Building Clean Lists of Prospects Who Want What You Have

May 15, 2008

In my two previous articles How to Design an Effective Email Follow Up Campaign and Beware of Stale Email Addresses I talked about things you should consider when planning an effective email follow-up campaign, including the negative effect a list of stale email addresses can cause.

In this article, I’ll give a few simple tips on how you can clean your list up and actually use it to target customers specific interests and increase your sales.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term “list building”, let me give you a brief summary. List building is the process by which one gathers requested information (opt-in only, no spam here) about a group or groups of visitors to later utilize during marketing campaigns.

Keeping your list clean (or in other words, stocked with valid, verifiable information and active users) is critical to the success of future follow-up plans. A dirty list is worth nothing and can have detrimental effects on the most well planned marketing campaign.

Let’s Get to it

With a little creative thinking, and some proper wording, we can turn what would be an “ordinary opt-in” into a bonafide hot prospect that wants to hear from you.

1) Start with the headline.

Instead of simply saying “signup for our newsletter” make the title more provocative. For example, if you sell Widgets, some more attractive title’s might be:

“Get Exclusive VIP Only Offers on New Widgets”.
“Be the first to know about exclusive new deals.”
“Get hints and tips for everyday jobs.”

2) Follow-up with an informative subhead if desired

Now that you have their attention, you may want to briefly explain exactly what they can expect if they add themselves to your list.

This is also a place were you can further qualify those that you wish added to your list (i.e. those that have a real interest in what you offer, and are more likely to buy from you in future follow-up campaigns.)

Using the above headlines as an example we could do something like the following:

Heading: “Get Exclusive VIP Only Offers on New Widgets”.
Subhead: Be one of the first to know about new widgets and get exclusive discounts available only through email.

Heading: “Be the first to hear about exclusive new deals.”
Subhead: Get a sneak preview on upcoming product specials made available only through email.

Heading: “Get hints and tips for everyday jobs.”
Subhead: Learn hints and tips from pros on how to use your widget to accomplish everyday jobs saving you time and money.

These types of headings and subheads are only examples. The aim is to attract people willing to provide you with a valid email address (because the content they will receive will be valuable enough for them to make sure they receive it) and also qualify them to some degree as “potential buyers” (prospects) through mentioning exactly what it is they can expect by adding themselves to the list.

3) Fill each email follow-up with information that truly helps those on your list improve the current situation they are in.

If in one way shape or form each of your follow-up campaigns aims to provide highly valuable information that helps the end reader better their situation and that information would be hard to find anywhere else, then you’ll be more likely to keep them interested, active and fresh on your list.

Think about it. Would you stay on a list that often provided information which consistently assisted you in solving a problem, making your life easier, making you more money, or saving you money? Chances are you would.

In that same respect, would you stay on a “newsletter” list that simply told you information which not only didn’t help make your life better, but could be found in a number of other locations without the extra email in your inbox? Chances are you wouldn’t stay long.

Getting Even More Information

Offering a gift, coupons, free trial samples, etc.. which must be mailed to them via standard postal service is an effective way to build a list that can be used in both online and offline marketing campaigns.

Offering free trial samples of your products and send them to for only the shipping and handling fee does two things.

Allows you to build a list of clean information about a potential prospect which you can be sure is valid (they want their sample so they will provide valid shipping information to get it.)
Qualifies them as a higher level prospect that is willing to spend money online. You can be sure of this because they have already provided you with some type of payment information to cover the shipping and handling. I’ve seen this method work in a number of cases and be very effective at generating future sales from those that choose this route.

The main goal of any effort, no matter the situation is to build a healthy, active list with people who stay. Provide them with quality information (and introduce them to products you offer which can truly help them) and you’ll see the benefits of a clean list filled with prospects that are eager to hear from you and who are likely to buy from you as well.

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Web Analytics Tops List for ECommerce Decision Making

May 8, 2008

I’ve said it so many times it should be expected now. When it comes to making decisions on where to start adjusting your website in order to achieve better conversion, the first and last place you can count on is your web analytics program (providing you have a decent one in place.)

Having said that (once again), it should come as no surprise that topping the list of sources which ecommerce retailers base their website decision making efforts on is web analytics.

The E-Tailing Group, Inc. reports that out of 20 different areas to choose from, web analytics was the leader in driving merchandising decisions for many online businesses.

The breakdown of all 20 is as follows:

What drives merchandising decisions
(% of retailers using the following sources)

Web Analytics	86%
Sales History	72%
Brand Strategy	65%
Seasonal Promos/Calendar	63%
Inventory Data	60%
Merchandising “gut”	54%
Product Margin	52%
Conversion Data	51%
Cross-channel store -catalog initiatives	49%
Customer acquisition/retention strategy	47%
Sales ranking	41%
Search data	35%
Search engine marketing/SEO performance data	35%
Customer profiling	33%
E-Mail purchasing patterns	30%
Consumer ratings and reviews	27%
Trending data	26%
Vendor co-op	17%
Member data	10%
Enterprise resource planning apps.	6%

Source: E-Tailing Group, Inc.

