uncovering missed revenue opportunities

W H I T E P A P E R

UncovERIng Missed Revenue oPPoRTUnITIEsExploring the customer Lifecycle

1-888-BRonTo1 bronto.com

EXPLoRIng THE cUsToMER LIFEcYcLEThe task of identifying missed revenue opportunities can be overwhelming. Walking through the customer lifecycle will not only streamline the process, but will also help you to better understand the user experience from newly opted-in to frequently purchasing.

Once new tactics have been identified, it is important to determine if they can be automated. Automating messages provides “set-it-and-forget-it” comfort to your team. Requiring a one-time set up and minimal ongoing maintenance, automated messages will drive revenue in the background while you have more time to focus on other initiatives.

Exploring the customer Lifecycle Prospects - Welcome Messages - Welcome Series - Product Category - Abandoned Cart Reminders - Dynamic Offers

Purchasers - Order and Shipping Confirmations - Reorder Reminders - Lapsed Purchaser

Ongoing Engagement - Disengaged and Inactive Subscribers - Post-Purchase Series

Finding new ways to increase sales from your email program can be like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. While levers like A/B testing, mailing frequency and segmentation can help optimize existing programs, only by introducing new strategies to augment existing tactics can you discover truly new revenue streams in your program. Not knowing where to start can be challenging and frustrating. Depending solely on engagement metrics like open, click and conversion rates to uncover new revenue-generating ideas is likely to result in missed opportunities.

This white paper will step through each phase of the customer lifecycle, outlining consumer behavior along the way and identifying revenue-generating programs that you can implement.

UncovERIng MIssEd REvEnUE oPPoRTUnITIEsEXPLoRIng THE cUsToMER LIFEcYcLE

PURCHASERSPROSPECTS

ONGOING ENGAGEMENT


PRosPEcTsSubscribers are considered prospects if they are on your list and have never purchased. The subscriber has shown enough interest in your brand to sign up to receive emails but there hasn’t been a promotion or product that has convinced them to buy. Prospects may have never opened or clicked in any email or may be highly engaged non-purchasers. This subscriber group is likely to comparison shop and more frequently abandon shopping carts.

Prospects can be classified in two categories:

New Subscribers: Recently signed up to receive email communications, may have received a few promotions or visited the website, but have not purchased.

Existing Subscribers: Potentially engaged with the brand in email or another channel, has received many promotional emails but has not made a purchase.

Focusing on strategies to convert a subscriber from a prospect to a customer is the goal for any email program, but many marketers do not specifically target either group. Many of the revenue opportunities in this white paper will apply to both audiences though there can be value in specifically targeting each group of prospects.

Welcome MessagesFirst impressions are lasting impressions. A welcome email can provide an important push toward a prospect’s first purchase. This audience has shown enough interest to subscribe but may be unfamiliar with your brand. Combating this imbalance between engagement and brand awareness can help guide the subscriber further down the purchase funnel.

Welcome messages should include information that will encourage the new subscriber to interact with your brand. Encourage the subscriber to “like” or “follow” your brand on Facebook or Twitter. Showcase ways the new user can be involved in Pinterest: promote your Pinterest boards, encourage them to like pins or repin to their own board. This will provide additional messaging opportunities but will also help the prospect to better understand the value of buying from your brand.

Including a limited-time offer for a first purchase can help maintain the shopping momentum that could have led the consumer to subscribe. While using urgency to drive purchases is frequently used in email promotions, the new subscriber may be more likely to react compared to a non-purchasing opener.

EXISTING SUBSCRIBERSNEW SUBSCRIBERS

PROSPECTS


Bronto client, Gander Mountain, updated their welcome email from a basic subscription confirmation to showcase a promotional theme which includes links to several product categories and a coupon code active for a week. Sales from the welcome email now represent 30% of all email marketing revenue for the company. Sales per welcome email sent reached $1.85. The average order value from their welcome email increased 19%.

Welcome seriesExpanding the welcome message concept to a multi-email stream provides more opportunities to drive engagement, educate the new subscriber about your brand and reinforce the urgency using a first-purchase offer.

These messages can be automatically sent to the new subscriber based on their opt-in date and spread out over a few weeks. While the 8-part welcome series below may be too robust, some of the specific concepts may work well with your subscribers or can be combined within one email.

Welcome Series Theme Example Content

Email 1 Confirm Welcome confirmation

Email 2 Educate Importance of using eco-friendly products

Email 3 Promote Getting started with top sellers

Email 4 Expand Social media introduction

Email 5 Engage Find the right product for you

Email 6 Incent 20% coupon

Email 7 Share Product demo video

Email 8 Exchange Customer testimonials

Subject Line: Welcome to the Great Outdoors!


