Turn your shoppers into multi-channel customers

Do you know that brands in the consumer world, which have implemented marketing automation solutions, and rely on automated flows for the management of their communication activities, report significant and constantly increasing conversion rates for abandoned carts?

In previous articles (p.1; p.2), we have seen how to convert customers from in-store to online purchases as well, starting a new relationship as a result, then guide them to register your new app and complete a short survey. Now is the time to look towards people who have not fully completed an online purchase. Indeed, according to Statista, 69.53% of customers leave their cart abandoned.

And increasingly, research shows that time is the key factor in converting the undecided. Multiple studies have shown that if emails are sent within 20 minutes of abandoning a cart, average conversion rates are around 5%, whereas a delay of a day reduces this figure to about half.

As result, it’s easy to guess the role that can be played by automation: Automated emails can help you be in time.

And if on one hand, you can rely on Email Designer to create personalized, attractive and effective emails, you can trust Flow to generate automated journeys to deliver your message easily and just at the right time, on the other.

From abandoned cart to a new customer: Let’s retrieve Angela

The new season is going very well but, as sometimes happens, a few customers abandon their cart before completing an online order. Perhaps they were disturbed by something more urgent? Or maybe they were looking for more information before buying? Whatever the case, you should try to convert them into sales fast, while your e-commerce store is still fresh in their memory.

And, in addition to increasing sales, there may also be other reasons for you to follow up abandoned carts and act promptly:

• You demonstrate a high level of customer service, for example, by asking them what you can do to help them.
• It allows you to stay in touch with more customers and reassure them that you are interested in them.
• It can give you information on why customers do not buy and suggest initiatives to reduce abandoned carts in future.

Rest assured, Flow can be at your side in this case as well. When customers like Angela spend time browsing your online store, adding products or services to their cart along the way, before failing to complete the purchase, they must immediately be inserted in a journey that will guide them through retrieving it and completing their purchase, perhaps adding new items as well… Always with the assurance that if a customer completes the order in the meantime, they will be automatically be removed from the journey.

The first thing to do about an abandoned cart is send an e-mail, with personalized content that is tailored exactly to the customer’s needs. You could, for example, insert a link to a short questionnaire, if you want to discover the reason for the abandoned cart. But if you believe the customer would be more receptive to continuing to buy by showing associated accessories or services, then there is no reason not to do so. And, of course, you could always encourage the customer to continue by reminding them of an unrepeatable special offer, or low stock levels of the items.

Option a: Has Angela completed the purchase?

After receiving your reminder, Angela completed the purchase, perhaps even adding other items along the way? Perfect, the goal is achieved, and an in-store customer has just entered the online world.  Now, her journey with you can continue by following experiences such as those already seen in the previous articles (p.1; p.2), starting from a thank you and an email to confirm the order.

Option b: Has Angela left an abandoned chart?

If nothing happens following your reminder, you can always send Angela a new message, for example, to remind her of the cart’s expiry date. One last attempt, before leaving Angela until she becomes part of her next journey.

And just how does Flow help you with Angela?

Here they are, Angela’s potential journeys, thanks to the Marketing Cloud platform.

And now?

Everything could just end here, but there are so many other happy experiences your contacts can have, thanks especially, to cutting-edge technological support. You are only at the beginning of the relationships with your multichannel customers, so don’t waste any more time… immediately create a new journey and options to keep them even more ENGAGED!

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Turn your shoppers into multi-channel customers

In the first article of the series, we saw how to guide an in-store shopper towards multi-channel experiences, thanks to Flow. In recent years there has been significant growth in the use of the mobile channel, which today has penetration rates of up to 90% (Deloitte 2019). And what’s more, recent Comscore research shows that 46% of customers are already cross-platform users and connect through desktops, smartphones and/or tablets daily.

But the most interesting data came from Comscore, in a study at the end of 2018, in which it emerged that 90% of those who prefer the mobile channel, consistently use apps. It also forecasts that by 2020, expected revenue deriving from using consumer apps will be around $189 billion.