So why did web analytics top the list? I’ll tell you why I believe it did. Because website analytics provides non-biased, objective, and factual data that can’t be disputed.

Providing it has been installed correctly, web analytic reports are based on concrete information of activities surrounding your site. Web analytics do not lie. They paint a true picture, no matter how grim or glorious of the state of your website at a given point in time based on actual events occurring within it.

Interpret the analytics correctly and you’ll often find a gold mine of information that uncovers exact points of inefficiencies that could be costing you sales.

There are many analytics systems out there. Each offers their own benefits. I’ve been able to generate conversion rates (unique visitors to sales) for clients as high as 18.4% with data that was gathered using properly installed Google Analytics.

So, don’t think that you need to shell out big dollars for a tracking system in order to gather the necessary data to increase your sales and website conversion. It’s not always about the system you use, it’s how you interpret the data it reports.

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Beware of Stale Email Addresses

May 6, 2008

old outdated mailbox In my last article How to Design an Effective Email Follow Up Campaign, I stressed the importance of implementing a system to stay in contact with your past customers.

One thing I did not mention was the need to make sure the list you are planning on marketing to is fresh. Outdated, stale lists pose a big threat to your business and can contribute to your site being blacklisted by some of the major internet service providers (ISPs); not to mention being shut down by your own email service provider!

Neither of these are good things, and each can turn what would have otherwise been a decent email marketing campaign into a complete disaster for your business.

If you are one of those ecommerce store owners who has been working for years on the internet and over that time has gathered a nice customer base (along with email addresses), yet have failed to follow up with them on a frequent basis, then beware.

People change email addresses all the time and with spam being so prevalent on the internet today, getting a valid email address can at times be tough. Remember this; every person you send your email to has their finger on the “spam” button. If they feel your email is an unwarranted solicitation, you’ll be cast into the spam folder and reported to the nearest “spam cop” faster than you can blink an eye.

Furthermore, if you send out an email campaign, and the vast majority of the emails sent are returned (bounced), then you could be raising a red flag for your email service provider as well. Too many bounced messages in relation to the amount of emails sent can cause an email service provider to feel your list is outdated, dirty, or purchased. Before you are reported as “spam” and get their email service potentially blacklisted, they will shut you down.

So How Do You Avoid a Spam Report

Start by working with a clean list. One that is fresh, not out-dated. Remove any addresses on that list older than 12 months old (that you have not been in contact with since that time.)
Make sure each of the email addresses on that list asked to be placed on that list.
Make your first follow-up contact within a short period of time after the initial transaction takes place while your name is still fresh in the customer’s head and the stage for future follow-ups is set.
When in doubt, don’t send to an address you feel might not remember your company or the last transaction.
Use your company name or website in the “From” line of all your emails.
Remind them why they are receiving the email from you (i.e. they either purchased from you in the past, or asked to receive the information)
Give them a clear and easy way to remove themselves from your list, and once removed, never email them again. No matter what. Professional yet affordable systems like Constant Contact have this feature built in to protect you.

Although it may be tempting to tap into an older list of past customers, if you have not been in contact with them frequently use caution. Following some simple guidelines, and respecting their privacy will ensure your email campaigns are effective, and your company remains in good standing.

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How to Design an Effective Email Follow Up Campaign

May 3, 2008

Building a sustainable online business often involves solid customer retention strategies combined with new customer acquisition strategies. You build a sustainable base and add new customers on top of that to grow the bottom line.

Whether your business lends itself toward repeat orders (customers coming back to buy more from you) or seems to be more of a “one time” purchase, keeping yourself in front of past customers is an important step toward growing your business.

Here is one phrase I’ve heard from store owners time and time again. “My customers only buy one time from me so there is no reason I need to follow up with them.”

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

If your business lends itself toward repeat orders from past customers, the answer is pretty easy to see. If you’re not keeping in contact with your past customers, you are missing out on additional sales. It’s that simple.

If your business sells products that tend to be more of a “one time only” purchase the answer is not as clear but it is there. If you are not keeping in contact with your past customers, you are missing out on potential referrals (which can translate into sales) of others they may encounter which have a need for a similar product.

Having said that, there should be no excuse for not staying in contact with your past customer base as part of a strategy for growing your online business.

Choose a Qualified System

There are plenty of email systems out there that help you develop super campaigns. I prefer and recommend Constant Contact myself. Great system, easy to use, nice reporting capabilities, import / export features, and more.

Using its import / export features, I have integrated Constant Contact with a number of shopping cart systems and have used it very effectively to keep in contact with past customers and potential prospects.

