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See Features7 WooCommerce email marketing tips for increasing revenue
As an ecommerce store owner, you don’t need us to tell you that boosting revenue from the traffic you’re already attracting is the easiest way to increase profit.
The real challenge is: How do you achieve this?
The answer: Email marketing
Email marketing still boasts the highest ROI out of any marketing channel (that is, if you’re using one of the top WooCommerce plugins). In some cases, it’s been known to return a whopping $40 for every $1 spent!
Best of all, it’s one of the few marketing channels you own; i.e., you’re not beholden to the whims of the social media and search engine giants (namely, Google) who can change their algorithms at any time.
With that in mind, let’s dig into a few WooCommerce email marketing tips that will start boosting conversions.
Let’s dive in!
1. Abandoned cart emails boast the highest conversions
There are many reasons why customers regularly abandon their digital carts before completing their orders.
For instance, perhaps they:
- Encountered an unexpected issue on your site
- Got distracted
- Wanted to evaluate the final cost of the order
- Might not be entirely convinced that the purchase is worth their hard-earned cash
If you’re wondering how often customers actually abandon their carts, the answer’s probably more than you’d think. In fact, across all industries, the average cart abandonment rate 75.6% (and that’s even higher for mobile users!). Recovering even 1% of these lost sales could mean thousands of dollars in additional revenue.
Whatever the customer’s reasoning, there’s a way to pick up those potential lost customers: abandoned cart emails. Extensive studies on abandoned cart emails show that their average conversion rate is just over 18%—Omnisend customers average 25% (impressive, right?). These are all customers who otherwise would have left your store altogether without a purchase.
Abandoned cart emails remind shoppers about the specific products they’ve left behind and entices them to come back to complete their purchase.
So, how can you best create abandoned cart emails in order to drive conversions?
- Be short and to the point. You don’t need to be pushy or try too hard to sell anything. It’s often sufficient that your message serves as a reminder of the products left in the customer’s cart.
- Shine the spotlight on a single product. Identify the highest-value and most desirable item in their cart. This works wonders for reigniting their initial excitement.
- Make the most of loyalty. Reward repeat customers with discounts and special offers to encourage them to complete their purchase.
The best time to send abandoned cart emails is an hour after the customer clicks off their cart without purchasing, as the shopping experience will be fresh in their mind. After 24 hours, you can send another follow-up email.
With pre-built workflow templates, Omnisend makes automating abandoned cart emails for your WooCommerce store a breeze.
Here’s an example of a generic cart recovery email.
‘Hello [insert the name of the customer],
We’ve noticed you still have items in your cart. We don’t want you to miss out on these limited offers. Click here to return to checkout.
If you’re having trouble completing your order, we’re here to help! Just let us know if you have any questions.’
Omnisend lets you send emails like this with advanced functionality, such as product recommendations or discount coupons tailored to the customer’s needs.
2. Start using automated email funnels explicitly made for WooCommerce stores
Automated email funnels are key to transforming potential customers into paying customers. Done well, you can nurture a subscriber from their first interaction with your brand to their first purchase, and continue that into the long-term. Needless to say, this is incredible for boosting customer retention.
However, all prospects are different, with different needs for you to lean on to turn them into valued shoppers. This is why this WooCommerce email marketing technique is described as a ‘funnel.’
By this, we mean, you segment your audience so that you send users content relevant to wherever they’re at in their buyer’s journey. As they make their way through your funnel, they’ll inch increasingly closer to becoming a paying customer, and then hopefully a loyal one.
With the right tools, marketing automation for these kinds of WooCommerce campaigns while monitoring consumer behavior on your site is easy. With this data to hand, you’ll be better positioned to segment your email list. In fact, AI-driven email marketing typically results in a 13.44% boost in click-through rate and a 41.29% increase in revenue!
With Omnisend, your WooCommerce email marketing is made easy. This email marketing plugin recommends automated workflows for your specific business. From there, you can tailor its email templates and marketing funnels to suit your needs.
Say you wanted to reach out to a new subscriber. You could send automated welcome emails to engage with them from the get-go. Conversely, suppose you’re messaging a long-standing customer. In that case, you might invite them to join an exclusive club to get access to member-only deals and content.
Simple, right?
3. Auto-Create coupons and discounts with pre-set expiration dates
Everybody loves a bargain, which is why WooCommerce email marketing campaigns typically perform better when you throw in the occasional discount. This is a popular strategy worldwide — in fact, in 2019, 31 billion eCoupons were redeemed globally.
In the world of eCommerce, a discount is the closest consumers get to experiencing something of ‘tangible’ value. As such, it provides an excellent incentive for customers to return and purchase something from your online shop. Fifty percent of people are more likely to visit your online store if they have a coupon, and 68% say coupons help generate loyalty.
But how does this affect WooCommerce email marketing?
Well, coupons can increase your email open rates by 14% and boost the average revenue per email sent by 48%.
