On a test site, we found that prior to its redesign, 65% of
the customers who reached our shopping cart abandoned it.
We managed to reduce the abandonment rate by redesigning
the cart over a testing period of 5 months.
But still, as many as 50% of our customers were not
completing the checkout process. Rather than let them go
altogether, we attempted to reach out to them one final
time.
And as a result, we managed to lure back 4.5% of runaway
customers to complete their purchase. It was a novel idea
at its time and it continues to work!
Here's what we do...
First, we ask customers to provide only their first name,
email address, and shipping country on Step 1 of our
two-step checkout process. We ask for country because we
want to show the total price, including the cost of
shipping, upfront. When the customer selects a country, the
shipping price gets automatically updated underneath the
product cost.
The customer can then click on their preferred payment
method to complete the checkout process. In this next step
they are asked to provide the rest of their details
including their shipping address and billing information.
We are careful not to ask for too much personal information
and get only what is absolutely necessary.
Between these two steps, something interesting is happening
in the background. We keep track of the customer's first
name and email address submitted during Step 1. If they
arrive at Step 2 and then abandon the cart, we still have
their email address and first name captured.
If the purchase is not completed within 3 hours, the
customer is sent a personalized email by our autoresponder
reminding them of their incomplete purchase.
The email politely asks if we could help them complete
their order, as well as clarifies some common
misconceptions about the product and fears about ordering
online. We also provide a link back to the shopping cart
for them to complete their order. Thanks to this simple
email, our sales jumped by 4.5%.
Sending this email makes customers feel reassured and more
confident about their purchase, and it helps our bottom
line without any additional expenditures. With this email
we attempt to answer the customer's questions in a
friendly, personalized manner.
We picked 6 questions to answer. In our case, we identified
these 6 questions simply by speaking to our customer
support reps and noting the most commonly asked questions
they had been receiving from customers.
This is a path we strongly recommend. Speak to your
customer support reps and identify the most commonly asked
questions and problems associated with your site's ordering
process. Then aim to address them in your email message.
Another strategy to use in your "What Went Wrong?" email is
to offer the customer a coupon. For example, they could get
10% off if they complete their order. It is well worth
testing such promotions with your customer base. A good
tool that enables you to respond to uncompleted purchases
is an autoresponder system.
Remember, just because people abandon your shopping cart
does not mean that you have lost the sale. With a little
bit of extra effort, you can lure them back to complete
their purchase and substantially increase your profits.
----------------------------------------------------
Bjorn Brands is a successful enterprenuer who transitioned
from having his own building company to a great online
business. Check out his site and see for yourself how his
FREE course can help you do the same at
http://www.moneyacces.com
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