The Fast Lane

Discover the world of AI-driven shopping optimization and fast-track your way to increased conversion rates, AOV, and customer loyalty. Explore expert insights on e-commerce personalization, merchandising, site search, and more.
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MarketingChat GPT Alternatives: 4 AI Technologies to Watch for in 2024With the AI market share set to reach $407 billion by 2027, businesses can expect a dramatic increase in innovative tech that will boost their revenue and productivity. From voice search to personalization, the AI tech industry is growing fast, with plenty of exciting new tools to try. While AI integration can be a fantastic asset to your business, there are areas where the human touch is still needed. Let's discuss which key ChatGPT alternatives you should look out for in 2024, and how you can pick the right one to suit your business goals. Meet the Expert Jameela Ghann is a seasoned online store owner with over a decade of eCommerce experience. Apart from running Alora Boutique, she's also the marketing manager for Fera Product Reviews. ChatGPT Alternatives for eCommerce eCommerce businesses that embrace emerging AI technologies can gain a significant competitive advantage. While ChatGPT has proven its worth, several emerging AI solutions deserve your attention as potential alternatives or complementary tools. Let's explore some of these cutting-edge developments. 1. Google Bard Bard is a promising AI language model that is gaining traction and attracting significant investment from Google. Its enhanced capabilities could complement or even replace ChatGPT in specific applications. Google is integrating Bard into its other digital products, such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube, to expand user interaction and value. So, users could use Bard to compose emails, get directions on Maps, or find videos on YouTube. And Google is also making Bard available to developers through its AI Platform to foster innovative AI applications in various industries. 2. Google's Vision AI Google Vision AI is a cloud-based AI tool that helps developers build and deploy computer vision applications. It can identify objects, scenes, and faces in images and videos, and extract text from them. Google Vision AI can be used to power visual search applications. Visual search is a type of search that uses images or videos instead of text queries to find information. This technology is still under development, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with the internet. Imagine shoppers uploading images or using their cameras to search for items. While it's already being used at big retailers like Amazon, it's set to become more accessible to smaller eCommerce businesses in the near future. » Is a picture worth 1,000 words? Find out how visual search can help product discovery 3. Voice Commerce and Virtual Assistants Voice commerce is a rapidly growing trend, and virtual assistants are playing a key role in this growth. As voice recognition technology continues to improve, more and more people are using virtual assistants to shop online. This is because voice commerce offers a number of advantages over traditional text-based shopping, including convenience, accuracy, and naturalness. If you're an eCommerce business owner, you should consider integrating virtual assistants into your platform through platforms such as Voiceplug.ai. This can help you to attract new customers, improve the customer experience, and increase sales. 4. Inventory management and advanced analytics AI-driven solutions, similar to ChatGPT, can transform inventory management. Tools such as Inventoro provide insights that help reduce overstock, address sold-out products, and guide customers toward alternatives, optimizing your supply chain and efficiency. Inventoro connects to your existing eCommerce platform and collects data on your inventory levels, sales history, and customer behavior. It then uses this data to generate insights and recommendations that can help you to improve your inventory management. Choosing the Right AI Tool The best way to select the right AI tool for your eCommerce business is to carefully consider your specific needs and challenges. Evaluate the data sources and training methodologies of each tool, as well as its fact-checking capabilities and ethical features. Consider the following factors: Data sources and training: Some AI tools are trained on general data, while others are trained on more specialized data. If you need an AI tool that can understand your specific needs, it's important to choose a tool that is trained on the right data.Fact-checking: How accurate is the AI tool? Does it offer built-in fact-checking capabilities? Fact-checking is important, especially if you're using the AI tool to generate content for your website or marketing materials. Accuracy and contextual understanding: Be aware of the limitations of AI tools and carefully review all AI-generated content.Data privacy: Choose an AI tool with robust security measures and compliance with data privacy laws.Trust and transparency: Be transparent about your use of AI and provide customers with a way to escalate to human agents.Handling complex inquiries: Choose an AI tool that can handle routine tasks and integrate with a CRM system or provide a link to human agents for complex inquiries.Scalability and high-traffic periods: Choose a cloud-based AI tool for scalability and high-traffic optimization.Budget, support, ease of use, and scalability: Consider your budget, support needs, ease of use, and future scalability needs. The Future of AI Tech for eCommerce AI tech is opening up exciting opportunities for you to enhance customer experiences, optimize inventory management, and stay competitive. But perhaps your eCommerce business needs a tailored AI-driven solution rather than a broad large language model chatbot to really specialize your operations. From personalizing the shopping experience to automating repetitive tasks, AI can help businesses streamline processes and improve their bottom line. AI-powered site search and discovery capabilities can also make it easier for customers to find the products they're looking for, leading to increased sales and conversions. So, when considering ChatGPT alternatives, take a thoughtful approach to reap the many benefits that AI has to offer.
