Don’t let your customers feel buyer’s remorse

 

💭Imagine this…

You go to the gym and see someone wearing a pair of really cool headphones. They’re wireless, silver, and cover the whole ear. 

This makes you instantly want them. You already have a pair of wire earphones, but they always end up tangled and fall out of your ears when you’re on the cardio machines. 

If only you had a pair of wireless headphones… they’d solve all your problems. 

When you get home, you find the headphones online straight away. They’re £150. 

A few moments later and you’re filling in your card details and clicking ‘buy now’.  

 

But then an hour passes by and you start to re-think your purchase….

Could you have got them cheaper somewhere else? Do you really need them? 

Maybe you were too hasty…maybe you should cancel your order. Or return them as soon as they arrive. £150 is a lot of money… 

 

 

😟Why are you starting to overthink your decision, even though just an hour ago it seemed like the best idea? 

In today’s newsletter, we’ll be diving into buyer’s remorse – why people regret their purchases and send their orders back. 

 

🤔What is buyer’s remorse?

Buyer’s remorse is all the negative feelings you experience after you’ve bought something. These include; regret, shame, disappointment, frustration, guilt or anxiety.

Also known as ‘buyers’ regret’, buyer’s remorse is more often associated with large or expensive purchases, such as cars, houses, or luxury items. 

However, a purchase of any size can trigger buyer’s remorse. Even something as small as buying food when you’re not hungry.

Unfortunately, this can be a big problem for your ecommerce brand. 

 

 

🛍️Why does this happen to your customers?

There are a number of reasons why your customers can feel buyer’s remorse after buying something from your shop.  

 

💰Price 

After buying something from your shop, your customer might then find a cheaper or discounted version somewhere else. This can trigger buyers’ remorse, as they realise they could have got the product cheaper elsewhere.

😓Deciding too quickly 

Your customer can regret their purchase if they rushed into buying without researching properly, and bought something they weren’t 100% sure about. They’ll end up receiving something different to what they initially wanted, which they might be more likely to return. 

👎Poor customer service

A lack of customer service can stir up negative buying emotions. Your customer might have a question about their product after they’ve made the purchase. If they can’t find the answer on your website, or can’t get in touch with your team, they might start to second-guess their order.

This can also happen if your returns policy isn’t made clear on your website. Your customer might worry that if they don’t like the product, they’ll not be able to return it. So they cancel their order before it even arrives. 

E.g. A customer might have bought a dog harness, without seeing if it was suitable for dogs who pull. If they can’t find this info, they might worry that the harness won’t be suitable, and cancel their order. 

🖼️Your brand image

The way you present your brand can heavily impact buyer’s remorse too. If your brand doesn’t stand out as special, your customers may lack an emotional connection to you. Worse still, you might miss out on your competition if they try harder to show their brand values and tell their personal story.

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Stop ghosting your customers! Part 2…

Post-Purchase Journey Part 2

 

If you’ve given our previous article a read, you’ll know that we’ve been looking at how to create a killer post-purchase experience for your customers. This is basically the part of the customer journey that happens once someone has made their first purchase online. (It’s also massively overlooked by most brands) 

Our first blog in this series was about building a branded tracking page. If you haven’t read it yet, don’t worry. You can read it https://advertify.co.uk/stop-ghosting-your-customers/

Now we’re all up to speed with our branded tracking page, we’re going to take a look at creating a branded post-purchase transactional email and SMS flow. 

Let’s dive into it!

 

What is post-purchase transactional messaging?

When you order something online, you’ll often get emails or texts giving you info and details about your package. This is known as post-purchase transactional messaging. (Yes, it is a bit of a tongue twister)

These emails get some of the best open and click-through rates out of any other campaign. People are excited about their orders. They want to know the latest updates. So any email or SMS about their package, naturally, gets opened and read, 

The trouble is, these messages might be getting some amazing engagement, but they’re not helping your business.

These transactional messages are automated, impersonal and often sent from the courier, not your own brand. You’re missing out on a load of touchpoints with your customers because the updates they receive about their packages, are not from you. 

Instead of leaving transactional messages up to the courier companies, you want to brand them as your own.

