E-commerce sites are the order of the day.
The competition is huge and the number of new sites getting started every other day is phenomenal. The reason for this outburst is the increased reception and acceptance of people towards these e-commerce sites. More and more people have started to place their trust in them and buy products, including the ones who need heavy investments. A recent survey suggests that nowadays people find it more convenient to sit within the comforts of their home and have a vast line of options displayed before them so that they can choose and buy what they like. Incidentally, the boom has not been restricted towards the customer side only.
If it were so, due to the increased amount of traffic, the websites would crash as they would not be able to bear all the load.
It is but logical that the e-commerce sites needed an immediate upgrade to be at par with the increasing demands, and they have taken many steps to do so since the ultimate aim is to generate as much revenue as possible. One such convenient method of increased customer interaction, service, marketing, and business is through automation.
It is one of that boon of technology which enables these sites to have preloaded emails and replies to visiting and browsing customers so that they stay in the loop of the customer’s wants and negotiate with them daily. Now the question arises, where are you going to implement this automation? Hopefully, this article will be able to answer that.
Always include a welcome e-mail outflow.
Just like the ancient saying goes that the first impression is the last impression, it is essential that you engage a potential customer from the very moment he or she enters your site. A welcome e-mail is an ideal way to do that. It should include a pleasing and appropriate sentence and should make the customer feel that you acknowledge their presence.
You could even pop up an option for signing up for your newsletter. Sales have increased for sites which have a welcome email that strikes a chord with customers, therefore, invest some time to construct one.
Automate list segmentation based on purchase behavior
If your e-commerce site sells a huge variety of products, it is a good idea to segment your customers into categories in which they generally spend most time or make a purchase so that you can correspond with them later. You will have a basis on which to send follow-up emails. It has been noted that people generally tend to stick to one site for buying a particular kind of product, so keeping track of those customers will definitely help.
Exit-intent pop-ups with an incentive
Your intention should be the retention of the customer till the last moment. Exit-intent pop up is the option that is thrown at the customer just before they tend to exit your website. Automation to keep track of their browsing and to understand the pattern before exit is very important here. You could offer assistance to look for something that they couldn’t find or offer discounts or coupon for purchases to catch their interest here.
It is recommended to get your e-commerce site modified accordingly by hosting providers for best and uninterrupted services.
Cart abandonment email
When a person exits a website before checking out or making the payment, an abandonment email comes into play. What you need to understand here is that the customer exits here not because they don’t want to make the purchase, but because there is some hindrance in further steps. You could randomize the different reasons and come up with an appropriate email.
Most commonly, it is the lack of the availability of a guest account or unfavorable payment option that causes this situation, therefore, detecting it and automatically sending emails with solutions will be the correct line of action.
Reach out to your less engaged customers
Yes, the bulk of your business is dependent on your most valuable and frequent customers, but your less engaged ones also provide enough revenue generation options. Therefore, use automation to detect and make a list of such customers and make an effort to get back in touch with them and find out the reasons for their absence and inform them about the latest discounts and coupons on offer, to peak their interests again.
Tap on Up-sell and Cross-sell opportunities
When you Up-Sell, you basically display alternate and more expensive options of a product that a customer intends to buy, which have better reviews from previous customers. Cross-selling means giving a customer additional options to purchase along with that they intend to.
These two strategies can be implemented through automation and are generally successful in making a person spend more.
Next purchase suggestions and reminders
Once the purchase is completed, your work shouldn’t end there. You have to keep the customers constantly in the loop by suggesting them the next product that they can buy, which is generally in relation to past or most frequent purchase. You could also automate to send reminders from time to time.
Taking customer happiness and satisfaction score
It is not only about the business. Customer satisfaction and improvement should also be on your mind if you are developing an e-commerce site. One easy way to do that would be to take feedback from the customers asking them to rate the service and how satisfied were they with the options available and the purchase method. Automation can definitely help in doing that.
Focus on long-term retention of customers
Though e-commerce sites generally run on short-term customers making immediate purchases, intending to retain them for a long-term can be the deal breaker that will spiral you ahead of the others. Therefore, maintain a cordial relation with your trusted customers and enable automation to detect every time they revisit a site by acknowledging their re-entry.
Send the correct reply at the correct time.
One major advantage of automation is that it enables you to engage with a customer at the right time. If there are any queries or complaints, they are addressed immediately as automation assists in getting both the parties in touch and the solution is sought quickly. This creates a positive impression on the customer as well, as they feel valued.
Automation is there to make things easier for you. Therefore, you should use it to the maximum of its potential to benefit largely from it and garner maximum dividends.