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MarketingThe Best Black Friday eCommerce Strategies for Shopify Stores in 2023: Ideas, Tips & TrendsAs a Shopify Search store owner, you’re probably gearing up for Black Friday. After all, more than 50% of US shoppers plan to spend big money on Black Friday—about $8.9 billion. With this shopping extravaganza just around the corner, we've found the best Black Friday eCommerce strategies for your Shopify store. Explore various ideas, tips, and trends to make it a successful season. Meet the Expert Jameela Ghann is a seasoned online store owner with over a decade of eCommerce experience. Apart from running Alora Boutique, she's also the marketing manager for Fera Product Reviews. Getting Started: 5 Tips to Kickstart Your Black Friday Preparations 1. Start Early for Success The early bird gets the worm, and Black Friday is no exception. Start your preparations well in advance to ensure a seamless and successful shopping season. Ideally, begin planning in mid-August or September to get ahead of the competition. Waiting until October might leave you scrambling to catch up. 2. Analyze Relevant Data and Trends Delve into your past Black Friday sales data if your business has a history. Analyze which products and categories reigned supreme in previous years to steer your promotions and inventory management. Learn from your successes to make data-driven decisions. But don't just look into the past. Explore anticipated Black Friday trends to make sure you're on par with new customer behaviors and expectations. This can include: Offering expedited shipping services like two-day and same-day delivery.Local and last-mile delivery solutions, meaning partnering with local delivery services, utilizing micro-fulfillment centers, and experimenting with alternative delivery methods like drones and autonomous vehicles.Offering reasonable shipping fees like free shipping thresholds or subscription-based shipping programs.Investing in improved communication tools and tracking systems to provide real-time updates on order statuses and delivery timelines.Offering additional search methods besides text like visual search and voice search. 3. Prioritize Inventory Management While it's important to make sure you have enough products to meet customer demand, it's not enough to just load up on all products. You have to plan strategically and make sure you stock up on the right items—otherwise you may end up with too much unsold stock. Try: Forecasting demand by analyzing historical data.Prioritizing your bestsellers and bundling them with slow-moving items to maximize value.Establishing reorder points for each product, so when stock falls below a certain level, you can reorder to avoid stockouts.Creating upselling and cross-selling opportunities to increase average order value. The other half of the coin is to meet delivery expectations once orders are placed. This means optimizing your supply chains by improving inventory management, warehousing, and logistics to ensure products are readily available for quick shipment. 4. Optimize Your eCommerce Store Because you anticipate an increase in website traffic, your store must be optimized for speed and performance. For example, if your current theme isn't cutting it, could you consider an update? Plus, you can create dedicated Black Friday landing pages to spotlight your deals and products prominently. This can include: Countdown timers to create urgency and boost sales.Gamification elements to encourage customer engagement.Colorful stickers and banners to emphasize savings.Clear call-to-action (CTA) buttons to encourage customers to take action.Simple and prominent search bar to help customers find what they're looking for quickly. » Follow this visual merchandising guide to make your landing and product pages striking 5. Lay SEO Foundations While the best time to start SEO efforts is yesterday, focus on keyword research and tracking your rankings. Building a strong SEO foundation now will pay dividends in the long term, even beyond Black Friday. These SEO tools can help you get there: Yoast SEO: Well-suited for smaller businesses, Yoast SEO guides you in fine-tuning your content for search engines by optimizing your product pages and product descriptions.Moz: Moz offers robust SEO features, including keyword research and tracking. Use it to identify relevant keywords for your Black Friday promotions and monitor your website's performance.SEMrush: SEMrush provides keyword research and competitive analysis, so you can find the best keywords to target to increase your visibility.SEO Amped: SEO Amped offers keyword suggestions, tracks Google trends, and provides content optimization recommendations. On a Budget? Try These Black Friday Strategies for Your Shopify Store Email Marketing Email marketing is a cost-effective way to engage with your audience. Build anticipation for Black Friday deals by sending teaser emails leading up to the event. Consider platforms like Klaviyo to reach your subscribers.Exclusive Discounts Offer exclusive Black Friday discounts to your email subscribers as a token of appreciation, or promote your discounts on your social media channels to expand their reach. Organic social media promotions are free and build more trust with consumers.Free Shipping Consider offering free shipping during Black Friday. To maintain profitability, bundle products or increase AOV to meet the free shipping threshold. This can entice customers to spend more.Clear Out Dead Stock Heavily discount any dead stock or slow-moving inventory. Clearing out older