 

Creating a transactional email flow

You’ll probably want to start off by creating a branded transactional email flow. This sounds quite complex, but don’t worry, there are lots of software solutions available that can help you do this. 

With your software choice, you’ll want to set up an automated email flow. This flow is activated when somebody makes a purchase from your shop and stops once they receive their order. 

You can create as many emails as you want in this post-purchase transactional flow. There are loads of different ways you can make this transactional experience memorable and helpful for your customers. For now, we will just focus on 5 key emails and what to include in them.

 

#1. Order Confirmed

  • Thank the customer for their order
  • Confirm their purchase 
  • Send over a receipt
  • Let them know the next steps

#2. Order ready to be shipped 

  • Let them know their shipment has been created and is waiting to be shipped out
  • Link them from the email to your Branded Tracking page 
  • When they click the link, instead of going to the courier tracking page, they will go to your own website.
  • This is a great opportunity to drive website traffic, increase engagement and increase revenue too. 

#3. Order Shipped

  • Let them know their package has been picked up + scanned by the courier
  • This helps to build excitement 
  • Builds trust by showing them the updated status of their package
  • Another opportunity for them to click the link and be taken to your branded tracking page.

#4. Order out for delivery

  • Let them know the order is on its way 
  • This is the perfect place to build hype and excitement as they know they will be receiving this package soon
  • This email typically gets high open rates and clickthrough rates, so is the perfect opportunity to send customers to your branded tracking page

#5. Your order has arrived

  • Let them know their order has been delivered 
  • Important for letting them know you’ve dropped off their order (especially if they are not in to collect it)
  • Helps to minimise theft, but also carries on the hype. Imagine how excited they will be if they receive an email like this at work!

Creating a transactional SMS flow

Email marketing has been used for many years now, but SMS transactional campaigns are fairly new on the scene. They’re also an amazing way to drive website traffic, increase reviews and build brand affinity. 

Emails can get lost in a cluttered inbox. Texts, on the other hand, are more likely to be noticed and read straight away. In fact, SMS transactional messages get 90-99% open rates!  Pretty good right? 

Here are some key texts you can send as part of your campaign. (They are all very similar to the emails, so we will just list out the titles below) 

#1. Order ready to be shipped 

#2. Order Shipped

#3. Order out for delivery 

#4. Your order has arrived

 

The after-effects

Your customers want to know where their package is, so they’ll be opening these transactional emails and texts at a higher rate than your usual campaigns. This will help to build excitement for their package, and they’ll appreciate the effort you’re taking to update them.

By the time they get their package, they will have had multiple touchpoints with your brand. This helps to keep you at the top of their mind.  

So, the next time they need a similar product or a top-up, they will think of you. This will really help you find to increase your base of long-term and loyal customers. 

 

Conclusion

Now we have our branded tracking page set up, and our post-purchase transactional messaging flows in place, it’s time to move on to the next bit. Keep your customers excited and engaged with your brand long after making their first purchase. Join us in the next blog to find out more. 

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, and want to know more about the post-purchase journey, check out our free recession-proof guide. 

Inside you’ll find actionable steps you can take for your pet brand, to help you navigate through the recession and continue to grow. 

Download your free copy here:

https://offers.advertify.co.uk/7-practical-ways-to-recession-proof-your-pet-ecommerce-business

P.S

Want to really master your customer’s journey?

Here are a few ways we can help:

www.instagram.com/advertify_agency/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/advertifydigital/

 

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Stop ghosting your customers!

Imagine this…

 

You’ve just been on an amazing date. You had a really good time getting to know them better. There wasn’t a single point in the evening that felt uncomfortable or awkward. In fact, it couldn’t have gone any better!

 

As you’re saying goodbye, you both agree that you’d like to go on another date. They say they’ll be in touch to arrange the next meet-up.

 

But then a few days pass and you haven’t heard from them yet. You start to wonder… was that date really as good as you thought it was?

 

Maybe they’ve just been busy or forgotten to message.  So you send them a text.

 

But you get no response.

 

A few days later you send another text. 

 

Still no response.

 

Uh oh. Looks like you’ve been ghosted, my friend. 

