Turn abandoned carts into sales in 5 easy steps

The sad truth is, many virtual designs are abandoned every day, left cold and lonely, waiting for their time to shine.  Why is it that someone would take the time to carefully create a design and order, only to jump ship at the critical step of closing the sale?  If you know that your pricing, taxes, shipping and payment process is all in order then the most likely causes are:-

• Their internet connection was having problems, or they accidentally  closed the browser;
• They were unexpectedly called away or distracted;
• They’re comparison shopping and gathering quotes;
• They’re still researching and are yet to make a decision;
• Shipping costs were too high;
• The total cost was higher than they expected.

The good news is that if the cause was any of those listed above, all is not lost.  There is still a big opportunity to close the sale.  A proactive measure such as a well-timed email can tempt the customer back and get results.  So let’s reclaim these missed opportunities with this step-by-step guide to a cleverly constructed email campaign.

Identifying cart abandonments

First you need to be aware of when a cart is abandoned. Hope this works will depend on the commerce software or service you are using. Through DecoNetwork’s Business Hub, for example, you’ll be alerted to any abandoned carts in the left menu panel.  You can see what stage they bailed out and the customer’s details, the products they selected, the order value and their saved artwork.  Armed with this valuable insight you can cleverly target your email.  For example if they abandoned at the shipping stage you could entice them with a discount on their shipping or free shipping.

Customise your email

Now that you have identified an abandoned cart customer, you can email them, tailoring the messaging to suit their proposed order. To save time you can customise your abandoned cart email template and word it in a way that it would suit any abandoned cart customer. Check how to do this with your website developer commerce service provider or, if you are a DecoNetwrok user, go to:- Admin > Settings > Email & Order Templates > Email Templates > Customer Contact Emails – Abandoned Cart Follow-up Email >Edit.

Make the subject line of your email irresistible

To increase the chance of your email being read make your subject line concise and intriguing, compelling or entertaining. Here are some examples:-

• Did you forget something?
• Where did you go?
• We want you back
• We like your style _____ (personalise with first name)
• Share your design with the world
• We’ve saved your design for you
• Thanks for visiting us at ______ (your store or business name)
• It’s time to unveil your masterpiece

Step 4: Compose the email

Offering a discount towards their order is a common tactic to entice the customer to buy now.  Here is an example of a well-crafted email template:- Hi _________, We noticed that you created an awesome design on our website but didn’t complete the checkout, so we took the liberty of saving your design and order for you. Your creations should be shared with the world so how about we give you a helping hand?  Simply complete your purchase by clicking this link _____  and use coupon code  ‘welcomeback’ at the checkout to receive 10% off your order. If you have any feedback or questions we’re here to help.  Simply reply to this email or give us a call on (phone).

Set the email to trigger automatically after a set period of time. Ideally the reminder email should be sent within 1-2 days to strike while the iron’s hot. If you’re using DecoNetwork it’s super easy to trigger your email template – just click the Options tab, tick the box and specify the number of days you would like the email to be sent from the cart abandonment.

So there you have it. Abandoned cart emails are quick and easy to set up, measurable and the ROI is great as the customer has already displayed an interest in your products and services.

For more information and advice on using DecoNetwork to grow your business, visit Deco:Zine, the company’s blog.