inventory frees up warehouse space and generates much-needed cash flow. By focusing on email marketing, providing exclusive discounts, and managing your inventory effectively, you can maximize your Black Friday ROI, even on a budget. Post-Black Friday: Keep Nurturing Relationships for Long-Term Success Black Friday shouldn't be a once-a-year event where you reach out to your customers. Instead, you can use it as an opportunity to solidify customer relationships and turn any first-time customers into lifelong ones. Explore: Post-Holiday Campaigns to Extend Your Gratitude After Black Friday, continue engaging with your customers through post-holiday email and social media campaigns. Show your appreciation with "Thank You" emails and offer tips on making the most of their recent purchases. Consider offering discounts or exclusive offers for the new year.Loyalty Rewards to Foster Customer Devotion Introduce reward programs to encourage customer loyalty. Offer points or exclusive discounts to customers who make repeat purchases or refer friends. Promote these programs in your emails and social pages to motivate customers to participate.Cross-Sell and Upsell to Boost AOV For customers who purchased specific items, suggest accessories or complementary products that enhance their experience. Send personalized emails showcasing these items, increasing AOV and customer satisfaction.Customer Feedback and Reviews to Build Trust Ask customers for feedback and reviews on their Black Friday purchases. User generated content attracts new customers and builds trust. Make it easy for customers to leave reviews by including links and instructions in your emails.Subscription Promotion Promote your subscription-based products to customers who made Black Friday purchases. Subscriptions provide recurring revenue and foster long-term relationships with customers. Your Path to Fast Black Friday Success As a Shopify store owner gearing up for Black Friday, a strategic approach is essential for success. Starting early, analyzing sales data and trends, prioritizing inventory management, optimizing your eCommerce store, and establishing a strong SEO foundation are key steps. Even on a budget, you can maximize ROI through email marketing, exclusive discounts, free shipping, and clearing out slow-moving stock. Beyond Black Friday, nurturing customer relationships with post-holiday campaigns, loyalty rewards, cross-selling, customer feedback, and subscription promotions is vital for long-term success. By following these steps, you can ensure a successful Black Friday and build lasting customer loyalty and trust for your Shopify store.
ChatGPT and AI in eCommerce: Has the Hype Died Down?
MarketingChatGPT and AI in eCommerce: Has the Hype Died Down?When AI first emerged, it was seen as a potential disruptor across industries, and some even worried it was a threat to humankind. As we’ve come to use and work with it in our daily lives, we’ve recognized that AI, particularly ChatGPT, can significantly enhance customer experiences. So, has the initial hype around AI in eCommerce died down or become something more substantial? As we look at the evolution of ChatGPT and AI in eCommerce, we’ll explore how it continues to drive better customer experiences and how we can harness its potential effectively. Meet the Expert Jameela Ghann is a seasoned online store owner with over a decade of eCommerce experience. Apart from running Alora Boutique, she's also the marketing manager for Fera Product Reviews. The AI Evolution in eCommerce The initial enthusiasm around AI in eCommerce was palpable. There were high expectations for AI’s potential to revolutionize the industry. And, yes, AI tools are changing the way we shop online. What started as basic chatbots has evolved into sophisticated tools for personalized interactions, thanks to AI and natural language processing. Today, AI components like ChatGPT are common in many applications, particularly in platforms like Shopify, revolutionizing online shopping experiences. And this is just the start. With generative AI there's an opportunity to engage with people on a conversational level, offering them supported personalized experiences that enhance their shopping needs. Better Customer Service Through Conversational Commerce Chatbots, powered by conversational AI, can understand and respond to human interactions effectively. They mimic human-like conversations, learning from past interactions and predefined parameters. These chatbots can handle about 70% of customer interactions, providing real-time assistance, especially during peak shopping seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here are four ways you can enhance customer service with AI: Personalized product recommendations: AI-driven chatbots on platforms like Shopify can suggest products based on customers’ preferences and past purchases.Order assistance: Businesses like Walmart and Whole Foods use AI chatbots for order-related inquiries, helping customers with their orders effectively.Product availability and navigation: AI chatbots can assist customers with product availability and in-store navigation, streamlining the shopping process. Seamless shopping experience: Integrating AI chatbots into messaging apps like WhatsApp allows customers to browse products and make purchases directly within the chat interface. What's more, AI-powered apps and chatbots can play a key role in logistics and delivery services, rounding off the customer experience. They assist in tracking orders, providing real-time updates to customers, and ensuring efficient and timely