So, in this second article, we’ll cover customers who have already started a relationship with you online, by understanding just how the marketing automation functionality of the platform can once again support you to make the most of the opportunity that the market provides.

But we must be careful… The number of apps downloaded last year is huge, but the churn risk in the first 90 days is around 70% (Statistics 2019). The app is therefore positioned as a valid communication channel, but it is up to you to convey messages and content that are always up to expectations – personalized and timely, and that demonstrate the value of using your app.

Okay, let’s go step by step once more…

The new collection went particularly well in your e-commerce store, thanks in part to the incentive that you offered to those who subscribed to your newsletter on your site. It is now time to learn about the customer’s overall purchasing experience through a short survey and, at the same time, continue with your initial goal of having more multi-channel clients. You also now want to encourage more people to try the new app too.

From the buying something on the e-commerce site to the to discovering the app: Angela becomes more and more multi-channel

But why encourage downloading the app, when customers are already active in-store and online? Well, besides the reasons mentioned above, because, for example:

• It opens a new relationship channel with your customers, which reaches them everywhere.
• It provides more opportunities to vary the customers’ experiences with your brand.
• It enables you to collect better data about your customers’ habits and behavior.

Always trust in Flow…

Angela has bought something online and, whether she has used the discount or not, it is a good idea to thank her for her order and the choice she made, by email. Your customers need to know that after they click to pay for goods or services, the order arrives without any problems. Afterwards, send Angela a short message to begin a new journey, which will lead to her downloading and registering the app.

Always remember that thanks to the Email Designer HTML editor, you can quickly design eye-catching communications. You can, for example, create templates that not only thanks the customer for a purchase, but also recommends the new app as a valuable means of keeping in touch to always be up-to-date about the news, events, promotions, offers and special discounts reserved just for them. Personalization is increasingly the key to success: The messages, the timing, and the appropriate channel… in short, the very personal relationship with your customers.

Option a: Angela receives the invitation and downloads the app.

Wow, first goal’s been achieved: A new multi-channel customer is on board! Now you can go on with the next step of your project, and send a push notification with a link to the post-purchase survey, explaining the importance of their opinion for you. Pamper Angela a little and let her know how interested you are in her suggestions.

Leave her a few days to fill in the survey, but If Angela still ignores your request, you can make one more attempt, by sending her a new push notification as reminder.

If, on the other hand, you discover that she has filled in the questionnaire, do not fail to thank her for her feedback.

By creating consistency between the messages on the different channels, you show that you are really paying attention to her. You’re not using multiple channels in an uncoordinated way, but are creating a lasting and valuable relationship for both of you. Maybe you can reward her again with a coupon off the next purchase – this time in-store – or perhaps with payback points. Whatever you choose, the focus should be Angela.

Option b: Angela doesn’t download your app after your email.

If she doesn’t download the app, even after a few days, try once more with an email to remind Angela of the app availability, and the benefits it can provide. Perhaps she’s just busy and can’t find time. But after your second message, maybe Angela registers the app and completes the survey. Bingo: A new multi-channel customer is on board! Start using the push channel immediately, and thank Angela for her trust by rewarding her with, for example, discount coupons or invitations to special events … here, the only difficulty is choice.

If instead, Angela is keen to let you know her opinion by filling out the survey, but does not wish to download the app, you still need to show her that you appreciate her contribution. A thank you e-mail or SMS, including a reward, will show the importance of her feedback to you.

And if, despite everything, Angela doesn’t download the app or fill out the survey, don’t lose heart. Bide your time and respect Angela’s space. She could decide to download the app at a later time. In which case, you have everything in place to send a push notification and remind her of the survey again. But if she decides not to register the app, her journey ends for now. There is certain to be future opportunities, perhaps on other communication channels, to try and encourage Angela to download your app again.

And just how does Flow help you with Angela?

Here they are, Angela’s potential journeys, thanks to the Marketing Cloud platform.

And now?

