Blog
Nov 04

Improving Your Revenue: The Power of Email Marketing for Online Shops

Magento 2 Email campaigns as the fastest way to improve your eCommerce ROI.

Did you know that around 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts before completing a purchase? And since average cart abandonment rates hover around 60-80%, being on the good side of these stats still means more than half of your customers will never complete their purchase. That is a lot of lost sales that could have been prevented by a single email initiative.  

So, how to turn those lost sales into revenue? You may already know the answer –  email marketing. When done right, this powerful tool significantly reduces cart abandonment rates, fosters customer engagement and loyalty, and drives repeat business. 

By implementing custom made and carefully targeted email campaigns, you can reach out to customers who have left items in their carts and offer them timely reminders, personalized incentives, free shipping, or even exclusive discounts. This will encourage shoppers to reconsider their abandoned carts, resulting in 10-30% more purchases that would otherwise be lost. 

And the power of automated email initiatives goes beyond abandoned cart emails. You can send product launch emails, inform your customers about seasonal promotions, exclusive offers or discounts, and even offer personalized recommendations. 

By adding a newsletter subscription popup on your website, you can capture non-registered shoppers and those who are casually browsing. Add them to your emailing list as well and increase your brand’s reach.

No matter what you sell, who you are targeting, or how big/small your business is, good email marketing automation will help you boost revenue and increase sales.

20 unread emails blinking on you mobile phone interface, will you open them?

You’ve Got Mail

There are various types of emails that you can send to your audience, depending on what you want to accomplish. If you have a B2C business, you can start with the following:    

  1. Product launch announcements that will create more buzz around your new product or service
  2. Seasonal promotions such as the ones we have around big holidays (Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, etc.)
  3. Exclusive offers and discounts which can help you create a feeling of urgency 
  4. Personalized recommendations based on analytics and data
  5. A monthly or bimonthly newsletter with featured products, upcoming discounts, product tips & tricks, customer testimonials, etc.
  6. Various email reminders such as:
  • Abandoned cart emails (that are based on stats and can help you improve recovery rates)
  • Re-engagement email campaigns (with a strategic approach to customer churn you can win back inactive customers and improve your recovery rates)
  • Post-purchase follow-ups (ask shoppers for feedback or offer complementary products to boost repeat purchases) 

For those working in the B2B eCommerce arena, you can focus on special promotions and wholesale discounts or newsletter updates for business clients – new arrivals, company news, operational updates, etc. Some businesses also include industry trends, sales performance reports, as well as success stories and case studies. 

Automated Email Campaigns as a Key to Higher Conversion Rates

Reducing cart abandonment, boosting new sales, and enhancing customer engagement can be easy if you decide to create emails that will automatically be sent to customers who have left items in their carts or to those who haven’t visited your shop for a while.

There are various ways to do it – you can use some of the many Magento 2 email extensions, integrate third-party tools such as Klavyo or MailChimp, or opt for a completely customized solution that fits your business needs the most. 

There are of course pros and cons to each of these solutions, so let’s quickly go through all the options and how you may benefit from them.

Email Marketing Extensions for Magento 

Email marketing extensions for Magento can significantly enhance your eCommerce operations by automating communications and targeting customers more effectively. Depending on which one you choose, you can benefit from a large number of features – from customizable email templates and great scheduling options to integration with customer behavior analytics. These will allow you to craft tailored strategies and messaging that will resonate with the needs and preferences of your audience. 

For instance, you can set up emails to automatically trigger based on specific actions (such as cart abandonment) and ensure that you reach out to potential buyers at the right moment.

One of the major benefits of using these extensions is the ability to streamline your marketing efforts without massive manual input. Once you have your strategy in place, everything else can be automatized. 

Using Magento 2 email extensions can also provide valuable insights into customer behavior and help you refine your messaging and timing for maximum impact. If you need help deciding which extension is the best for your shop, we’re just a phone call away.

However, there are some potential downsides as well. Some extensions may require technical expertise to set up or may not integrate as seamlessly with your existing systems. Others do not have what it takes to meet the specific needs of your business or niche. And there is also the cost of buying each extension separately since many focus on one thing or feature only.

