest in but haven t purchased yet. Explicit preferences: Send them recommendations based on their stated interests and demographic information 12

16 they gave you when they signed up to receive your s. engagement: What types of offers have they opened or clicked in the past? Suggest products from the same category or price range as those from past s they ve engaged with. Wishlists: Recommend products from their wishlist or offer up similar items. Integrated campaigns The beauty of up-selling and cross-selling is that you can incorporate them into a number of other streams. Transactional: These types of s tend to have high open rates due to the extra attention customers give order confirmations and shipping notifications. And like they say, It s never too early to make the next sale! Just make sure you are CAN-SPAM compliant by focusing on the transactional message and keeping the marketing message to a third or less of the . Abandoned cart saver: Shoppers who abandoned because they were uncertain about a specific feature or were indecisive may just need some more options. Keep in 13

17 mind the complimentary products you suggest should be quick and easy decisions. One cross-selling rule of thumb is to recommend items that are less than half the price of the original item. Routine newsletters or sales s: Including personalized recommendations can give your standard s a boost in terms of relevancy and engagement. Be careful, though, that your automation doesn t contradict your messaging. For example, you wouldn t want to suggest a pair of winter boots in your Spring into Summer theme. 14

18 Up-sell & cross-sell examples

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20 Promotional Offer s Share this ebook

21 Promotional Offer s Ahhh, promotions the heart and soul of ecommerce marketing. Of course there are lots of great reasons to create a promotional campaign. They are a great way to: Lure back price-sensitive shoppers Earn that first sale from an unsure prospect Create a sense of urgency Reward loyal customers Attract holiday crowds Build your social following With such a broad range of goals, promo s are bound to come in all shapes and sizes. We can t possibly cover everything or you d be reading this ebook for a good month or two. But here are some helpful tips, ideas and examples to help get your wheels turning. What is a promotional offer ? An promoting a discount, coupon, giveaway, contest or other offer.

22 Segmenting and personalizing Ask yourself this question before anything else: who is this promotion for? One of the biggest factors in promotional campaign success is how well you segment your audience. By limiting your campaign to a clearly defined group, you ll be setting the stage for maximum engagement and conversion. Segment your list using the demographic and behavioral data you have available. Then create targeted audiences that make sense for your business. For instance, a sporting goods retailer might identify their customers who buy golf equipment every spring. In late February, they send out an to this group reminding them that golf season is just around the corner and advertise an early-bird special for any golfrelated purchases. Personalization is what will set you apart from your competitors. Use the same triggers we talked about for up-selling and cross-selling purchase history, viewed pages, wish lists, past engagement and any preferences they ve indicated. You could even automate a special offer to go out to anyone who returns an 19

23 item or gives their purchased product a low rating. The point here is to send offers that make your customers feel like you really understand who they are and what they want. content A few standard elements to incorporate in your promotional s are: High quality graphics Clear offer such as a discount, coupon code or free shipping Expiration date of the offer Short, persuasive copy describing the benefits of a specific item Social sharing links

24 How much off? Free shipping is becoming the standard in many industries, but consumers still put a high value on sales and coupons. And the good news is you don t need to offer an enormous discount to entice shoppers. According to the 2013 Q4 Benchmark Study by Experian: The $10 off coupon saw an 87% higher click-through rate than other promotional messages while the $5 off coupon saw the highest transaction rates. For percentage off discounts, the 20% off coupon won for highest click-through rate while the 15% off coupon took the gold for highest transaction rate. But you may want to offer a deeper discount to attract shoppers after Thanksgiving when there is a ton of competition. Internet Retailer reports that among the top 20 e-retailers, 50% off was the popular high offer from Dec in

25 While these numbers are a good place to start, you should test different amounts with your audiences to find your own promotional sweet spot. Above all, create an offer that makes sense considering your store s prices and your audience. Also, be sure and do some calculations to make sure you re still making money in the end. 22

26 Promotional offer examples

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28 Customer Loyalty s Share this ebook

29 Customer Loyalty s Did you know that on average, a US retailer must acquire five new shoppers in order to match the revenue from one loyal customer? Not to mention conversion rates for repeat purchasers are up to nine times higher than new shoppers. It s no wonder a great loyalty campaign should be a top priority for your business. To give your best customers the royal treatment, reward them with: Tips and ideas for using your products Expedited shipping Exclusive discounts Free gifts Sincere thank-yous Invitations to special events Exclusive previews of new products What is a customer loyalty ? Any that re-engages or reinforces the relationship between you and your customers.

