It’s a creepy time of year for many retailers on All Hallows’ Eve. Eerily frivolous spending can often correlate with high numbers of unpaid goods being left behind online, as customers race around looking for a ghoulishly good deal.

But it isn’t just broomsticks and pumpkins that are getting left behind in baskets. Around 76% of all online shopping carts are abandoned before the customer has completed the payment process.

So here are 4 supernatural tips that will bring them back to life:

 

1. Surprise them with a call

Calling customers achieves incredible success rates for converting abandoned shopping carts and cauldrons. If a customer places items in their basket but then leaves the website, connecting them to a call with one of your sales staff is possibly the most engaging way of convincing them to continue with the purchase.

On average, contact rates are three times higher than email click-throughs; and conversion rates can reach up to 47% (source: Optilead). Spooky we know, but for high value items that require expert advice, telephone remarketing can be helpful for informing customers of their options before they make a decision.

 

2. Give them a treat, not a trick

Separating your boiling pot from another is always hard when consumers are looking for the best deal. But instead of undercutting the competition, try offering your customers more.

A giveaway, competition, or even free shipping can even be enough to get the most mysterious customers to choose your company. Busy seasonal periods are not just about making money, but about growing your customer base so you can market your products another time.

 

3. Eeee-mail suggestions

The spine-chilling reason why people aren’t buying from your website isn’t necessarily because they are shopping elsewhere – it is often because you are simply out of sight and out of mind.

A well-timed, well-produced email can help you re-engage with your customers in a friendly long-time-no-see kind of way. Suggesting some popular items, or items similar to those the customer has bought before serves as a great reminder. There is a fine line between a mailshot and spam. So for retailers, it is probably best to send your email communications around once every couple of weeks.

 

4. Spell it out with an SMS campaign

Text message campaigns are really undervalued in marketing. Mobile phones are owned by around 93% of adults in the UK, and a bloodcurdling 98% of SMS sent are opened by the recipient (source: RedSMS). For any marketer these are truly phenomenal figures.

Encouraging people to reply with a code word for special offers or discounts can get you engaging with customers that may be unresponsive to emails and advertising. It is a more personal approach and one that consumers in general feel a lot more comfortable using.

 

Preparing for Christmas?

Applying these customer engagement techniques to your strategy will give great returns on investment, not just now but long after Halloween has been and gone. Setting up these types of systems in time for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas will be a priority for many retailers as they look to make the most of lavish festive shopping. Spending for this year’s Halloween is predicted to be £310m (source: Mintel). So if trends continue we should be set for a lucrative end to the year – providing this month’s credit card bill doesn’t scare too many people.

 

To find out more about how Optilead can increase your business revenue, please contact us.

 

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