Thursday, May 2, 13

Do You Want 57% Opens, 34% Clicks? I Got It with Shopping Cart Abandonment!Rock/Creek’s best-performing email, and what it takes to make your own.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Bronto’s multi-brand platform

Thursday, May 2, 13

NOW/FOREVER

Thursday, May 2, 13

NOW/FOREVER

@markmcknight

Thursday, May 2, 13

NOW/FOREVER

@markmcknight

@jbartlett79

Thursday, May 2, 13

NOW/FOREVER

Thursday, May 2, 13

Chattanooga, TN

Thursday, May 2, 13

The Block, our 5th store in Chattanooga.

“The Block is the largest adaptive reuse project in Chattanooga's history, turning the old Bijou theater into a vibrant urban centerpiece”

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

THIS IS WORK.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

but it works.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

Imagine logging into your Bronto dashboard and seeing metrics like these...

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

Imagine logging into your Bronto dashboard and seeing metrics like these...

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

Imagine logging into your Bronto dashboard and seeing metrics like these...

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

Imagine logging into your Bronto dashboard and seeing metrics like these...

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1

STEP 1

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1, make a plan.

make a plan.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1, make a plan.

Start on paper.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1, make a plan.

Start on paper.

Know (or find out) what you can accomplish today.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1, make a plan.

Start on paper.

Know (or find out) what you can accomplish today.

What goes on the development roadmap?

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap

STEP 2

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

design & build.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

Again, I suggest paper.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

Again, I suggest paper.

Mock it up; show it to your developer.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

Again, I suggest paper.

Mock it up; show it to your developer.

Map the fields you’ll need.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

Again, I suggest paper.

Mock it up; show it to your developer.

Map the fields you’ll need.

Iterate.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

We started with a hypothetical cart and built a static email the way we wanted it, then went back to our developer to pull the information we needed... more from Jeff on this later.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

Even if you’re just saying “we noticed you didn’t check out, can we help?” you’re doing more than many retailers.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap

STEP 3

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

develop & program.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

Develop the process!

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

Ask your e-commerce development team for the data you need.

Start collecting the data if you don’t already.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

Again, I suggest paper.

Draw the flow; where are the key data points held?

How can you get them into Bronto?

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

Define your abandonment trigger: does your e-commerce platform identify abandoners?

Will you need to determine the criteria?

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

What information do you need to populate a compelling email?

We decided we wanted one large “hero” image and several smaller images for other items.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

We wanted to include the product name and the brand name (but not the price, in case it had changed since they last visited).

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

We keep the email in an anonymous profile, write the cart contents to the database, and use the cookie to populate the cart contents on the next visit.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

We store product information in another database, so our abandonment email code includes a cross-check across these two databases.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

Think about how often you can sync data from your e-commerce engine, how often you want to send, and if there will be any lag after an order is placed.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

You will want to build out a temporary suppression list for new purchasers so you’re not sending any triggered emails if a purchase has been made.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step(s) 4+

STEP(S) 4+

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step(s) 4+

TEST! TEST! TEST! (REPEAT)

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap: Step(s) 4+ Test! Test! Test! (Repeat)

What works for your audience will not be the same as what works for us.

Test your subject line, creative, message send timing, and offer (or lack of offer).

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned cart roadmap recap

Make a plan, and go one step at a time. Our current process took over a year to implement.

Step 1: Planning

• Objectives: What are you trying to accomplish?• Timeline: What can you do today? What needs to go on a roadmap.

Step 2: Design & build the emails

• Email subject: How do you want to stand out in the inbox?• Email creative: Feature the product! Keep their interest.• Series timing: Do you need more than one email?

Step 3: Develop & program

• E-comm platform: Does your site retain cart contents in the first place?• Checkout design: Capture e-mails up front, if possible.• Timing: How often are you able to sync data, and when should you send?• API implementation: Transfer cart contents as often as possible. Can you access the product image?

Steps 4+: Test! Test! Test!

• Test all of the various decisions you made above, and never stop testing!

Thursday, May 2, 13

Remember this slide? Now let’s get to work.

THIS IS WORK.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Why follow up with abandoned carts?

let’s look at what we built.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandoned Cart Series

Consider followup emails to convert even more customers.

Send #1: Immediate Send #2: Day 3 Send #3: Day 5

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Checkout flow.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Checkout flow.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Checkout flow.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Checkout flow.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Checkout flow.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Subject line: Oops! Stands out from the crowd.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandon 1: Subject: Oops! Can we help with anything?

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandon 1: Subject: Oops! Can we help with anything?

Elements to include:

• Clear call to action: “Complete my order”• Cart “hero” image. Inspire your customer and

remind them why they were shopping.• Prominent phone number• Offer to help: Was there a problem? You’ll find

out about technology issues far faster with a message like this in place.

• Trust marks• Key value propositions: free shipping, easy

returns, etc.• We include a link to a survey that has been very

helpful in our shopping cart design• We do not include sale pricing, but if you can,

you may want to consider a countdown or date when the sale ends

• Social media/social proof

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandon 1: Subject: Oops! Can we help with anything?

Potential improvements:

• Star ratings• Customer testimonials• More trust marks?• Pricing: especially sale

end dates if we can get them

• Click-to-call• Click-to-chat

Thursday, May 2, 13

Do you need a series?

Second Send: Cart Expiration

• Retains many of the elements from the first abandonment message

• Brings security & ratings seals up a bit• May have too much copy?

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandon 3: Subject: “Inside: 10% off your next order!”

Thursday, May 2, 13

Abandon 3: Subject: “Inside: 10% off your next order!”

Potential improvements:

• Star ratings• Clearer call to action• Customer testimonials• More trust marks?• Pricing: especially sale

end dates if we can get them

• Click-to-call• Click-to-chat• Custom creative for

each segment

Thursday, May 2, 13

SmartFurniture.com abandoned cart example.

Key elements:

• Discount right out of the gate (this was the first email I received)

• I love the “Why Shop Smart?” section with all the key value propositions

• Pricing is included. I would recommend testing this, especially with high-dollar product. We went for a big hero image and are downplaying price.

• Great copy• Clean, to the point. Great design.

Clear call to action!

Thursday, May 2, 13

Reinforce your key value propositions. Keep it simple.

Thursday, May 2, 13

Test Results & Next Steps

Message Subject Open Rate Click Rate Conversion Rate

Abandonment Message 1: Sent

Immediately

Oops! Can we help with anything?

56.2% 34.2% 20.4%

Step 2: Your cart is expiring soon!(No incentive)

Complete your checkout before it's too late.

52.2% 30.0% 7.3%

Step 3 Test A:10% off coupon

WINNER!

Inside: a coupon just for you!

59.2% 25.3% 14.4%

Step 3 Test B:$5 Coupon

59.2% 59.2% 19.1% 11.3%

Thursday, May 2, 13

Test! Test! Test!

Offer test

• We had a clear winner on our offer test between $5 and 10%.• We didn’t want to give away more than was necessary to save the sale.

Subject line test

• We’re currently testing subject line on the third message with the 10% offer.• “Inside: a coupon just for you!” vs. “Inside: 10% off your next order!”

Content test

• Try showing the cart contents again (currently only showing on first 2 mailings).• Perhaps rotate cart contents so the “hero” image changes between send 1 & 2

Thursday, May 2, 13

How many abandonments were saved?

95%

5%

Purchased Didn’t purchase

Thursday, May 2, 13

Which email drove the purchase?

7%7%

86%

Purchase on message #1 Purchase on message #2 Purchase on message #3

Thursday, May 2, 13

Thursday, May 2, 13