Everything could just end here, but you haven’t really dealt with a very important target among your customers. In the first article, a new digital relationship was born with your retail shoppers. But it is not everyone, even after registering on your e-commerce site, who will buy something. They could, for example, have browsed online and chosen something, but not actually completed the purchase. But don’t neglect those who have an abandoned cart, they too have started on the path to become multi-channel customers, so let’s follow them! In the next article, we’ll see how an automation in Flow can continue to keep them even more ENGAGED!

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Turn your shoppers into multi-channel customers

The new season’s begun, and it couldn’t get off to a better start! The in-store staff have collected the phone numbers and email addresses from almost everyone that has bought something, while every online customer has been encouraged to download the new app. Why?

Because now it’s time to move up a gear and take advantage of the enormous potential that a multi-channel communications strategy offers you. A study by Contactlab experts in collaboration with Exane BNP Paribas, highlighted the importance of digital customers to a company’s total profits. Customers that can be reached digitally, spend a lot, even in-store… producing 27% of the store revenue and 73% when it comes to e-commerce.

The study further highlights the importance of harmonizing the activities of various sales and contact channels, in order to integrate offers and deliver successful marketing campaigns.

This is the first in a series of three articles, which explore the subject in further detail. In particular, we’ll show how easy it is to use Flow to create automated, precisely targeted, yet still individually tailored communication activities, which are intended to increase customer enthusiasm for the brand, generate contact opportunities and support sales.

Ready? Then let’s get started…

From buying in-store to the first online purchase: Let’s follow Angela…

When she bought something from the latest range in-store, Angela registered her phone number and email details for marketing purposes. As a reward, she can now receive a 5% discount off her next online purchase, if she subscribes to your e-commerce newsletter. By attracting in-store customers to subscribe in this way, you can, for example:

• Create integrated profiles of your previously offline clients, follow them and know them better.
• Improve the quality of your customer base and monitor the behavior of more customers.
• Give them access to an easy way to become cross-channel clients, with enormous advantages for you both!

But where do you start? Let’s do it with Flow – the marketing automation module of the Contactlab Marketing Cloud.
When Angela concludes a purchase in-store, she joins the automaton in Flow and begins the journey that you have designed and built for her.

Let’s go through the steps…

Angela completes the purchase in-store and because of this, she was automatically added to the journey. Now the first thing to do, is to wait and see if she follows your sales associate’s request and completes the online subscription. You decide to wait half a day, then check if Angela has actually subscribed.

Option a: Angela hasn’t subscribed?

Send an SMS to remind her of the chance to receive the discount. Thanks to the Marketing Cloud, you can easily overcome SMS length limitations by using concatenated SMS.

If she continues to ignore your reminders, end the activity for now. Maybe she prefers to remain a ‘retail’ client and has no interest in the offers on your e-commerce site. Maybe you can try again later.

If, on the other hand, she subscribes to your newsletter following your SMS, you can welcome her by sending an email with a discount coupon off her next online purchase. Thanks to the new Email Designer HTML editor, it is easier than ever to create the right template and design the content just for her.

Option b: Angela subscribed to your newsletter after buying something in-store?

Don’t wait any longer. Send her the welcome email with the discount code immediately.

But the Angela’s journey with your brand does not end here.
If she has received the coupon, let’s watch her next actions.

1. It could be that everything goes according to plan and Angela uses the discount for her first online purchase. If so, the goal is achieved. You can say hello for now and close your journey.
2. Or perhaps you discover that Angela actually bought on your site without using the coupon. If that’s the case, you could send an additional email to remind her that the coupon is still there, and the expiry date.
3. But you also have to consider another option. Angela doesn’t buy, and consequently, she doesn’t take advantage of the coupon. In this case, you could decide to make one last attempt, and send her a new email reminding her of the 5% discount off the first online purchase. Afterwards, close this first flow.

And just how does Flow help you with Angela?

Here they are, Angela’s potential journeys, thanks to the Marketing Cloud platform.

And now?

Everything could just end here, but a new digital relationship has just been born, and you can’t ignore it. Perhaps not all your in-store shoppers have started the journey yet, but those who have made their first online purchase, are well on the way to becoming multi-channel customers!

And in the next article, we’ll see how the newly built automation can continue with Flow to keep Angela and all the others even more ENGAGED!

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