This is a guest post from Molly Horstmann, the Content Marketing Manager at SmarterHQ. SmarterHQ is a leading behavioral marketing platform powering highly personalized, cross-channel customer experiences. Visit their site to learn more.
The holidays have come and gone, and so have many of your seasonal customers. That is, unless you have a solid plan to keep them engaged with your brand in 2019—and start leveraging these strategies as soon as possible.
The following campaigns and tactics will help you retain customers who have purchased recently, re-engage those who haven’t interacted since well before the holiday season, and make all of the above more likely to shop your brand year-round:
Strategy #1: Cross-sell with complementary products
SmarterHQ found that customers who buy in multiple categories have a stronger LTV and tend to shop with brands more frequently. Post-purchase campaigns are the perfect opportunity to drive this behavior by featuring cross-category products complementing the item they recently bought.
When cross-selling in post-purchase emails, make sure to directly reference the purchased item and to showcase best sellers of the complementary products you’d like to promote. And since 72% of consumers say they still shop brick and mortar more often than other channels, incorporate offline purchase data to provide a better omnichannel experience.
This Sam’s Club example ties all of these tactics together. Following a purchase made in-store, Sam’s sent an email recommending top items that would go great with an iPad—a keyboard, cover, headphones—to keep them shopping and engaging online, too.
Strategy #2: Send product replenishment reminders
Replenishment reminders can create a consistent stream of revenue and drive loyalty to products that need to be purchased again anyway. These reminders can be sent for any item needing to be replaced seasonally or due to normal wear-and-tear—from air filters and bedsheets to undershirts and running shoes.
Notifying your customer when to re-purchase at the appropriate time provides a seamless experience that is likely to boost sales. This strategy can be especially helpful to re-engage customers who have not bought from the same category over a stretch of months.
This Lord & Taylor email re-engages past purchasers in the beauty category. Creative includes category-specific messaging, and the email features previously purchased products for replenishment as well as a link to beauty best sellers to help buyers discover new favorites.
Strategy #3: Entice disengaging VIP customers
High-value customers account for a big percentage of your revenue, so when they lose interest over time it’s important to go above and beyond to win them back. Identify customers with a higher than average LTV (life-time value) who are no longer buying or browsing and send them an offer they can’t refuse. You could use incentives such as early access, VIP-only items, or a generous one-time-use promo code.
This email from Coldwater Creek entices high-value customers with a first look at new arrivals and a discount to spend over a certain threshold. Adding a one-week expiration date creates a sense of urgency for the customer to take advantage and purchase as soon as possible.
Strategy #4: Keep lapsed shoppers interested
Separate from your VIP audience, you may also have a segment of customers who have made a purchase X days ago but have not bought anything since. Identify and target these previous browsers or purchasers with a specific campaign inviting them to come back and shop again.
Consider sending lapsed shoppers a one-time promo code or free shipping offer to give them the extra nudge they need and spark their interest by showing product recommendations or top sellers keyed to their past purchases and behaviors. This strategy can also be used with customers who have not engaged over an extended period (e.g., 12 months or longer).
Bloomingdale’s gives lapsed shoppers a reason to re-engage with actionable messaging that also makes them feel special (“Just For You!”), along with a one-time discount code on their next purchase.
Stay top of mind in 2019
Don’t wait until next November to engage with seasonal customers, and don’t give up on shoppers who haven’t interacted with your campaigns over the past few months. Leverage behavioral data to create smart post-purchase campaigns that build loyalty throughout the year.