Third-Party Tools

When it comes to third-party tools that can successfully manage email marketing for your eCommerce, the most common choices are Klaviyo and MailChimp. They offer robust features, such as advanced segmentation and detailed analytics, which you cannot get with a single Magento 2 extension. 

Klaviyo, for example, is designed specifically for eCommerce. It offers advanced features such as powerful segmentation, dynamic content, and comprehensive automation workflows that will allow you to create personalized email campaigns based on customer behavior (such as browsing history, past purchases, or engagement levels). 

Benefits of using Klaviyo for your eCommerce include targeted lists based on customer behaviors, preferences, and demographics, complex automation sequences that nurture customer relationships (welcome series or post-purchase follow-ups), and detailed analytics & reporting which will shed light on campaign performance, customer lifetime value, and ROI, helping you make data-driven decisions.

The only downside is that this tool is a bit more expensive than other email marketing solutions, especially for businesses with large lists or extensive automation needs. Additionally, Kalviyo has a steeper learning curve for those who are not tech-savvy.

MailChimp on the other hand, is the most popular email marketing platform for a reason. It offers a user-friendly interface with a range of templates and design tools, provides features like audience segmentation, basic automation, and A/B testing, and is suitable for businesses of all sizes. 

MailChimp is famous for its intuitive interface and ease of setting up campaigns, free plan for smaller businesses, and comprehensive marketing suite (which covers tools for landing pages, social media posts, and basic CRM functionalities). Still, MailChimp’s automation features are not as advanced as Klaviyo’s. That can limit the effectiveness of targeted campaigns for more sophisticated eCommerce needs.

And while third-party tools like Klaviyo and MailChimp offer some advanced features and can provide a more comprehensive marketing solution, they may come with additional costs, learning curves or may fall short of your eCommerce needs. Ultimately, your choice should align with your specific business complexities and technical capabilities. Otherwise, you won’t be able to drive conversions and foster customer loyalty to the extent you were hoping to.  

With this in mind, a custom solution may be worth its development cost, will pay for itself in the long run, and guarantees good ROI more often than not. 

Custom Magento Solutions for Email Marketing

Custom Magento solutions for email marketing can offer tailored functionalities that cater specifically to the unique needs of your eCommerce business or niche. From tailored email and dynamic content integrations to highly personalized campaigns and automated email workflows, custom solutions can ensure enhanced customer engagement, improved conversion rates, and full control, flexibility, and scalability of your e-store. 

Since Magento is a very powerful eCommerce platform, with some help from your in-house development team, you can develop almost any feature you can think of. In our experience, most executives and shop owners like to focus on analytics and reporting. Store managers and marketers on the other hand, mostly need different workflow automation that will support their sales and marketing initiatives. Both give great insights and results. 

There are many features that can be automated and customized when it comes to email marketing for Magento,  even if you prefer using an integration or going with an extension, every feature can be additionally tuned to fit your needs and the preferences of your target audience. 

It’s true that customized solutions can sometimes be tricky to set up, and you may need additional expertise aside from the one your team already has, but the same goes for many integrations and extensions, depending on the current state of your eCommerce. 
If you have any doubts about what is the best course of action for your Magento store and you are not sure you can handle all the technical challenges on your own, feel free to reach out and we can do a complimentary audit of your store. Lobbster is always there to help Magento store owners and managers who want to use the full potential of this eCommerce platform.

Word contact made of Scrabble tiles points out that you can always contact your Lobbster team for more Magento advice.

Recap

Email marketing has always been of significant importance for eCommerce and served as a powerful tool that engages customers, drives sales, and ultimately, improves ROI and the bottom line. 

Enabling direct communication with customers and underpinning a highly segmented and personalized approach, email automation will ensure increased customer retention and loyalty. And all while providing measurable results without the need for manual labor.  

Leverage the power of cross-selling & upselling email offers, abandoned cart reminders, new arrival announcements, and seasonal discounts to strengthen your marketing initiatives and meet your sales targets. The road to more profit can be completely automated and just a few clicks away if you start with your email efforts before the Christmas holidays. 

About The Author

Aleksandra is a Business Developer at Lobbster and a talented Social Media Manager.