The holiday season is BUSY. Not only are your clients cooking the Christmas ham, traveling to see family, and searching for that funky holiday work party sweater, but they’re also shopping online for presents.
And no, it’s not just Betty down the street shifting to digital sales; it’s global. Over 2.14 billion people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services online, up from 1.66 billion in 2016. As this growth continues, your business should be selling online and have a robust digital marketing presence to compete.
With all the flashing lights and deals screaming for a customer’s attention, use your secret weapon, email marketing, to seal the deal.
Email Marketing: Abandoned Cart
As a form of direct marketing gone digital, you can use email marketing to promote your business, nurture leads, and sell services. Betty may be scrolling through your massage services to purchase for her sister as part of her buying process. Then suddenly, the mashed potatoes begin boiling over, and the dog starts barking to go outside. Just like that, a sale is lost. Not because Betty wasn’t interested in your product or service, but because she got distracted.
That’s when an abandoned cart email comes into play! You send this particular email to someone who has items added to their cart but doesn’t proceed with checkout. It acts as a reminder to your customer of what they left behind but can also entice them to return and make a purchase.
During the holiday season, it can become even harder to stand out to your customers. As you prepare to dive headfirst into holiday cheer, here are two crucial things to remember:
Maintain Brand Consistency
The holidays can make people do crazy things, business owners included! Make sure you are staying true to your brand and consistent with branding guidelines. Not only is this important in an aesthetic sense (after all, that is how your customers will visually recognize you), it’s vital when it comes to offers and promotions. If you NEVER run 50% off sales, don’t cut your business strategy now for the sake of a purchase. Be strategic and focus on creativity!
Personalization
Personalization in digital marketing has become second nature these days. To create a relationship with your customers, you should be on a first-name basis and remembering their birthdays – at a minimum. It’s all part of the user experience, and simple things like “Hey, Betty, we know you’re busy. Maybe you need a massage too, check out this two for one deal.” is all it takes to make a customer for life.
Abandon Cart Email Examples For The Holidays
Personalization doesn’t end with a customer’s first name. Consider personalizing your marketing material based on the season or significant industry events. Remember when we said maintain brand consistency? Well, make sure your marketing lingo fits who you are and what you offer. To help further explain, here are a few examples:
Holiday Rush
Jump on the holiday rush coat tails and consider creating some urgency in your ‘abandon cart’ email. Express it through countdown timers, limited time offers, or simply by the vocabulary you use.
Subject Line: Order your customized gift today to receive by Christmas!
Not only does the bold headline “It’s Now or Never!” catch your attention, but they also include the line “Our holiday supply is dwindling, so get designing.” Whether you’re selling products or services, the good ol’ “limited time” lingo can trigger serious client FOMO (fear of missing out) and quickly provoke a purchase.
Subject Line: The Google Wifi in your cart is going fast
Maintaining Google’s branding with urgency verbiage, this example also includes ways to contact their support team. If your product or service has the chance of raising questions, suggesting the client reach out for support helps to eliminate risk in the purchase process and trust in moving forward with a sale.
Deck The Inbox With Deals
Unexpected prices, high shipping costs, and those who are searching your competition for the best deal will approve of this tactic! When money is tight, small incentives or extra discounts on your abandoned cart email could be all it takes to get your customer to come back. This is also an excellent time to highlight current deals like “free shipping” or policies that set your brand apart.
Subject Line: You Forgot Something
Simple and to the point! This example suggests taking a second look, this time calling out their free shipping and free returns on all orders. During the holiday season, these policy call-outs can make or break your sale. After all, “Sammy” is growing like a weed; you may need to return that shirt for a larger size.
Subject Line: Hey, forget something? Here’s 20% off.
The beauty of deals is they don’t have to be complicated. Bonobos is an excellent example of staying true to their brand by saying, “Don’t worry -fit happens” and clearly offering 20% off if the customer finishes checking out. When holidays bring in the rush of color and crazy, sometimes a simple black and white offer is all it takes.
Cross-Selling Holiday Cheer
Asking a customer to return to their cart also opens up the opportunity to offer additional product or service recommendations. This can come from testimonials, bestseller lists, or more products based on their current pick. Using your abandoned cart email to cross-sell not only raises the chance of triggering a sale, but now it may be a more significant purchase than the customer had initially intended!
Subject: The price dropped for something in your cart
Could it have been those new pants? You’ll have to click to find out. This example from Target is the perfect example of offering a deal but also including product recommendations. Including your best sellers or top picks from customers won’t just bring the customer back but also increase their purchase price.
Subject: Don’t get left in the dust
This Basics email clearing states, “if you still can’t decide, check out some of our best sellers below.” This dynamic email is an excellent example of cross-selling with explicit calls for free shipping, what’s currently in their cart, and additional bestsellers to add.
More Clever Tactics
If you’re not feeling the holiday cheer, the tactics outlined in these examples can still apply. After all, the best abandoned cart emails have nothing to do with the holidays or deals. Instead, it outlines why your product or service is a good fit, backed by a strong brand voice. When the holiday cheer starts to dwindle, focus on your customer’s needs and how your product can meet them.
Subject: Your cart is sobering up
A clever subject line and fun email content is not only entertaining but will keep your customer engaged! These tactics can help improve your open rate and conversions, but it doesn’t end there. The email wraps up with a FAQ and a clear call to action, bringing the customer back to make the sale.
Subject: Where did you go?
The Dollar Shave Club is a perfect example of highlighting its policies as an incentive to purchase. The imagery shows precisely what you’ll receive, and their carefully crafted paragraph at the bottom is just like that friend urging you to give them a chance.
Wrapping Up!
When the surge of holiday shoppers return to the web, creating an abandoned cart email can significantly increase your sales. Follow-up emails have an average 45% open rate, and, out of that, 21% receive click-throughs. As you can see, one simple email can significantly impact your holiday revenue. Boosting your holiday sales has never been easier. Consider creating an abandoned cart email sequence for your business today.
Let’s Talk Email Marketing!
If you feel like you’re missing out on sales or, better yet, looking to be proactive this holiday season, reach out to our team! We’d be happy to help answer your questions, provide suggestions and help boost your sales. Explore our Email Marketing Services!
