eCommerce marketing automation is using special software and tools to set activities related to online business promotion on autopilot. It helps companies communicate personalized and relevant messages to prospects and customers at any stage of their buyer journey, improving customer experience and boosting sales and overall marketing performance.
In this article, we’ll unveil the importance and benefits of using automation for eCommerce marketing. We’ll also discover 13 excellent eCommerce marketing automation strategies and examples.
Why should you use automation for eCommerce marketing?
Automation allows eCommerce businesses to reap numerous benefits, including more sales, optimized marketing activities, and enhanced customer experience. Here are more reasons to incorporate automation into your marketing strategy.
- Improved customer engagement. With automation, business owners can ensure constant contact with prospects and customers across multiple channels like email, messengers, and social media. Companies sending promotional, follow-up messages, or abandoned cart emails keep subscribers engaged and remind them about businesses' products and services. By sending scheduled emails, business owners stay on top of subscribers’ minds, remind them of events, and improve conversions.
- Data-driven insights. Since all automation tools provide their users with analytics, business owners can receive valuable information related to customer interactions, behavior, and the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. After analyzing available data from automation tools, you can make well-informed decisions, improve strategies, and take the necessary marketing activities to boost sales.
- Automating repetitive tasks. By incorporating automation, companies succeed in streamlining marketing operations. Brands manage to reduce the workload on their marketing teams by using automation for FAQs, reservations, onboarding, etc. With its help, businesses reduce errors and improve overall performance and efficiency. It results in faster execution, better workflows, and more organized marketing activities.
- Consistency across multiple marketing channels. With marketing automation, companies ensure consistency across multiple channels they use for communication with customers. Automation used for social media, email marketing, or advertising allows you to provide a seamless customer experience and establish brand recognition. Automation 360 from SendPulse empowers you to maintain communication with clients by sending personalized messages across seven channels, including email, SMS, web push, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp on autopilot. With the platform, you can combine several marketing channels to build a flow that encourages more sales.
- Cost efficiency. The tool is cost-efficient, especially in the long run when a business grows and scales. Entrepreneurs need to buy a subscription to enjoy the benefits of satisfied customers, constant interaction and engagement, and higher sales. When a company evolves, the owners can save costs by avoiding hiring additional team members to handle repetitive tasks.
- Saving time on marketing campaign execution. When using marketing automation for eCommerce business, marketers don't need much time to launch marketing campaigns since they do it on autopilot. They should find the perfect solution, set up all the details, and send automated messages through various channels.
Benefits of Automation for eCommerce Marketing
Business owners searching for company growth and seamless marketing performance often utilize automation to set up processes related to marketing and sales. They do it because of the advantages marketing automation provides. Here are the main pros.
- Cart abandonment recovery. Automation helps companies send automated messages reminding customers about items in their carts and uncompleted purchases. With special tools and software, you’ll be able to return some of the potentially lost clients and boost conversion rates.
- Segmentation and targeting. With segmentation, you can divide your audience into groups based on various criteria like demographics, purchase history, or engagement. Using this approach, you personalize your communication with customers, send relevant messages, and meet clients’ needs. As a result, potential customers are more likely to convert.
- Multi-channel integration. Since eCommerce companies usually use several marketing channels to execute their marketing campaigns, supporting customers across these channels is essential. With automation, you’ll be able to integrate all the platforms you need and ensure seamless, constant communication. As a result, your marketing strategy will be optimized and synchronized across email, social media, messengers, websites, and other channels.
- Consistent execution. By incorporating automation, your company ensures that marketing tasks are performed consistently with no space for human error. Consistency is a crucial factor in building a positive brand image and recognition.
- Behavioral trigger campaigns. Marketing automation platforms allow you to launch campaigns as soon as customers perform specific actions. The system will send automated messages that welcome new subscribers, encourage prospects to check out items in their shopping carts, and customers to repeat purchases based on user behavior.
- More effective email campaigns. You can benefit from automation by sending emails based on the purpose. For instance, you can set up the sending of lead nurturing, customer retaining, and re-engaging emails. This reminds customers of your brand and makes them consider exploring your products or services.
Now that you know the pros, let’s proceed to the next section to explore eCommerce marketing automation strategies you can apply to your business.
13 eCommerce Marketing Automation Strategies
By incorporating automation, you can significantly improve your company's performance. However, you should know how to do it right to achieve your primary business objectives. In this section, we’ll uncover some of the most effective eCommerce marketing automation strategies for you to consider.
- Welcome series automation. Consider using automated messages to welcome new subscribers after they sign up for your email newsletter. This series of automated emails usually includes a welcome message, the most essential information about your company, and an exclusive discount or offer for new subscribers to encourage purchases.
- Onboarding. First and foremost, think of automating your customer onboarding to ensure seamless user experience and customer satisfaction. Use automation to create onboarding sequences for new clients, especially when you sell software. Get ready with valuable information, product guides, and exclusive offers to improve experience with your brand and ensure clients understand how to use your product.