Planning the Campaign

When planning your campaign, here are some things to consider:

Frequency. How often will you contact your list? I’ve seen weekly follow-ups work wonderful in some markets, daily contacts in others, and monthly, bi-monthly etc.. in others. You’ll have to determine what works for your market. Oftentimes this can be determined by the type of follow-up you are planning.
Which day(s) of the week will you be sending your email out? Some days are better than others, and you’ll have to determine which day or days are best for your market.
Are you going to do a “blanket” campaign (follow up with all customers at the same time) or send out follow-ups based on customer segmentation factors?

Planning the campaign alone will not ensure its effectiveness. It doesn’t matter who well planned a campaign is if the email layout does not persuade action.

Here is the order of focus you need to think about when developing the email.

Gain interest and get them to open the email.
Confirm Interest and present offer.
Get the action (persuade them to click).

The above elements all must begin with the email subject line of the email.

Crafting an email can be compared to writing an ad for a paid search advertising campaign. You’ve first got to gain interest through an effective headline (the subject line of the email). You must then confirm that interest through a brief description (in the case of an email, this comes with the initial headline of the email that can be found after the email has been opened.) Then, finally, you must get the click.

The key is first to get them to open the email. Then you must quickly convince them that what they thought they would find upon opening (based on the subject line) is exactly what they will get if they “click a link” in the email. Relevancy is key. Very much like one would expect in search engine marketing.

Proper calls to action in the email are of top importance.

Closing Thoughts

If you run a “standard special” then don’t forget to always remind them of that and mention it in each email. It pays to keep that “forever special” in front of your customers.

Don’t forget to ask for the “referral”. You can often time pick up additional customers by simply asking your current customers to forward the email to a friend that may also be interested in your products.

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eCommerce Strategy Enables Higher Recovery of Abandoned Carts

April 13, 2008

Abandoned shopping carts and eCommerce all to often go hand in hand.

Let’s face it, if you own an ecommerce site, you can expect to have some sort of abandoned cart rate. That does not mean you have to accept that abandonment rate though. You can (and should) implement strategies to recover some of those potential lost sales. If you are not doing anything to try to recover them, then you need to think about starting.

A cart is considered abandoned when a potential customer adds items to their cart, starts the checkout process, but fails to complete that process.

Recover abandoned shopping carts report After testing various strategies for one site, I found a mix that yielded a 51% recovery rate of previously abandoned carts. In addition to the carts that were recovered, we were able to gather superior feedback on why others did not elect to complete their purchase.

Using this information, we were able to make further adjustments to the site that reduced future cart abandons and helped increase conversion.

According to industry reports, the average abandoned cart rate for ecommerce sites ranges between 55% and 70%. Many of those visitors abandon at different places, with most coming during the checkout process itself. Recovering a portion of those abandoned carts can add sales to your bottom line that would have normally been lost.

There are all kinds of reasons why a user may abandon the shopping process including:

Poor site design
Lack of direction and communication
Confusion
Lack of proper customer assurances
Site credibility
Distraction
and more…

Recovering Carts: Finding The Right Mix

When crafting solutions that attempt to recover sales from abandoned carts, you should test various tactics to find the right mix that works for your site. What works for one market may not necessarily work for others. Generalities may be present that can be implemented across multiple markets, however, it will come down to how each demographic responds to your message that will ultimately determine which tactic or tactics work best for your store.

I found that through my testing, the best mix was to send an email within 2 - 4 hours after the cart was abandoned. I wanted to try to recover the sale while the initial transaction was still fresh in their mind

In the “From” section of the email I used the name of the website. In the subject line I used the following text: “Question about your recent shopping experience with us.” The body of the email included the items that were in their shopping cart when they abandoned, asked them to help by telling us why they abandoned the cart, and reminded them that since the cart was saved, they could quickly and easily complete their purchase by coming back to the site.

Ideas on Where to Start

Depending on the technology implemented, eCommerce store owners fall into one of two boats when it comes to cart recovery. Those that have the ability to track and contact visitors who have abandoned their cart, and those that don’t have the technology in place to do this.

Either way, here are a few thoughts on what you can do to generate more sales no matter what your technology allows.

If your ecommerce technology has a cart recovery system in place (one that allows you to see those users and contact them) use it. Test various time frames and copy for sending email reminders. Try different subject lines, various offers and incentives for recovering and closing the sale. Equally important is to listen to those that respond to you with reasons why they did not complete the process. Use that information to make the needed adjustments on your site to avoid future abandons for that same reason.
If you do not have a program in place that allows you to see and contact those users who have abandoned their carts, but you know they are abandoning, then start with your analytics. Find the main areas these users are leaving and address those pages first. Look for problems with design, wording, presence of customer assurances, etc…
Where your site lacks them, add them. You may not be able to recover those carts who have abandoned already, but you may be able to reduce the number of future abandons by making the proper changes to avoid it before it happens.

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