Do You Want 57% Opens, 34% Clicks? I Got It With Shopping Cart Abandonment!

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.

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Bronto’s multi-brand platform

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NOW/FOREVER

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NOW/FOREVER

@markmcknight

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NOW/FOREVER

@markmcknight

@jbartlett79

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NOW/FOREVER

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Chattanooga, TN

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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”

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Why follow up with abandoned carts?

THIS IS WORK.

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but it works.

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

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1

STEP 1

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 1, make a plan.

make a plan.

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Start on paper.

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Start on paper.

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

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Start on paper.

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

What goes on the development roadmap?

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Abandoned cart roadmap

STEP 2

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 2: design & build

design & build.

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Again, I suggest paper.

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Mock it up; show it to your developer.

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Map the fields you’ll need.

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Map the fields you’ll need.

Iterate.

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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.

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

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Abandoned cart roadmap

STEP 3

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step 3: develop & program

develop & program.

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Develop the process!

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

Start collecting the data if you don’t already.

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

How can you get them into Bronto?

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

Will you need to determine the criteria?

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step(s) 4+

STEP(S) 4+

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Abandoned cart roadmap: Step(s) 4+

TEST! TEST! TEST! (REPEAT)

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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).

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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!

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

THIS IS WORK.

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let’s look at what we built.

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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.

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Subject line: Oops! Stands out from the crowd.

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

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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

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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

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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?

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

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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

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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!

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Reinforce your key value propositions. Keep it simple.

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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%

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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

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How many abandonments were saved?

95%

5%

Purchased Didn’t purchase

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Which email drove the purchase?

7%7%

86%

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

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Thursday, May 2, 13

Do You Want 57% Opens, 34% Clicks? I Got It With Shopping Cart Abandonment!

Technology

Transcript of Do You Want 57% Opens, 34% Clicks? I Got It With Shopping Cart Abandonment!