You’re busy. That’s a given. But the ongoing success and growth of your eCommerce business demand marketing strategies that attract and engage new customers and keep existing customers loyal.
That’s where automation comes into play.
Automation isn’t just another buzzword – it’s a pillar of leading-edge marketing that can fuel your business’s growth without continuous manual intervention. In short, it’s the time-poor’s lifesaver, the gift that keeps on giving.
Let’s break down the benefits of marketing automation in more detail.
What is marketing automation?
Marketing automation involves the use of software that removes the hands-on effort required by specific marketing tasks.
Automation platforms and scheduling tools empower you to deliver targeted campaigns using real-time data without lifting a finger, streamlining your eCommerce marketing strategy and boosting your ROI.
The proof is in the numbers – businesses that use automation can experience:
- A 30 per cent or more increase in conversions
- A 14 per cent or more increase in productivity
- A 12 per cent reduction or more in marketing overhead
Let’s talk marketing automation strategy
Marketing automation is a powerful time- and resource-saving tool. No question. But squeezing every drop of value out of your automation investment demands a robust, data-backed strategy.
Opportunities for automation fall under one of two categories: pre-conversion and post-conversion.
Pre-conversion: How to win customers with automated marketing
Early on, you want potential leads to know your brand exists, understand what your brand offers, and believe that your brand is superior to its competitors. Automation can help with all three.
Then, as leads edge closer to conversion, automated prompts and incentives can, metaphorically, be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Here are three pre-conversion automated marketing strategies you can use to win new customers:
- Nurture campaigns. You can feed your dog morning and night, and they’ll survive. But nurture them with walks and love, and they will thrive. The same logic applies to your customers. A nurture campaign is emotional – it speaks to your target customer’s wants, vulnerabilities, and pain points. Automation tools cannot craft value-add content, but they can distribute that content at pivotal times in your prospects’ buying journeys.
- Retargeting ads and emails. Research tells us that 97 per cent of first-time visitors to your eCommerce site leave without making a purchase. Retargeting is your way to bring them back and convert them. Retargeting ads and emails are served to people that have visited your website or engaged with your content. They encourage revisits by showing prospects the product that piqued their interest, highlighting USPs, or presenting a limited-time offer.
- Abandoned cart emails. These emails are sent to website visitors that have added one or more items to their cart, moved part-way through the checkout process, and then left your site without completing their purchase. This automated marketing powerhouse is hugely influential, with three abandoned cart emails driving 69 per cent more purchases than single-email campaigns.
Post-conversion: How to build customer loyalty with automated marketing
According to Harvard Business School, improving customer loyalty by just 5 per cent can increase your profit by 25 to 95 per cent. Here are three ways automation can fuel significant increases in your marketing ROI:
- Encourage repeat purchases. Existing customers are more likely to spend more often. Automation is your way to nudge them toward repeat purchases – think retargeting ads, email newsletters, emails showcasing new products, and emails providing how-to guides or tutorials.
- Referral campaigns. Make your happy customers your no-cost marketing channel with a referral campaign. Create an automated email that spells out the specifics of your referral program, being sure to offer customers a little kick-back (store credit, a discount, etc.) for every successful referral.
- Collect social proof. More than six in ten consumers say they are more likely to buy from an eCommerce site if it has product reviews. Enabling reviews is one thing; encouraging reviews is another. Using automated emails, you can prompt customers to rate their purchases – reward reviewers for their time and effort with a discount code or store credit.
Your trusted guide in navigating the maze of marketing automation
Marketing automation is a game-changer, but it also demands an upfront time investment and knowledge of industry tools. If time isn’t on your side, or you don’t want to risk wasting marketing dollars on software that doesn’t meet your business’s needs, we can help.
ZOOLOGIC is your no-BS source of eCommerce marketing expertise. Reach out today for a chat.
