Multichannel communication in ecommerce or how to get the “abandoned basket” quest?



    Small changes and innovations in business can significantly increase conversion. Entrepreneurs and marketers around the world are constantly looking for such solutions. But sometimes it does not require serious investments - just create a system of existing elements. For example, make communication channels work together.

    For example, take the online shopping industry as a market that is at the forefront of all marketing technologies and with a huge army of consumers. Today we can safely say that the number of purchases online and offline is almost equal. At least this is evidenced by the dataeMarketer editions. Obviously, in order to achieve greater success in e-commerce, it is necessary to facilitate the shopping process for buyers. From product search to the purchasing process, each step should be simple and intuitive. This task, it seems, is not an easy one, but it will be easier to cope with if to optimize communications.

    The first banal, but important thought: a direct presence on the store’s website is only part of the online shopping process. Even if you simplify the process of searching and choosing a product, as well as making a purchase, what should you do with customers who, for some reason, have not gone this way to the end? Will you urge them to return and complete the purchase, or offer other products? This is the abandoned basket quest known in ecommerce.



    The key to the answer lies in understanding that online shopping is a multi-channel experience. A person can start looking for goods from the phone, and then make a purchase from a laptop. And want a new phone in a mall store. You need to reach out to the client, no matter what communication channels he uses.

    We propose the following scenario:

    1. Start with push notifications

    Push notifications are no longer limited to smartphones and tablets. Now they can be sent to the user's desktop computers. We wrote more about this in our “Push Notification Marketer Guide”. A simple reminder to the customer that he has unregistered goods in his basket can convince him to return and complete the purchase. But what if he has already closed the browser or the store application?

    2. Refer to the universal solution: SMS

    If the user left his mobile phone number during registration, send him a short text message. Remind that he did not complete the purchase, and offer him an additional discount or gift voucher. Fantasy can extend further. The main thing is that the client has an incentive to return.

    3. Good old mail

    Email remains the best tool for communicating with the client. Don't have a buyer's mobile number? Write him a letter and tell in more detail what he will gain if he continues to purchase. Based on standard models of customer behavior, trigger mailings are built, which some companies use very effectively.

    4. Communicate

    If the buyer has questions about the product to which he cannot find the answer, he most likely will not make the purchase. Give him the opportunity to ask a question and get an exhaustive answer. Any tool is suitable - from the built-in chat on the site to the exchange of SMS. Communication, from the time of market traders, remains an important, if not a key element of sales. Only its forms change.

    With such a variety of channels, it is important not to get confused and not to start bombarding a potential client with a lot of extra messages. To avoid this, make yourself a clear plan for communication with him, and strictly follow it. We have prepared a special matrix that will help you deal with the plan. To do this, you will need to structure the following information:

    1. Identify bottlenecks. At what point do shoppers most often leave without completing a purchase? What prevents them from reaching the end?

    2. Segment visitors.Someone came to buy something, someone just looks, someone reflects on the purchase, but hesitates. Each group has its own approach. For those who come just to see, offer a discount or a gift - this may lead them to spontaneous purchase. If a person has been studying similar products for a long time, perhaps he may have questions that need to be answered.

    3. Define what you want to tell each group of buyers at each stage. Their bottlenecks are different, which means that the messages must be different.

    4. Decide on the optimal time.to send a message. Everything has its time. If a person has already put several items in the basket, but continues to go around the site - he does not need to be reminded of the need to complete the purchase. The maximum that they can offer is to talk about products that can complement what they have already chosen.

    5. Select the appropriate channel. Push or SMS, mail or all at once? Experiment, choose.

    Having developed the script, be sure to test it, test it many times and make changes. Approaches that work nowhere else can work in your area, so look for exactly what suits you.

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