Saving Sales With Triggered Coupons
Out of all the Internet Retailer Top 500, I’ve only found one that offers incentives to web surfers who look around without purchasing. When you close your browser tab or window, a pop-up chat window appears:
123Inkjets.com is using UpSellit.com’s SMARTagent product to re-engage visitors that exit prematurely from the site, the cart or a form. According to UpSellit, clients see sales increases of 5-20%.
It appears site visitors only have one go at the offer. If you close the box and return again on the same day it won’t pop back up. Of course, it could use browser cookies and it could reappear after cookies expire or you delete them.
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An interesting idea. Pretty in your face though. I wonder if there’s any data on the negative brand impression created for those that don’t purchase, to weigh up against the positive uplift figures.
Pop ups/unders are reminiscent of the 90s and early 00s, when they were the weapon of choice for internet marketers. A fake chat box (which I presume this is rather than a real chat box?) is kind of the same thing. Interesting idea though. As long as it’s not too pushy, browsers can’t blame retailers for trying to have another bite of the cherry.
I have often thought about this. It would definitely be something to tread lightly about. You can do the same type of thing with retargeting banners, althought that may seem just as invasive to some.
Yeah, definitely subject to testing. Perhaps this exists on more of the IR500 but they are split testing and not showing every visitor.
The worst I saw was a very well known toy retailer popping up a customer experience survey IMMEDIATELY before I had a chance to even surf the site! Plus it was one of those third party surveys that take forever.
???
This method should only be used one customers how have an item in their cart and then close the window without making a purchase. Even then its suspect in my opinion.
If an idea sounds great from a marketing perspective it usually means its going to annoy customers :(
Looking at this pop up with my email marketing advisor hat on (man, I can’t believe I just used the term hat…wow. that was bad)…
Ok. Let me start over. As an email marketing account manager, the hair on my arms raises every time I see “CLICK HERE.” I am anti-”click here” and anti-all caps.
But…I wonder how successful it was.
dj at bronto (hat off)
Its a fine idea but at the same time risks the danger of annoying the customers.
You have to test this kind of thing with a control group or you’ll never know how much you give away to people who would have bought anyway.
Shoppers get used to this idea (whether as an e-mail or pop-up) and start intentionally abandoning carts just so they can get the discount. If your busines model relies on repeat customers, you can take a significant hit to margin with no incremental sales.
Meanwhile, internal folks will be overjoyed because the “response rate” is so high…
Well, of course it is!
Every great marketing idea is subject to testing.
Without testing none can conclude how good or bad an idea is.
if i were an online shopper i’d really hate to get these triggers, but again depends on the mood of an online shopper.
test to find the best…. :-)
@CommerceStyle
“If an idea sounds great from a marketing perspective it usually means its going to annoy customers :(”
I love this quote, gives me an idea we should do awards at the end of the year for blog comments. You’re now nominated for funny-yet-sad-but-true category :)
@DJ
I’m going to send an email blast, with all CAPS and my teasing ecommerce blogger hat on, just to make your hair stand on end :) I’m totally guilty of using “hats” in a marketing context, and “blast” but I’m trying very hard not to.
But the “CLICK HERE” stays, I think it’s an affirmative call to action that probably outperforms other word choices – I’ll have to test that theory.
@Jim Novo,
Agreed. You don’t want to condition customers to expect the freebie. I’m also uneasy about big coupon code fields upon checkout – I think it encourages people to go look for coupon codes (and there are plenty posted on deal sites to choose from).
Personally, I wasn’t annoyed, but I think it would make more sense if I had somehow engaged with the site beyond just the home page.
The 10OFFINK code may also pose a usability problem. The customer must remember the code and type it in properly, and the 0O combination may be confusing…
This one worries me. I think many customers would view it as an invasion of privacy and/or just plain annoying. I’d like to see statistics from someone other than the developer of the platform that drives it.
A client of ours wanted to send emails to people who abandoned carts after filling in their address and email details. I think that’s even more likely to generate animosity from those potential customers.