Because consumers are faced with a multitude of choices when shopping online, they often struggle to find the product that best suits their wants and needs. To drive sales and long-term loyalty, best-in-class retailers are developing marketing programs that educate and seamlessly guide shoppers through the decision-making process.
Land of Nod, a children’s home décor retailer, engages consumers who abandon online purchases using real-time email retargeting campaigns. By partnering with SeeWhy, an email service provider, the multichannel retailer has successfully reconnected with potentially lost customers, and has seen a 22% boost in cart recovery.
With only three brick-and-mortar stores and one outlet location nationwide, Land of Nod relies on driving e-Commerce sales via compelling yet relevant engagement and marketing strategies. Ongoing email communication with consumers has helped the retailer stay connected with shoppers — especially if they abandon a purchase, according to Joe Orlando, Marketing Manager at Land of Nod.
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“We invest heavily in driving traffic to the e-Commerce site, so when someone shows enough interest to create a cart and get the checkout process started, it’s important for us to continue the conversation with those consumers,” Orlando said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “However, we don’t want our email remarketing efforts to seem like they’re just blasted messages to win sales. We want them to be tailored and relevant to consumers.”
Using the Conversion Manager solution from SeeWhy, Land of Nod sends cart abandonment messages and reminders that are personalized to each consumer’s specific behaviors. The solution enables the retailer to set a series of rules and triggers, which guarantees follow-up messages are sent to consumers in a timely fashion.
Focusing On Customer Service
The purchase recovery campaign follows a three-pronged approach. First, Land of Nod sends an email once consumers leave the e-Commerce site without completing their transactions. This message reminds customers that they abandoned a specific item in their digital shopping carts, and shares more detailed information on the product as well as an image.
Approximately 24 hours later, consumers receive a second email as part of the remarketing campaign. This messages shares more information on how shoppers can connect with Land of Nod customer service representatives should they have any follow-up questions.
“Our level of customer services is something we pride ourselves in,” Orlando said. “Using the call-to-action to interact with our team, we’re able to answer any specific questions consumers have that may be preventing them from making a purchase.”
Because customer service team members constantly are on hand to facilitate follow-up conversations with consumers, they are a key source for cart recovery, Orlando added. “The customer service team is a very important touch point. For example, if someone is in one of our stores and was about to abandon their purchase, we have the opportunity to interject, ask if they have specific questions and determine what their hesitations are. Now, we’re able to do that online, as well.”
Finally, seven days after the initial cart abandonment, Land of Nod sends consumers an offer for free shipping. Although the incentive helps close the funnel for certain categories, Orlando explained that being timely and supportive is key to successful email campaigns.
“We’re seeing timeliness and helpfulness are far more important to most of our consumers,” Orlando said. “Specially, people seem to respond to most favorably to the customer service message. While shopping online, it’s very hard for consumers to get a sense of product quality, especially if they’re not familiar with the Land of Nod brand. This helps us initiate that dialogue.”
Moving From Manual Processes To Automated Engagement
Prior to implementing the SeeWhy solution in early 2012, Land of Nod relied on manual processes to plan and execute remarketing email programs. Team members searched database records in order to identify cart abandoners, then created and sent emails. This manual process delayed campaign rollouts significantly.
“The manual, in-house strategies for our email campaigns weren’t efficient because just pulling the customer email addresses was a process,” Orlando said. “In some cases, people were getting follow-up messages from us four days after abandonment. SeeWhy is a real-time messaging outlet, which allows us to be very timely and relevant based on our consumers’ past actions.”
To drive an additional boost in sales and overall cart recovery rates, Land of Nod plans to execute more granular email campaigns based on different consumer segments, according to Orlando. For example, if a customer is browsing nursery furniture, bedding and accessories, the retailer will be able to identify these browsing behaviors and tailor messages accordingly.
“We’re continuing to focus on how we can tailor messages and create those personalized experiences,” Orlando said. In doing so, Land of Nod will be able to “create unique one-to-one interactions whenever possible, and show that we’re a brand that actually cares and that we stand behind the products we sell.”