 

Ghosting definition (according to Merriam-Webster) : 

 

‘’the act or practice of abruptly cutting off all contact with someone (such as a former romantic partner) usually without explanation by no longer accepting or responding to phone calls, instant messages, etc.’’ -https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ghosting

 

You’re probably thinking, ‘’what’s all this got to do with my ecommerce shop?’’

 

You might be ghosting your customers without even realising it. And it could be massively affecting your sales and revenue. 

 

Don’t ghost post-purchase!

 

Ever heard of the post-purchase journey?

 

This is what happens to the customer after they’ve made their purchase from your eCommerce shop. It’s an incredible place to grow your business. Unfortunately, a lot of brands don’t take advantage of it.

 

Not giving your customers an amazing post-purchase journey is like ghosting someone; you might not get that second date. 

 

You’ve essentially cut off communication with that customer after their first purchase. Which can put them off buying from you again. 

 

There are so many shops online. If your customer finds somewhere with better products, better service and a better line of communication, they will shift their loyalties. You’ve got to put the work in to keep your customers coming back for more. 

 

What should you do?

 

Take control of your customer’s post-purchase journey! Create a transactional campaign that’s chocked full of personalisation and increases the number of brand touchpoints. 

 

The first way you can do this is by creating your own branded tracking pages. If this is possible for your brand, it sets an excellent foundation for your transactional emails to link back to. (Want to know more about transactional email campaigns? Click here) 

 

#1. Tracking Page

 

You know when you buy something online? You usually get a few emails or texts giving you info about your order.  

 

These emails get some of the best open and click-through rates out of any other campaign. When your customers click on these types of emails, they get taken to a tracking page on the delivery couriers’ website i.e. DPD’s website. 

 

Fun fact: On average, a person will check their parcel tracking page 4.6 times before they even get the package. (constantly checking messages? …Sound familiar?)

 

The trouble is, as mentioned above, people who check the tracking pages often don’t get sent to your website. They get sent to the courier’s website. What does this mean?  You end up missing out on tonnes of traffic, because your customers are being sent to DPD, Royal Mail, Evri etc.

 

This is a huge missed opportunity for your website to increase landing page views and brand exposure! 

 

That’s where having a branded tracking page comes in handy. 

 

Instead of sending people to courier pages, you could send them to a specific branded tracking page on your site. From here they can see the status of their order and any other messaging you want to put in front of them at that point. 

 

This page is the perfect chance to increase sales and revenue. 

 

Here’s what to include on your branded tracking page:

 

Hero Image:

  • Large banner-style image at the top of the page
  • Branded to match your style guidelines
  • Helps to increase brand recall and affinity

 

Tracking Block

  • Status of shipment. E.g: waiting to be shipped, shipped, out for delivery, delivered
  • Estimated arrival time 
  • Button to click and check where your order is 

 

FAQ’s

  • A block at the bottom of the page with 3-10 frequently asked questions
  • The perfect way to handle customer queries without your customer service team being flooded with questions and complaints
  • Give extra info to customers before their order arrives (e.g tips on how to best use products) 

 

Upsell Block 

  • Show the customers different products that they might be interested in
  • Can include complimentary products, frequently bought together products and best sellers
  • Make sure they are relevant
  • Great way to get extra sales and encourage repeat purchases.

 

Now the foundation is set, next time we’ll talk about using SMS and email effectively to get your customer excited before they receive your product. 

 

P.S

 

Want to know even more ways to grow your business, increase your profits and keep customers coming back for more?

 

We’ve created an E-book that contains 7 actionable steps you can take as a business, to do all these things plus advice on how to protect yourself from the recession. 

 

Download our E-book and start making a difference in your business today:

 

Below fold CTA

 

Want to scale and grow your ecommerce business?

 

We’re a growth marketing agency that works specifically with pet brands, and we can help get thousands of new eyes on your product and brand every single day.

 

Want to know more? Book a call with us today: https://offers.advertify.co.uk/book-a-call

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Are people treating your pet brand like a bad tinder profile?

Abandoned Cart rates 

Having a bad checkout process is like having a bad tinder profile. No one is going to want anything to do with you if your page looks dodgy.

 

Online shops lose thousands of pounds every week because their checkout process is just not up to scratch, and it puts people off. This leads to an increase in the oh-so-annoying abandoned cart rate. 