Kaleidoscope Yarns, a Bronto client, expanded their subscription form to collect pertinent information for more relevant email communications. Subscribers immediately receive the first welcome email in the series, followed by two additional emails over the course of ten days. The first message welcomes the new subscriber to the list, provides a 15% off coupon and gives several ways to engage with the brand. The second message includes a free pattern, and the third provides educational information, along with a list of the top ten best-selling accessories.

After only one month, revenue generated by the welcome messages increased 150%. Then, when the creative revisions to the website and expanded subscription form were factored in, welcome-generated revenue had nearly quadrupled.

Subject Line: Save 15% at Kyarns! Here’s your coupon for signing up.

Product categorySince the subscriber has opted-in recently, very little behavioral data will be available for use in targeted messages. There are two data sources that can provide additional context about the new subscriber and what they may be interested in purchasing.

The most accessible data would be information the subscriber provided while they were opting-in. The data captured on an opt-in form should provide for long-term segmentation capabilities but should also provide opportunities to immediately target relevant messages to new subscribers. Collecting product category interests can increase the relevance of products and offers used for both new and existing subscribers who have not purchased. Site data may exist but could be more difficult to leverage for email segmentation.

The second email in BackCountry.com’s welcome series highlights product categories that may interest the new subscriber. The entire email and subject line are dedicated to letting the subscriber know that they are trying to send relevant messages. This sentiment can help build long-term engagement and trust in the brand while closing sales on products that are geared directly to a shopper’s preferences.


Subject Line: Saw These Goodies and Thought of You


Abandoned cart RemindersAlthough some level of interest in the brand can be assumed since the subscriber made the effort to opt-in to email communications, their interest in completing a purchase is not as clear. With shopping cart abandonment rates hovering around 72%, many shoppers may need more reasons to buy from your brand. While variables like high shipping costs and long delivery times lead to abandonment, consumer behavior is evolving, especially when it comes to how shopping carts are used. According to comScore, 56% of consumers use carts to save items for later.

Abandoned cart reminder emails can garner 2x the open rate and 8x the conversion rate of regular promotional messages. With results like that, they are worth having in your automated email arsenal.

Bronto client, CHiA’SSO, launched a 2-part abandoned cart reminder program. The first message received a 67% open rate and 41% click rate. While this high level of engagement resulted in strong sales, a second reminder was sent to subscribers who did not open the first email. The follow-up email received a 56% conversion rate, illustrating that one message may not fully save all potentially lost sales.

ongoing dynamic offersIf you want something, ask for it. Taking a more direct approach with prospects can put the marketer’s desire to convert a prospect out front. This strategy can mirror that of a reengagement email series that offers more aggressive discounts for that first purchase over time. This upfront marketing message may be seen as too aggressive by some new subscribers who do not have the longer-term relationship with the brand. Testing will help identify which prospect segments lead to the most conversions.

Overstock.com used a one-two punch of a subject line and above-the-fold banner dedicated to a 10% discount for a first purchase.

Subject Line: 10% OFF YOUR FIRST PURCHASE


PURcHAsERsOne of the advantages of identifying revenue opportunities among those who have already purchased from your brand is that you should have access to more data on these subscribers. While having historical data does provide many options, it is important to realize that targeting the purchaser audience as a whole is short-sighted. Some purchasers may have stopped opening and clicking emails. Others may be highly engaged, yet they are not buying. There may be a large number of purchasers who are only one-time buyers. Others may regularly purchase. Exploring engagement and purchase activity will help uncover and better define revenue opportunities.

order and shipping confirmationsImmediately shifting marketing efforts as soon as the subscriber converts to a purchaser will help drive additional sales. Order and shipping confirmation emails are considered transactional and do not require an opt-in. However, this also means you are restricted in the amount of promotional content you can include within the email. A commonly followed practice is to dedicate no more than 20% of the email to promotions and the other 80% devoted to the transaction.

Bronto client, Envelopes.com, nicely balances the promotional and transaction information in their order confirmation email. In additional to detailing the order specifics, the email features loyalty program information, customer service options and two product collections.


Reorder ReminderIf you sell products that need to be replenished or have an expiration date, an automated reorder reminder can serve as a helpful customer service communication that drives repeat sales. If the dates are defined, like a month’s supply of your product, you can use the order date to define when the reorder reminder email should be sent. If your product’s lifespan is defined by usage, like guitar strings, then ask the subscriber when they would like to be reminded. This will help to ensure that your message is timely and expected by the customer.

