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Print.ITReseller
30
E-commerce
Vendors need to
give consumers
a reason to
shopwith them,
other thanprice
alone.
UK e-commerce sales are expected
to reach £45billion this year and
rise even further in the future as
consumers continue to use amix
of in-store andonline channels – a
trend that resellersmust embrace as
away toboost revenue, especially in
B2Bmarkets.
Many office equipment dealers and IT
resellers already have lucrative e-commerce
operations that they promotewith
imagination and flair.Others have yet to
make themost of online channels.
Often, online retailers have such similar
offerings that consumers feel no loyalty to
Office Spot, a leadingUK& Irelandonline office
supplies company, has significantly reduced
basket abandonment rates through integrated
email marketing fromBronto Software.An
automated follow-up email campaign tobasket
abandoners generated a 46% increase in sales
conversions.
TheDublin-based firm’s initial campaign targeted
customerswho had recently abandoned baskets in an
attempt to recapture lost sales and encourage further
engagement.The BrontoMarketing Platform, integrated
with e-commerce platformMagento, played a key role
in its success. Bronto’s easy-to-use interface allowed
in-house sales andmarketing staff to create and edit
engagingmessages alignedwith the brand, rather than
relying on IT personnel to do it.
“Understandingwhy people abandon baskets ismore
important than anything else,” saidMatthewDean, Email
MarketingCo-ordinator, Ireland andUK at Office Spot.
“Weweren’t even fully aware of our conversion rates
before usingBronto andMagento.”
Reaching customerswho did not complete purchases
is just the first stage inOffice Spot’s ambitious email
marketing strategy.Next, it aims to leverage Bronto
andMagento integration to create a complete lifecycle
marketing strategy, including triggered reminders of
relevant customer purchases.
“Building the idea that our brand ismore than just an
office supply company is crucial to us,” saidDean.“Email
is a great way to put this right in front of people,while at
the same time catering to their individual interests.”
a particular site and instead shop around
for the best deal.Vendors need to give
consumers a reason to shopwith them,
other than price alone.The best way to do
this is to engagewith customers through
personalised and relevantmessages.
Brandmessaging should be applied
consistently across all channels so that
the customer journey isn’t interrupted at
any point.With one third of online sales
expected to bemade throughmobile
devices in 2014, thismeans having
responsivewebsite designs that can format
content to fit smartphones and tablets so
that shoppers can view products in the
optimum format for the device they are
using.
Email marketing
Now,more than ever, online e-tailers
should exploit peak trading times by
analysing trends and identifying themost
successful ways to increase site traffic.One
of these is email marketing,which has
been proven to increase traffic if used in
the right way.
Planning is key.Get a structure in
place that you can follow throughout the
year, re-introducing popular promotions
through email marketing campaigns. If a
How to increase revenue
fromemailmarketing
Kestrel Lemen,MarketingStrategist at BrontoSoftware Europe, explains
howembracinge-marketing canhelp resellers delivermore targeted
messages and increase revenue fromonline sales
time of peak trade is coming up, start your
campaign early and beat your competitors
to the sale.
Messaging is always going to be one of
themost important elements in the success
of a campaign: don’t confuse promotions
and keep the content fresh and exciting.
Contemplate building your narrative for the
daywithmultiple emails, but keep themix
freshwith design and content differences.
If you don’t have the resources tomake the
emails radically different,make noticeable
design changes and alter the subject line.
This is a great alternativewhen it’s difficult
to create new campaigns.
Give your business its best chance
of flourishing in 2014with a solid email
marketing strategy.
Office Spot doubles abandonedbasket conversions
Kestrel Lemen,market strategist,
Bronto Software Europe