 

Below we’ll explore some common mistakes that get people running away from your checkout process faster than if they found out their tinder date was Piers Morgan. (btw if you don’t know what tinder is, you’ve been living under a rock) 

 

Read on to find out what these top 3 mistakes are, and how to fix them. 

 

1: A dodgy-looking profile will get you nowhere

 

The Problem

 

Imagine you’re scrolling through tinder. You come across a profile and the only photo is of a dog. Or, a profile full of group photos, so you’re not actually too sure whose profile it is.

 

Their profile might be saying all the right things, but without that picture confirmation, you find it hard to trust this person. It’s suspicious that they are hiding info from you. The chances are, you probably wouldn’t go on a date with them. 

 

The same principles apply to your checkout process. Leaving out important information about privacy, security, return policies and confidentiality will make people worry, not trust you and leave your site without purchasing. 

 

Nobody wants to get scammed online. People are careful and alert with their confidential details, so if your site lacks key security information, you can kiss that sale goodbye. 

 

So, how can you make them trust you?

 

The solution

 

Show them that you are trustworthy! 

 

It’s as simple as putting a selfie on Tinder. All you have to do is give them the info they need to make their decision.

 

Add these to your checkout page to show that you’re trustworthy:

  • A generous return and privacy policy
  • Security badges
  • Secure lock icons
  • Physical addresses that are easy to find
  • Clear contact details for your business

 

If you add all of these key pieces of info to your checkout page, people will be much more trusting, and far less likely to abandon their carts. 

 

2: Check the basics. Think about logistics.

 

The problem

 

Let’s imagine you’ve found the perfect match on tinder. They have the same interests as you, are a similar age and have got a good selection of photos. 

 

But, you’ve forgotten to change your location preference, and it turns out they’re from a completely different country than you. Would you travel hundreds of miles to go on that first date? Probably not.

 

Why? Because it requires too much time and too much effort. The same applies to your checkout process.  

 

You might have the perfect product for someone. But if your page load speed is really slow, information boxes are glitchy or the scroll bar doesn’t work properly, they will not want to buy. The process takes too long and requires a lot of effort from that person just to fill in basic details.

 

User experience is really important, and people are always looking for excuses NOT to buy more stuff. The minute your checkout process starts to get difficult, people will start convincing themself they shouldn’t buy from you and abandon their carts.

 

The solution

 

Get the basics right on your checkout page. Make sure everything is functioning as it should be and isn’t taking too long to load. Prioritise your customer’s user experience. 

 

There are tonnes of tools available for you to use, so you can regularly check and keep an eye on the usability of your checkout process. This will identify any problems or glitches on your page, that you can then fix.

 

 

3: Don’t catfish your customers with unexpected shipping costs

 

The problem

 

It’s a bad idea to fill your tinder profile with lies. Such as claiming to be a 6ft3 MMA fighter from Barbados, when you’re actually a 5ft6 supervisor at Tesco from Slough (nothing wrong with that btw!)

 

When it comes to meeting your date in person, they will clock on pretty quick that you’ve lied to them. They will be disappointed, annoyed and probably leave.

 

Just as catfishing is a big worry on dating sites, so are unexpected shipping costs on your brand site.

 

If you’ve tried to hide your shipping costs on your website, it will be an unwanted surprise for your customer whilst they are in the checkout process. They will be annoyed about this extra charge and may well abandon their cart for this reason.

 

The Solution

 

Don’t try to be sneaky by hiding your shipping costs or explaining the costs in a confusing way. 

 

Be clear. Tell people how much it will be, and roughly how long it will take. 

 

Make sure your shipping costs are realistic and as competitive as possible. You want to give your customers a fair deal on their shipping costs while making sure your business stays profitable too. 

 

Unusually high shipping costs can put people off from making a purchase. Just as you wouldn’t propose marriage and children on a first tinder date, don’t throw in ridiculously high shipping costs last minute on the checkout page.

 

 

To recap

  • Problem 1: People don’t trust your website
  • Solution: Add trust credentials, a generous returns policy, and clear paths to communication.

 

  • Problem 2: Your checkout process has usability issues
  • Solution: Carry out frequent usability checks, check for bugs and errors on your site and make your checkout process as smooth as possible.