- Shopping cart abandonment recovery. Since many potential customers abandon their carts, it’s essential to follow up with them after they do it. For this purpose, consider sending automated emails reminding prospects about the items in their shopping carts. It will remind them of your brand and encourage them to complete the purchase. Personalized messages will help you encourage subscribers to open your emails and reduce cart abandonment rates.
- Upselling and cross-selling. Consider using eCommerce marketing automation to sell additional products related to your client’s primary purchases. Automation will help you provide customers with product recommendations based on their actions, preferences, and purchase history.
- Customer segmentation. It enables you to divide customers into segments based on specific criteria like demographics, purchase history, or behavior and craft personalized messages matching each group. Perform such actions to provide your subscribers with relevant and engaging content, encouraging them to read your messages and perform desired actions. SendPulse’s bulk email service enables you to segment and personalize your email campaigns, making it more likely for subscribers to open your emails.
- Post-purchase follow-ups. If you want to get repeat customers, follow up with your clients after they make purchases. Consider sending them email campaigns asking for testimonials, reviews, and feedback. Show them that you appreciate their valuable input.
- Password reset. Incorporating password reset automation is a crucial feature contributing to user experience improvement and security on an eCommerce platform. This way, you won't need human interaction to send email verifications, identify confirmations, and generate new passwords.
- Price drop and inventory notifications. Consider sending your customers notifications related to the products they explored. Price drops on the items they like will entice customers to open your site and explore the offers, resulting in conversions. Inventory notifications also encourage prospects to consider a new purchase if the price is affordable. Price drop and inventory notifications will help you establish a sense of urgency, encourage engagement, and boost sales.
- Re-engagement. By developing personalized campaigns and providing relevant offers, you can reconnect with customers who remain inactive for a long time. Consider using segmentation, behavioral triggers, and reactivation offers to help you re-engage customers without manual effort.
- Loyalty program updates. Incorporate automated loyalty programs that will reward customers for repeating their purchases with your brand. Consider setting up an automation flow for sending email campaigns with personalized offers and exclusive discounts. It will help you boost loyalty and retention.
- Customer feedback surveys. To collect post-purchase customer reviews, consider setting up surveys. After customers complete purchases, you can choose the day and time for the automated email sending. This information will help address urgent issues, boost customer satisfaction, and improve user experience.
- Event promotion. To promote your event, consider creating automation and informing potential participants about the main topic, date, and venue. Develop a series of follow-up emails updating subscribers about the event details, speakers, and discounts and add call-to-action buttons for registration to each of them.
- Exclusive offers during the holiday season. With automation, you can schedule limited-time offers that establish urgency and fear of missing out. Consider adding countdowns to entice subscribers to check out their favorite items faster.
Now that you know the strategies, it’s time to discover some compelling examples of using automation in eCommerce to grab inspiration.
Examples of Using Automation in eCommerce
You can find numerous examples of eCommerce companies successfully integrating automation into their marketing strategies. In this section, we’ve compiled some examples of automation at different stages of the customer journey so let’s explore them now.
Compass: Welcome Message
Compass uses automation to welcome new subscribers to its services. The email contains all the necessary information for users to start using this platform, uncovering how to search for homes and apartments for sale and rent. This welcome message includes two call-to-action buttons inviting new users to get started right away by simply clicking “Search Listings.” or “View Neighbourhood Guides.” Subscribers can find a link in the email footer to ask for help.
NYX Professional Makeup: Holiday Discounts
The cosmetics brand NYX sends automated email campaigns about special discounts before Christmas and New Year. The email has all the needed elements like phrases establishing FOMO, graphics, CTAs, and links to social networks. Scheduled campaigns before the holiday season allow the brand to encourage repeat purchases and boost sales.
Paperstime: Re-engagement
Paperstime strives to re-engage inactive subscribers by sending personalized email campaigns. This email contains an enticing promo code providing an 11% discount. Potential customers can instantly use the code by clicking the call to action button “Use Your 11% Off.”
Salesforce: Event Promotion
Salesforces uses email automation to increase the visibility of its events and encourage more registrations. The email has all the necessary elements, enticing subscribers to participate. It covers the main topic, key speakers, date and time of the event, and visible call-to-action buttons leading to registration for the event. The email is an automated reminder of the event, preventing subscribers from missing it.
MAC Cosmetics: Loyalty Program
MAC Cosmetics sends scheduled emails to subscribers, informing them about its loyalty reward program. It reveals the benefits of joining the program, exclusive offers, and points on purchases that bring discounts of up to 15% and free shipping.
Congrats, now you know what eCommerce marketing automation is and why it’s crucial. Hope that our examples and strategies gave you a hint on how to successfully implement marketing automation into your company strategy and achieve your primary business goals. Sign up for SendPulse now and enjoy the benefits of automated personalized email campaigns, pop-ups, chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger, and live chat triggered by user behavior on your site.
References:
- This article defines the term and uncovers the pros of eCommerce marketing automation.
- In this article, you’ll find some effective eCommerce marketing strategies to consider.
Last Updated: 09.02.2024
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