1-800 Contacts reinforces the ease of reordering a past purchase and includes a free shipping offer as well as a simple “click to order” call to action.

Lapsed PurchaserThe first of two reengagement opportunities presented in this white paper, the Lapsed Purchaser segment has previously purchased and still opens and clicks in emails. They have exhibited interest in your brand, are engaged, yet products or promotions (or a combination of the two) are not resonating enough to result in a purchase.

Sending an automated message to lapsed purchasers breaks the cadence the subscriber expects and a special offer to encourage another purchase can result in taking their consistent engagement and turning it into a sale.

Bedford Fair took a personal tone asking customers why it has been a while since they have shopped online. Taking a conversational approach can provide a refreshing change in an otherwise promotional email program. Taking time to let past customers know they are valued can help lead to repeat purchases.

Subject Line: Dear Customer, where have you been? Please come back!


ongoIng EngAgEMEnTdisengaged and Inactive subscribersEvery subscriber list carries dead weight. If ignored, the population of subscribers who are completely ignoring your emails will swell. The data hygiene benefits of launching a reengagement series targeted to these subscribers is clear, and can also be an opportunity to generate sales.

Triggering an email when a subscriber reaches a threshold of inactivity to let them know they are missed and to remind them of the value of being part of the email program may be enough to reengage the subscriber. Introducing a limited-time offer in a following message triggered to those who ignored the first email introduces a sense of urgency and a larger value proposition to the dormant subscriber. The next email could remind the subscriber that their limited-time offer is about to expire. The final email, sent to those who ignored the previous emails, should let them know they will be removed from the list if they do not take an action.

While this approach is effective for a broad audience, you may want to take a more targeted approach. Compare purchasers to non-purchasers. Does this analysis indicate how long it might take for each group to become inactive? A high number of one-time purchasers may indicate that encouraging ongoing engagement after that first purchase could lead to improved customer loyalty.

Buy.com pulls out all the stops. From the usage of capital letters in the subject line to the free loyalty points and a coupon, the brand is letting the subscriber know they are valued while giving them every reason to start shopping.

Subject Line: We REALLY Miss You! Check out our EXCLUSIVE offer just for you!


Post-Purchase seriesCustomers expect to receive order and shipping confirmations, but emails related to that purchase do not need to end once the product arrives. Developing a multi-email post-purchase series will provide opportunities to build a stronger customer data profile, reinforce your commitment to customer satisfaction, build product review content and introduce upsells and cross-sells related to the purchase.

The following table outlines several messages that could be sent after an initial purchase has been made. Consider how many promotional emails a subscriber will receive outside of a post-purchase stream and only include those that add value to the customer’s experience.

Email Day of Send

Order Confirmation 1

Welcome (No Coupon) 1

Shipping Confirmation 3

Manage Preferences 4

Social Introduction 7

Customer Service Options 10

Satisfaction Survey 14

Promote Similar Items 21 (If you liked this, then you might like..)

Review Request 25

Next Purchase Coupon 32

Remail Next Purchase Coupon 62

Share Your Thoughts 90

Best Buy sends a dedicated product review email about 30 days after a purchase. This allows enough time for the customer to use the product and provide a valuable review. The other primary calls-to-action in the email are non-promotional, telling the customer how they can trade-in or recycle unused electronics.

Subject Line: Review your Best Buy Purchase

bronto.com1-888-BRonTo1

About Bronto

Bronto Software provides solutions for retailers and other commerce-focused companies to drive revenue through targeted email and cross-channel marketing. The company serves over 1000 organizations worldwide, including Party City, Armani Exchange, Timex, Samsonite and Trek Bikes. Bronto is a five-time finalist and two-time winner of the Stevie Award for Best Customer Service and was named a CODiE Award Finalist for Best Marketing Solution in 2011 and 2012. Bronto is headquartered in Durham, NC with an office in London, UK. For more information, visit bronto.com.

Identifying missed revenue opportunities across the customer lifecycle is a worthwhile endeavor. Not only will you gain additional sales, but you will provide your customers with an engaging and relevant email program. It’s no small task. But, fortunately, many of these campaigns can be automated, meaning that a one-time set-up effort will lead to ongoing sales without much heavy lifting. While you may not find that elusive pot o’ gold, you will certainly find a few four leaf clovers along the way.

uncovering missed revenue opportunities

Documents