Uncovering Missed Revenue Opportunities

WHITE
PAPER
Uncovering
Missed Revenue
Opportunities
Exploring the Customer Lifecycle
Uncovering Missed Revenue Opportunities
Exploring the Customer Lifecycle
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.
EXPLORING THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE
The 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
PROSPECTS
PURCHASERS
ONGOING ENGAGEMENT
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PROSPECTS
Subscribers 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.
PROSPECTS
NEW SUBSCRIBERS
EXISTING SUBSCRIBERS
Welcome Messages
First 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.
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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%.
Subject Line: Welcome to the Great Outdoors!
Welcome Series
Expanding 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
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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.
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Product Category
Since 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
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Abandoned Cart Reminders
Although 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 Offers
If 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
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PURCHASERS
One 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 Confirmations
Immediately 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.
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Reorder Reminder
If 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 Purchaser
The 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!
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ONGOING ENGAGEMENT
Disengaged and Inactive Subscribers
Every 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!
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Post-Purchase Series
Customers 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 (If you liked this, then you might like..)
21
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
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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.
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.
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