delivery. Enhanced Personalization With Data-Driven Insights Customers want personalized shopping experiences. AI and machine learning come into play here, using vast amounts of customer data to provide deeper insights. This leads to more accurate and personalized customer journeys. The customer data trains an algorithm that continues to learn and improve the accuracy of recommendations as it receives new data. These recommendations are not static but evolve with the customer’s changing preferences and shopping behavior. Educational toy store BrightMinds uses personalization based on demographics and history to tailor the shopping experience to different audiences, resulting in a 25% conversion rate. Whole Foods offers a recipe generator through Facebook Messenger, providing personalized recipes based on customer preferences and purchase history. This dynamic personalization makes shopping more enjoyable and relevant for customers. AI-driven chatbots on platforms like Shopify further enhance personalization. They assist customers in finding suitable products based on their preferences, making the shopping journey more tailored and enjoyable. These chatbots learn from each interaction, continuously improving their ability to assist customers effectively. Content Marketing at Scale AI tools automate tasks like creating product descriptions and blog posts, saving businesses valuable time and resources. For instance, many eCommerce businesses use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance their product descriptions. This not only ensures high-quality content but also maintains a consistent brand voice across all products. User-generated content, such as product reviews, can also be moderated by AI. Platforms like Fera integrate ChatGPT for this purpose, ensuring a consistent brand tone across all customer interactions. A New Era of eCommerce with AI AI and ChatGPT have really changed how we do online shopping. They’ve made customer support better, made content creation easier, and improved the shopping experience for users. But this is just the start. As AI gets better, we can expect even more cool stuff to come. This will make shopping online even better for both businesses and shoppers. The key takeaway? Embrace AI in your eCommerce business. It’s not just about keeping up with the trends—it’s about leveraging these powerful tools to provide better services, create more engaging customer experiences, and ultimately, drive your business forward in this new era of eCommerce.
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Marketing3 Customer Segmentation Strategies to Grow Your eCommerce BusinessAccording to a Redpoint Global study, 64% of consumers prefer purchasing a product from a brand that knows them, and 34% say they would spend more on that brand. This means that if you implement customer segmentation strategies carefully, it can help you grow your eCommerce business. By dividing your customers into demographic, behavioral, or psychographic segmentation, you'll have a deeper understanding of your customers' preferences and behaviors, which in turn can lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction. What Is Customer Segmentation? Customer segmentation is the process of dividing your customers into groups based on shared characteristics, such as demographics, behaviors, and psychographics. This way, you can create audience segments and use tailored strategies that are more effective at reaching and engaging your target audience. The process typically involves several steps: Collecting customer data through surveys, tracking website behavior and purchase history, and analyzing customer reviews.Performing a statistical data analysis through machine learning or AI to identify distinct customer groups and create unique segments.Creating targeted marketing strategies with product offerings designed to appeal to each segment's unique interests and needs. » Find out effective ways eCommerce personalization helps your business 1. Demographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation groups customers based on similar demographic factors such as age, gender, income, location, and more. When using this strategy, you can start by collecting data through customer surveys and website analytics like Google Analytics or your Shopify Dashboard. This can help identify specific trends and preferences. Depending on the segment, you should consider different aspects to improve your approach: Age: Different age groups have different purchasing habits and needs.Gender: You can use personalization to create targeted, gender-specific marketing campaigns based on need and desire.Income: Matching your product offerings to your target audience's income bracket can help improve sales. For instance, if your customers are in a higher bracket, you might offer luxury products and emphasize product exclusivity and quality.Location: You can create campaigns that cater to customers' unique needs in different regions. For example, an eCommerce store selling winter jackets can create targeted marketing campaigns for customers living in cold areas. Bright Minds: Age is Not Just a Number Bright Minds, a toys and books store, leverages demographic segmentation visually based on different age groups. Since the majority of the products are for children, dividing them up into age-appropriate groups helps for more seamless browsing. This can boost customer confidence and satisfaction with the store, which can improve sales. 2. Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation allows you to create targeted campaigns and personalized experiences by grouping customers based on patterns such as their purchasing habits, browsing behavior, and customer loyalty. Some ways to optimize this strategy include: Analyzing purchase history This can help identify which products or categories are popular, which customers make frequent purchases, and which customers have a high average order value.Tracking customer purchase journey Customer browsing behavior can indicate which products or categories customers are interested in but have not purchased. This data can be used to create retargeting campaigns.Measuring customer loyalty You can track how frequently customers make purchases, how long they've shopped with you, and their general engagement with loyalty programs. This can also help you identify and tackle hiccups that bust brand loyalty. Fragrance Buy: Smells Like Loyalty Fragrance Buy, a beauty and cosmetics store, offers an extensive loyalty program. This includes: Earning points, which they call "sprays".Multiple integrated ways of earning points through referrals and social media.An array of point redemption options, from free shipping to discounts. Social media inclusion can increase reach and customer engagement across multiple channels, which can translate into more sales and customer loyalty. The business's strategy is effective since businesses that leverage loyalty and rewards programs tend to generate revenues around 2.5 times faster than those that don't. Plus, VIP tiers further instill a sense of reward for customers, as the tier doesn't downgrade once you've achieved it. » Learn about the convergence between AI, eCommerce, and an optimized experience 3. Psychographic Segmentation Psychographic segmentation divides customers into groups based on their personality traits, values, interests, and lifestyles. This strategy can help you understand your customers' intent and preferences even better. Then you can create more effective marketing campaigns and improve your overall site search experience. Here are some tips to consider with this method: Conduct surveys and focus groups to gain insights into customers' personality traits, values, and interests.Analyze social media data to understand customers' lifestyles and interests.Create customer personas based on psychographic characteristics to better target marketing efforts. Princess Polly: Live That Influencer Lifestyle Princess Polly, an online fashion business, curates clothing and accessories that lean into lifestyle preferences, particularly those of online influencers. The store strives to deliver "key seasonal trends to fashion-obsessed Millennials", so they tap into this market's psychology by letting their customers shop according to influencers. Customers can easily browse products recommended by their favorite influencers, allowing them to effortlessly emulate the lifestyle they want. This then also doubles as social proof. The Fast Way to Grow Your eCommerce Business In eCommerce, customer segmentation allows you to understand and engage with your customers more meaningfully. By identifying commonalities among different groups and creating targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to their interests, you can improve sales and customer satisfaction. Customer segmentation can also highlight your attention to consumer needs and preferences, which can improve long-lasting customer relationships. » Need to optimize? See these top eCommerce apps to optimize customer experience
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Marketing4 Ways Social Media Marketing Drives Consumer BehaviorSocial media marketing, or social commerce, has the potential to drive consumer behavior thanks to the growing number of active users. According to DataReportal, around 4.76 billion people worldwide use social media. By using the right social media channels, you can create an emotional connection with your customers to influence and encourage purchases and brand loyalty. To help you tap into this potential, here are four strategies you can try. 1. Make Consumers Aware of Your Brand Social media can help foster brand awareness and increase visibility across multiple platforms and through various online formats. However, the intense competition for attention can make it tough to get noticed. Some options include: Leverage Influencer Marketing Social media influencers can help boost brand exposure and promote your business. Try to identify influencers that match your niche audience and leverage their creativity and authenticity to grow your brand. For example, the fashion brand Princess Polly partners with influencers on Instagram to promote their products. By featuring the brand's products in curated looks and sharing them with their followers, these influencers can help increase Princess Polly's brand awareness and attract new customers. Launch Hashtag Campaigns Hashtags are another effective way to drive brand awareness via social media. Use a combination of popular, trend-based, and niche-based hashtags to maximize the visual discovery of your content. For instance, premiere shopping and lifestyle brand CURATEUR uses hashtags that can help create a brand identity that's easy to discover online. Ensuring your content is easy to find across platforms can help boost reach and sales. » Check out the top eCommerce apps to optimize customer experience Create Viral Content Creating viral content like videos or memes can generate significant buzz around your brand. When content is shared by thousands, if not millions, globally, it has the potential to increase brand exposure and recognition. BarkBox, a dog products subscription service, regularly shares animal-related memes on its social media pages, creating a strong brand identity and keeping its followers engaged. 