The new service basically identifies those customers who have previously agreed to receive your opt-in messages but who also fail to make a purchase on your site. Once the potential buyer leaves your Web shop, a customized e-mail — that can be related to the products the customer was viewing — is sent out to the non-buying browser.
EWayDirect says that the Web site re-engagement tool leads to an increase in purchases, and the company claims that using the follow-up re-engagement e-mails can generate up to 10 times more sales than regular e-mail campaign messages.
Marty Donner, Chief Revenue Officer at eWayDirect, said that sometimes a potential customer just needs encouragement. "Giving up on a Web site visitor who has not purchased makes no sense. That visitor was on the site for a reason and may simply need a bit more encouragement," he said.
The company's new re-engagement tool meets all criteria for industry and marketing best practices. For example, the e-mails can only be sent to customers who are in your e-mail database. Additionally, Donner said that a customer will only ever receive a maximum of one e-mail per day, regardless of how many times he or she visits your site and leaves without making a purchase.
Customizing the default re-engagement e-mail takes about five minutes, according to Donner, and no IT help is required. Web shop owners can also customize e-mails in advance so that they relate specifically to the pages or specific items shoppers browsed while on their Web site.
Creating the Right OfferUsing a tool like this, shop owners may be interested in sending special discounts to non-buying customers to encourage them to come back and make a purchase. Donner, however, said that while this action may encourage the customer to come back and make a purchase, it isn't necessarily the best solution.
Laughing, he said, "If you e-mail the customer and invite them to come back for a 20-percent savings, how long will it take to train your customers to never buy on your Web site when they visit?"
Instead, Donner recommends that Web shop owners send non-buying customers their weekly special via e-mail (or any Web promotion that you are already advertising) as the re-engagement e-mail offer.
As you administer your e-mail marketing campaign, eWayDirect carefully tracks e-mail metrics, looking at clicks, open, and unsubscribe rates to make sure your Web site re-engagement results are positive.
The company claims that their clients who have been using the new tool have not seen any increase in unsubscribe rates, but open rates on these e-mails have been as high as 60 percent. Donner believes this is simply because you are able to serve these-mails and target the customer at the right time — when you know they are looking for an item.
The process is much like targeting customers in a retail store while they are shopping — or just before they leave the store — rather than when they are at home, possibly not even thinking about a shopping trip, which is how most mass e-mail campaigns work, Donner said.
Pricing and AvailabilityThe eWayDirect platform is a suite of different marketing tools designed to optimize the conversion of prospects to customers. Clients do not need to pay extra for new features, including the Web site re-engagement tool, as they are able to take advantage of any tool offered as a part of the platform.
EWayDirect pricing is set on a per monthly CPM basis, or cost per thousand e-mails deployed, making the platform affordable for even small Web shops with a smaller customer e-mail database.
Founded in 2000, eWayDirect is a privately held company that integrates a variety of tools for direct marketing, including e-mail marketing, search marketing and social network marketing tools.The company's direct marketing platform offers marketers several tools that are specifically designed to optimize the conversion of prospects to customers, customers to frequent buyers, and frequent buyers to enthusiasts. Vangie Beal is a seasoned online marketplace seller, frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com and avid online bargain hunter. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com.Businesses offering value do well in hard times
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