These stats alone highlight exactly why it’s a great idea to introduce coupons and discounts to your WooCommerce email marketing strategy. But, to really reap the rewards, it’s worth creating a sense of urgency too. This is easily achieved by adding an expiration date to the coupons you generate. But generating these manually can be really time-consuming — ideally, you need a system that automates coupon expiration and tailors it to each individual customer.
Omnisend allows you to pre-set the conditions that warrant a coupon code and when they should expire. Once you’ve set this up, your discount strategy will run automatically.
For example, you might want to encourage customers to return to their cart and finish their orders. In this case, you could send an automated email one hour after your customer abandons their cart. This could contain an incentive for 10% off their purchase if they complete their order within 24 hours.
For instance, you might say something like this:
‘Dear [insert customer name]
We’ve noticed you haven’t completed your order. We wanted to offer you 10% off if you complete your purchase in the next 24 hours. Happy shopping!’
4. Use email automation to send product recommendations
Product recommendations are powerful. Shoppers that click through to your website because of an email product recommendation are twice as likely to return. In fact, an estimated 35% of Amazon’s sales are accredited to personalized product recommendations.
So why is this simple strategy so effective?
The answer is simple, personalized recommendations:
- Make the customer feel seen and understood so that they see their needs reflected in your WooCommerce email marketing content. Present customers with products they’re actually interested in, based on their recent online behavior.
- Make it easier for customers to shop. Instead of having to actively research an item, they can simply click the link in your email and evaluate your recommendation.
- Remind customers about your online store, prompting them to return to your website.
Omnisend’s WooCommerce integration allows you to easily send emails with product recommendations.
5. Start segmenting your email list and cross-selling
Segmenting your customers based on their shopping habits and previous interactions with your brand is key to any successful WooCommerce email marketing campaign.
Segmented campaigns have been known to generate a 760% increase in revenue. This is because personalization is crucial to enhancing the customer experience and building rapport with your subscribers.
Here are just a few of the many things you can achieve with a segmented email list:
- You can send content that’s more relevant to the recipient’s needs, therefore boosting engagement.
- You can better guide your audience through the stages of your email funnel (depending on what step they’re already at).
- You can more effectively cross-sell to customers based on their previous purchase history.
If you’re wondering where to begin with a cross-selling email, this is the kind of thing we’re talking about:
‘We’ve had a look at your recent order and think you might be interested in these products to compliment your purchase [insert three similar/related products].’
6. Start sending transactional emails
Research shows that confirmation emails have the potential to outperform the majority of bulk emails. After all, it’s only natural that when a customer makes a purchase, they want reassurance that everything’s gone through smoothly.
Well thought out confirmation emails provide more than just peace of mind. They also present an opportunity to:
- Cross-sell and upsell
- Increase the customer’s lifetime value and loyalty
- Reaffirm your relationship with the customer
- Offer discounts on follow-up purchases
- Ask for customer feedback
Delivery tracking and receipts are similarly essential for customers to rest easy knowing their items are on their way.
Using Omnisend, you can automatically notify shoppers regarding:
- Their order confirmation
- When the shipping carrier picks up their parcel from the warehouse
- When the parcel reaches a half-way location (if applicable)
- When the parcel can be expected to be delivered
7. Order follow-up and customer feedback emails
Last but not least, it’s good practice to follow up after a successful sale. This is a fantastic opportunity to thank customers for their continued loyalty, make further recommendations, and make them feel heard by asking for their feedback.
With the Omnisend + WooCommerce integration, you can send automated follow-up emails with customer feedback forms included. This enables the shopper to tell you what they liked about your customer experience—and, more importantly, what they didn’t. With these insights, you can identify where there’s room for improvement and do something about it.
Despite the effectiveness of follow up emails, very few companies actually utilize this strategy. So, this is a simple way to stand out from the crowd!
Here’s a template you can use as a guide for your first follow-up:
‘Dear [insert customer name]
You recently purchased [insert name of product] from our store – we hope you’re happy with it!
If you’ve got a moment, we’d love to know if you’re satisfied with your purchase. Follow this link to fill out a quick survey, and get 10% off your next purchase.’
Bonus: send SMS messages
While email is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools at your disposal, other channels can certainly enhance your customer interactions. After all, not everyone actively looks at or clicks through their emails. As such, adding SMS and social media to your marketing arsenal is worth their weight in gold. In fact, 72% of customers interact with brands through multiple channels before making a purchase.
Omnisend also comes with an integrated SMS creation tool to harness the power of omnichannel marketing and reach customers in a quick and personalised manner – on a channel with an open rate of up to 98%!
Wrap up
We hope these tips inspire your next WooCommerce email marketing campaign. There’s no denying that a high-converting email funnel is a game-changer. By acknowledging the different emails you can send at various stages of the buyer’s journey, you’re more likely to retain customers and secure more sales.
Just remember, personalization goes a long way. Utilize product recommendations, segmentation, and be willing to offer incentives through coupons and discounts. Using automations you can always match the right discount to the right shopper: rewarding loyalty, coaxing back abandoned carts, and so on.
So, if you’re ready to take your WooCommerce email marketing to the next level, start using Omnisend today. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
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