2. Influence Consumers' Purchasing Decisions Social media can play a crucial role in swaying customers' preferences toward a particular product or brand. By offering product information and social proof, brands can create a more informed and confident buyer. Consider the following strategies: Display Customer Reviews & Ratings Potential customers can read real feedback from others who have already purchased the product. This can create a sense of trust and credibility and lead to increased conversion rates. For example, the handmade jewelry brand Made by Mary frequently features customer photos and reviews on its Instagram page, showcasing its products in a relatable way. Offer Exclusive Discounts Offering exclusive discounts or promo codes to social media followers can be a powerful motivator for purchase. By providing value to the audience, brands can increase engagement and loyalty. For instance, fashion brand Steve Madden uses Twitter to promote exclusive discount codes for its followers, creating a sense of urgency and excitement among them. » Looking to try AI? Learn how AI can improve conversion rates in eCommerce 3. Build Brand Loyalty Among Consumers Brand loyalty is a key driver of profitability. Customers who exhibit loyalty choose your products or services repeatedly and also advocate for your brand, often recommending it to others. Here are three strategies to help you build brand loyalty: Create Personalized Content Personalization can demonstrate an understanding of customers' unique needs and preferences. Brands can personalize content by collecting data, such as: DemographicsInterestsOnline browsing behaviors Stitch Fix, an online personal styling service, collects data on its customers' preferences, style, and fit and then uses it to provide personalized clothing recommendations and styling advice. This personalized experience helps build long-lasting customer relationships. » Find out why product recommendations need merchandising Reward Loyal Customers Offering exclusive discounts, early product access, or special promotions are some effective ways to show appreciation for loyalty. For example, Fragrance Buy, an online fragrance retailer, gives its loyal customers points ("sprays") for specific actions they complete, which can be redeemed for discounts on future purchases. This gives customers a sense of exclusivity and encourages them to continue shopping with the brand. Increase Direct Online Engagement Social media engagement boosts loyalty by making customers feel valued and heard. Brands that respond to comments and feedback show that they care about their customers, fostering trust and appreciation in return. A great example is 401 Games. This game and toy brand offers helpful and friendly responses on Twitter when customers reach out. This can help boost sales as customers feel valued and informed. 4. Encourage User-Generated Content From Consumers User-generated content (UGC) can be highly effective as it adds authenticity and depth to a brand. When existing customers create content about a brand, they humanize it and provide real-world context for products and services. To encourage UGC, consider taking the following steps: Run Social Media Contests & Challenges These campaigns can encourage customers to share visuals of themselves using your products and create a buzz around your brand. Consider using branded hashtags for contests, as they can make it easy for customers to find and share your UGC. Energy drink brand V, for example, asked customers to show their transformation after sipping a V energy drink using the branded hashtag. The brand then featured some of the best UCG on its own Instagram account, highlighting the impact of its product on real people and encouraging others to try it. Share User-Generated Content on Your Own Channels This is a smart way to increase engagement and add social proof to your brand. Woolery, an online fiber arts brand, excels at this strategy. By sharing customer photos on its Instagram story, Woolery diversifies its content and increases engagement because it showcases real people's creations using its products. Plus, by adding these images to a pinned highlight reel, anyone can view it at any time. Get More Insights into Your Consumers' Behavior Using built-in social media tools and metrics, you can gather valuable data on customers to inform your marketing campaigns. Here are a few tactics to try: Analyze social media metrics to track engagement, reach, and other key performance indicators.Conduct surveys or polls on social media to gather feedback from customers.Leverage audience segmentation to create audience groups and tailor social media content according to each group's preferences. By leveraging these strategies, you can enhance the customer experience and get more conversions for your brand. » Discover how to tackle eCommerce hiccups that bust brand loyalty Post and Share the Fast Way With social media, you can engage with your audience quickly and easily. Because customers expect more from the brands they support, including personalization, social media is a flexible platform to accommodate their growing and ever-changing needs. Effective social media marketing strategies can help you achieve better brand awareness, conversions, customer loyalty, and engagement. Leveraging social media creatively can help your brand stand out from competitors and reach more potential customers.