 

  • Problem 3: Unexpected Shipping costs
  • Solution: Be upfront about additional shipping costs, and have a page that clearly outlines your shipping and returns policy.

 

Follow the lessons above throughout your checkout process, and you should start to see a drop in people abandoning their carts and a better customer response to your checkout process.

 

As we navigate through another recession it’s more important than ever to win as many customers as you can get. Reducing abandoned cart rates is a great way to increase your order numbers and revenue, which can massively help you to scale your business. 

 

There are lots of other steps you can take across your business that will help protect your brand against the effects of a recession.

 

Check out our 7-step guide for more actionable ways to help your business survive and grow. 

 

https://offers.advertify.co.uk/7-practical-ways-to-recession-proof-your-pet-ecommerce-business

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What strategic moves can kill your ecommerce conversion?

3 strategic conversion killers in ecommerce 👇

🤔 Not being crystal clear: Are you’re communicating the right message? Does the person you are trying to speak to, even understand what your product is about and what benefit they will get?

🤔 Not delivering a relevant transformation: Your customer has two lives. One before your product; and one after your product. They should feel that after buying from you, their life will be better. Have you demonstrated this?

🤔 Lack of credibility: If you don’t have trust, you will find it difficult to see, even with a discount. Social proof can be a game changer.

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Why you should never consider a completed sale as the endpoint with a customer!

A good basic tip for ecommerce businesses… 🧐

We speak to lots of ecommerce businesses each week – it’s insane how many don’t have any process follow up once a sale has been completed, to continue the conversation with a customer 😮

Never consider a completed sale as the endpoint with a customer!

What do I mean by that?

Simply – don’t forget about the customer once they have checked out.

You should implement a follow up process to find out things such as:

🤔 What worked well.
🤔 What worked poorly.
🤔 What pain points they may still have.

There’s so much more to a repeat customer than just the money they give you.

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How to stop customers abandoning their shopping cart 🧐

Are you finding that a lot of your potential customers leave items in their shopping cart without completing their purchase on your e-commerce site?

You are not alone — shopping cart abandonment is something all e-commerce stores experience.

What are some of the common reasons as to why:

– extra costs like shipping or taxes
– required account creation
– checkout too long/complicated
– had to place item in cart to get the total
– website crashed or had errors
– didn’t trust the site with card details
– delivery too slow
– unsatisfactory return policy
– not enough payment options

So what should you be doing? 🤔

Creating an effective abandoned cart recovery campaign. 💪🏻

This doesn’t just mean email – you need to think cross-channel, as well as optimising the customer experience after you bring them back to your site.

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Why you MUST be looking after existing customers…

Existing customers are every brand’s most valuable asset right? 💪🏻

I’m sure most of you don’t need to ask why – but just in case…

Some of the reasons why your existing customers could be useful (outside of just more sales, increased LTV, and a cheaper CPA):

✅ They know why they converted.
✅ What possibly nearly stopped them from converting.
✅ And, they can provide you with the new/additional tactics/approaches to use to lure more customers, if you listen to their whys and hows.

That’s why you need to establish a relationship that benefits both parties.

To do this, you need to devise a post-purchase strategy.

We do this all the time for our ecommerce clients.

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What should you focus on when writing social ad copy?

Ad copy writing is never a one fits all approach… however, it is worth trying to go by some guidelines, here’s some of what we use at Advertify 👇

1. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: tell your customer how they will live better when they use your product.

2. 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: If your product is for the masses, let your language reflect that.

3. 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Taking into account the above; be specific on what value proposition/benefit the customer is getting and in language format your target audience resonates with. If your product will save someone half a days work by using your product, then explain that clearly!

The lesson 👨🏻‍🏫
a) Does the reader know exactly what I’m selling?
b) Will the reader even care?

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3 things you can do to improve the 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 experience for your ecommerce customers

Here are 3 things you can do to improve the 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 experience for your ecommerce customers:

1. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬
When branded online communities are built well, they can drive sales and engagement.
Also, they are instrumental in fostering long-lasting relationships into brand ambassadors.

2. 𝐎𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭
Omnichannel focuses on delivering a consistent, personalised experience for shoppers across all channels and devices.

3. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞
A concise and clear return policy gives consumers a feeling of security.

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