By Ruth Richter • August 15, 2018
How many of us use our Amazon shopping cart as less of a cart and more of a wish-list? If you’re like many online shoppers, you might drop a slew of products into your cart and then mark all but the ones you actually need as “Save for Later.” But, what happens if “later” never comes—when more things pile up in that shopping cart, or you forget to buy what’s sitting in there for legitimate purchase?
The fact is that almost 96 percent of first-time visitors to a site won’t purchase during that original visit. Not only that but, if you don’t capture your visitors’ attention within 8 seconds, the majority of them will click off your website. How do you then encourage shoppers to not only return to your site, but to complete the purchases on their abandoned shopping carts?
Easier Purchase Options
One tactic may simply be to make purchasing even easier. Dynamic checkout buttons—such as adding a “Buy Now” button under the “Add to Cart,” much like Amazon does with its 1-click option—significantly improve buying, especially for customers browsing on a mobile device. Mobile shopping makes up less than 40 percent of revenue right now, despite contributing to nearly 60 percent of browsing sessions. For those who prefer to purchase on a PC, an easy checkout via mobile device (for instance, via PayPal or ApplePay) might encourage them to purchase the first time.
But, for those who need more time to think, browse, or comparison shop, the best way to get them to purchase is to get them back to your site.
Find Them with Retargeting
How many times have you been browsing Facebook just to have a company you like pop up in your feed advertising the very item you popped into a shopping cart but didn’t complete to purchase? Retargeting focuses on your existing prospects, boosting engagement through targeted ads. Social media sites such as Facebook offer retargeting solutions that attach cookies to your visitors’ browser, finding them when they’re on Facebook again and ensuring a custom ad or boosted posts shows up in their feed.
Retargeting is also a great way to get existing customers who haven’t been around much to click to your website and see what’s new. Facebook Custom Audience can target customers based on any part of their contact information, such as phone number or email address—all information that should be easily accessible from your CRM.
Data from your ERP and CRM may also contribute valuable information that can feed personalized ads. For example, any customer who has shown an interest in Product A in the past three months may see a special ad offering them a returning customer discount on that product. Add extra enticement by calling out that this is a limited time offer.
Google AdWords offers dynamic remarketing as well, which pushes customized ads to your visitors displaying the precise products they just browsed on your site. Sometimes seeing it again is enough to tip a customer solidly into purchasing.
Don’t Abandon the Cart!
Then there are those who drop everything in their cart and still wander away without purchasing. Online shopping cart abandonment is anywhere between 60 and 80 percent, depending on the retailer. Retargeting cart abandonment uses ads and automated email campaigns to encourage customers to complete their orders through highly customized messaging.
Data Makes the Connection
It’s important to see customers as more than just data points and dollar signs. It’s the customized experience that will keep them coming back time after time, along with great customer service and superior product quality. Fortunately, using IN-SYNCH by ROI Consulting keeps all that data flowing between systems and at your fingertips for when you need it most. IN-SYNCH connects with websites and third-party shopping carts to feed the data lightning fast back into your Sage 100 ERP. Any data a customer has entered—regardless of whether they have completed a purchase—will automatically fill in to your ERP and other databases. When it’s time to send customized emails, AdWord campaigns, or Facebook ads, you’ll have all the information you need at your fingertips to populate those personal advertisements and keep your customers coming back to purchase time and again.
Don’t let IN-SYNCH be something you look at but don’t buy. Contact ROI Consulting today and see how easy it is to connect your data for all your retargeting needs.