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MarketingGet Inspired: 5 Email Remarketing Campaign Ideas That Really WorkDid you know that almost 70% of eCommerce shoppers abandon their carts? But email remarketing campaign ideas can successfully work to fix this and help you get inspired. Also referred to as email retargeting, this strategy involves sending personalized emails to customers and leads who have become inactive. It can be a successful tactic to recover lost sales. For instance, a study shows that cart abandonment emails led to a 24.87% conversion rate. So, let's look at five remarketing email campaign ideas you can try today. 1. Abandoned Cart Reminder An abandoned cart strategy is essential to reeling in shoppers who never finished the checkout process. When you do it right, an abandoned cart email can remind customers of what they're missing and entice them to complete the purchase, increasing your sales and conversions. Here are some tips for crafting an abandoned cart email: Use persuasive copy that shows personality.Leverage email marketing tools like Klaviyo.Include product images.Create a sense of urgency.Give a clear call-to-action (CTA).Send in a timely manner—ideally within 24 hours of abandonment.Include customer reviews for the item(s). Let's look at an example. Food 52 sends a short and sweet abandoned cart reminder. It has a light and casual tone, showing a photo of the item that's in the shopper's cart to remind them of what they were looking at. The CTA button takes them straight to the cart to finish checkout. 2. Win-Back Campaign A win-back campaign is a type of retainment remarketing email that aims to "wake up" and re-engage an inactive customer (typically someone who hasn't made a purchase in 3 to 6 months). These emails usually draw the customer back in with a special offer, promotion, discount, or simply a reminder of what's on offer. If you do it right, you can boost your sales, increase your customer lifetime value (CLV), and improve customer experience. Some tips include: Try sending between 3 to 6 emails, spaced out every 1 to 3 days.Create a sense of urgency for them to act now.Be direct and concise.Offer a clear CTA for their next steps.Use branding and imagery, including product photos. In this example, beauty brand Aillea sends a friendly, broad win-back email to an inactive customer, encouraging them to browse more products. This method can also utilize personalization, as you can use the customer's interests based on previous purchases. 3. Post-Purchase Upsell Upselling is an extremely valuable eCommerce merchandising technique for growing your average order value (AOV) and overall revenue. Post-purchase upselling involves suggesting an "upgrade" from what a customer has just purchased. Your approach should be methodical. In your upsell offer, consider products that are related to the most recent purchase. To send a great post-purchase upsell email, you can use these tactics: Try including the upsell offer in the customer's order confirmation email.Personalize the recommendations based on the user's purchase history.Use a simple, clear CTA.Include discounts and special offers to sweeten the deal.Add social proof for the recommended products, like customer reviews.Include visuals like branding and product images. For instance, viral men's hygiene brand Dollar Shave Club takes advantage of the period right after a purchase, offering to toss more items into the customer's package before it's shipped. » Want to know more? Find out the benefits of upsell and cross-sell personalization 4. Limited-Time Offer A limited-time offer can cover any type of occasion, from a holiday sale to a product launch celebration to a "just because" personalized special offer. The important factor is that you're prominently showcasing the value and the expiring time period of the offer so customers know exactly what to expect. For a strong limited-time offer, check out these tips: Be clear about the offer and how long they have to buy.Use standout graphics and colors to illustrate the offer.Include visuals like branding and product photos.Create a compelling CTA.Personalize the offer to your customer base if possible. In this example, Targus, a computer accessory online store, uses bright CTAs to highlight what the offer is (15% off), where to purchase, and how long the offer is available ("Today"). Also, with a clear copy ("limited edition"), the brand also implies a sense of exclusivity, which can encourage conversion. 5. Product Recommendations With the help of sophisticated algorithms, personalized product recommendations can be tailored to better match shoppers' intent. This strategy uses customer behavior data, like browsing and purchase history, as well as data from other customers with similar habits. Here are some ways to use customer data to fuel product recommendations: Suggest similar products to those already purchased.Show an additional product that's frequently bought together with a recent purchase.Highlight the most popular and best-selling products.Break up the most popular products per specific category.Push top-selling products based on lookalike audience segments.Remarket products recently viewed by the consumer. Take the fashion brand Princess Polly as an example. This brand suggests items that are similar to ones you've viewed or purchased, plus extra items you can purchase to "complete the look". This encourages additional purchases and shows personalized attention, which can help boost retention. » Learn why personalization for large audiences through anonymous data works Fast-Track Your eCommerce Sales If you're trying to find new ways to captivate customers, these email remarketing campaign ideas may be the tools you've been looking for. When you thoughtfully re-engage your current leads and customers who have gone stagnant, you can help create long-lasting relationships. This, in turn, can boost sales, customer retention, and the overall success of your business. So, why not try these ideas?