30 Again, personalization is the key. As face-to-face interaction rarely exists in ecommerce, it s crucial that you personalize communications such as to help build strong relationships with your loyal shoppers. As you prove that you really know them through personalized communications, your customers will be more likely to become buzzing brand advocates. Build your list Take time to create an accurate list of your VICs (Very Important Customers). One way to do this is to use the RFM model recency, frequency and monetary analysis. Who has purchased most recently, most frequently or has spent a good chunk of change on your products? Some of the filters you might use to build your VIC list are: Customer lifetime value is greater than $X Last purchase date is less than X months ago Average order value is greater than $X Average purchase (or visit) latency is less than X days Once you have your VIC list, try creating a loyal customer persona based on this group of people. Gather demographic data, purchasing 27

31 patterns, and social media engagement metrics and anything else that might help you learn their habits and preferences. The better you understand this data, the easier it will be to come up with loyalty campaigns and the more repeat business you ll enjoy in return. Educate them A great way to build loyalty is helping your shoppers get the most out of their purchases. Share relevant product tips and ideas as well as relevant lifestyle content. In addition to promoting your products, this puts you in the position of a trusted expert. Let s say you have an online shoe store. For your women who purchase ankle boots, you could set up a triggered to go out 10 days later (after the boots would have arrived) all about the dos and don ts of cuffing your jeans with ankle boots. Now your customer feels even more confident wearing her boots, which means she is less likely to return them and might even purchase a second pair. If you re lucky, she will reward you by posting a few more selfies than normal to her Instagram account, generating free social buzz for your shop. How helpful and awesome is that? 28

32 Celebrate with them Any birthday, anniversary, holiday or special event becomes a perfect opportunity for another touchpoint with your VICs. You can do any number of things to make your customers feel special: throw out a freebie or better-than-average discount, offer a helpful how-to guide relating to your industry or even just link to a funny video. Get creative with your reasons to celebrate. An anniversary date could represent the number of years since their first purchase from you, the birthday could be your company s and events could be local or specifically tailored to your customer base. Ask them for reviews Requesting reviews is a great way to show your shoppers you value their opinions, not to mention a great credibility boost for your business. Wait a few weeks after shoppers purchase to send a review request. Talk sincerely about the importance of reviews to your 29

33 business and consider offering an incentive. To make it easy, include photos of the products purchased and a direct link to the review page. Once they submit a review, trigger an thanking them. You could even send a thank-you coupon and suggest products they might like, driving additional purchases. Remind them to use their rewards your customers reminders to cash in on expiring points, vouchers and coupons. This creates another compelling, urgent reason for your customers to come back and shop. Minimize the effort it will take them to answer, What should I use my points/voucher/coupon on? Again, add personalized recommendations to the based on their purchase or viewing history. Remind them to refill and replenish This is one of the easiest sales. If you sell items that are common repeat purchases, remind your customers when it s time to refill! 30

34 Let s say you sell skincare products. If a customer purchases a bottle of face wash, which you estimate is a 60-day supply, you ll want to set up an automated reminder to go out about 6 weeks after they purchased. This type of is innately personalized you re showing that you know exactly what they need and when they will likely need more. Write in a friendly, helpful tone to minimize any overly pushy vibes. Thank them A heartfelt thank you can go a long way. These s don t have to revolve around the amount they spend, although it s not a bad idea to thank your top spenders. Thank and praise your customer for being a faithful subscriber, writing a review or spreading the word about your store with their social networks and friends. If possible, add a human element to your thank-you s by including a special note from the owner or CEO of your company. 31

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