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IRX 2014 - The Best and Worst of Email for Ecommerce
- 1. The Best and Worst of Email for Ecommerce Presented by: SkipFidura ClientServicesDirector,dotMailer Chairman,EmailMarketingCouncil,DMA(UK) @SkipFidura|@dotMailer|#EmailMarketing How do your campaigns stack up?
- 2. 2 75% of abandoning customers say they intended to purchase Source: SeeWhy, 2013
- 4. 4 On average only 8% of customers will return to buy with no remarketing Forrester, 2012
- 5. 5@dotMailer Abandoned Browse Recovery Checklist 1. Includerecommendedproducts 2. Ensuretheemailarriveswithinanhour 3. Useurgency 4. Highlightvalue 5. Useclearandlargeproductimagery 6. Makesureyouaremobileoptimised 7. Includecustomerservicecontactdetails
- 6. 6@dotMailer Abandoned Basket Recovery 20% of the brands reviewed sent a cart abandonment email
- 7. 7 Only 5% of brands follow up on abandoned carts and personalise email… Yet this recovers on average 21%Forrester, 2012
- 8. 8@dotMailer Abandoned Basket Performance Checklist 1. Ensuretheemailarriveswithinanhour 2. Useurgency 3. Highlightvalue 4. Useclearandlargeproductimagery 5. Makesureyouaremobileoptimised 6. Includecustomerservicecontactdetails
- 9. 9 On average, an additional 26% of customers will return to buy when remarketed Source: Bain and Company
- 10. 10@dotMailer Order Confirmation Checklist 1. Ensuretheemailarriveswithinanhour 2. Includeathankyoumessage 3. Refertopurchase 4. Useclearandlargeproductimagery 5. Makesureyouaremobileoptimised 6. Includecustomerservicecontactdetails
- 12. 12@dotMailer Shipping Confirmation Checklist 1. MakesureIt’sclearwhoyouare 2. Tryandprovideaccuratedeliverydetails 3. Letthemknowwhattodoiftheyhave anissue 4. Keeponbrandandpositive 5. Makesureyouaremobileoptimised
- 13. 13@dotMailer Post Purchase Review Checklist 1. Askforcustomerfeedback 2. Incentivisethefeedback 3. Distributeyourreviewsifpossible 4. Useclearandlargeproductimagery 5. SendHTMLstyledemails Only 7 brands proactively asked for a review.
- 14. 14 A 5% increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100%. Repeat customers spend, on average, 67% more than new customers Source: Bain and Company
- 15. Questions? @SkipFidura| @dotMailer | #EmailMarketing 15
Editor's Notes
- Every year, billions of dollars revenue is lost to abandoned online carts, even though 75% of those abandoning customers say they intended to purchase.* We wanted to learn if retailers are using email marketing effectively, not only to re-engage customers with dropped baskets and searches, but to drive up-sell, cross-sell, repeat purchase and loyalty. In short, we wanted to see what the purchase journey experience looks like from the inbox. So we conducted research into 40 major US & UK retailers, and in this document we showcase examples of efforts made to recover our abandoned browsing sessions and carts, confirm purchase and shipping details, and encourage reviews and feedback. How we assessed the retailers We subscribed to each retailer’s newsletter, signed in as a customer on their website, browsed products on the site, abandoned our session, and then revisited two days later to add a product to the shopping basket. We abandoned the shopping basket and after another three days, returned to purchase. The emails we received as a result of these actions were assessed against a criterion that measured their likelihood of: Reaching the customer when the purchase is still front of mind Persuading the customer back to the checkout Providing a clear purchase experience Encouraging reviews and feedback
- We found that some practices that we’d believed to be standard, weren’t. We received just one browse session abandonment email. 80% of retailers didn’t send us a cart recovery email. The quality of the emails that are being sent is lagging, with brands just scratching the surface of potential. The issues presented by the online purchase behaviour such as lack of brand loyalty, and returns / shipping concerns – were scarcely addressed. The good news is that all this oversight leaves a gap for other retailers to step up and fill. Invest in your transactional emails and you’ll avoid your customers defecting to a competitor at that crucial moment.
- Confirmation emails are often plain text or unbranded less focus on design, grammar and clarity“please do not reply to this email” is often included here – not advisableAnother tip is to also include a ‘thank you’ message for placing the orderInclude detail about which purchase you are referring to AND NB: Cross sell or encourage social shares at this point. As a purchase confirmation has no next steps, it’s a good time to encourage social shares, get opt-in to marketing communications, or present a new range – so long as it’s secondary to the purpose of the email (see bottom of Neiman Marcus email)
- Often these are bland and formal. But a delivery update is good news for the customer, so keep copy positive. At this point, details matter - specific delivery date for exampleTake the credit- don’t give it to the delivery company- brand this email as you have the others
- Missed opportunities Most shipping confirmation email felt bland and formal. A delivery update is good news for the customer, so keep copy positive. At this point, details matter. Although over half of the brands surveyed provided tracking information, only one brand included a specific delivery date. If detailed information can be pulled into the email – it should be. In one case the shipping email was sent from and branded by the delivery carrier - not the brand we’d bought from. Whilst technically this was the best delivery service we received, the credit for this service went to the delivery carrier not the retailer. We were even asked to tweet about our delivery experience at a third party’s Twitter feed.
- This is a perfect opportunity to generate reviews – something that’s been proven to positively influence conversion rate. PerhapThe three-quarters of brands that didn’t prompt for reviews at all missed a perfect opportunity to generate reviews – something that’s been proven to positively influence conversion rate. In some cases, surveys were sent by a third party although we hadn’t agreed to our data being shared. If a customer is happy with a purchase, it makes sense that the request (which is essentially a favour) is made by the brand that they’ve interacted with before. Just two of the brands offered an incentive for the feedback, and both were entry into a prize draw. A guaranteed incentive offering a discount on the next purchase seems more logical as it could generate a further sale.Only 7 brands prompted us to survey or review the purchase at all. Of those, two sent plain text emails, and three used full hyper links rather than styled links or buttons, making the emails look unprofessional. s offer an incentive for the feedback – eg a prize draw. A guaranteed incentive offering a discount on the next purchase is logical as it could generate a further sale.