eCommerce brands invest loads of time, money, and effort into creating and launching the perfect marketing campaigns and flows. Adding automation and various channels into the mix helps amplify marketing efforts and enable real-time engagement with behavior-based triggers – allowing eCommerce brands to interact with customers at the perfect time.
73%
of 46,000 surveyed shoppers leverage multiple channels to shop
47%
more likely to spend more if customers get personalized experiences
80%
of consumers believe new technologies can improve their eCommerce experiences
Source: Digital Third Coast
What is eCommerce marketing automation?
eCommerce marketing automation is when brands use software tools to automate certain marketing processes and use cases. Automation helps streamline complicated and time-consuming marketing processes, improves efficiency of campaigns, and enhances overall customer experience.
5 benefits of eCommerce marketing automation
- Streamline workflows: eCommerce marketing automation platforms often offer workflow automation capabilities, allowing businesses to automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, lead nurturing, or customer follow-ups. This automation frees up time for marketers to focus on more strategic initiatives.
- Improved marketing segmentation: Automation tools allow eCommerce brands to segment their customer base based on various criteria such as demographics, purchase history, or engagement level. This segmentation allows for more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns, leading to higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
- Simplify the customer journey: Increase efficiency by setting automatic triggers that drive marketing teams’ productivity and optimize the entire customer journey. Brands can guide customers through their entire eCommerce journey on any channel they prefer to use without a hitch.
- Reduce human errors: Automation removes the risk of human error in marketing messages, campaigns, segmentation groups, and more. Using automation software removes the need for humans to do the repetitive and mundane work that can lead to overlooked mistakes.
- Better reporting and analytics: eCommerce marketing automation tools typically provide analytics and reporting features that allow brands to track the performance of their marketing campaigns in real-time. These insights help businesses optimize their strategies, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve their ROI.
Getting started with marketing automation
If you’re looking to boost customer engagement, drive sales, and improve the overall efficiency of your marketing department then automation is the key. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to get started:
Step 1: Define your goals
Outline clear objectives around your marketing automation. Do you want to:
- Increase customer retention
- Boost conversion rates
- Improve abandoned cart recovery
- Increase post-purchase engagement
Having a well-defined goal will give you a target to hit, and a structured and strategic path to build your automated experiences.
Step 2: Find the right platform
You want to find a communication platform that can integrate easily with your marketing tools and eCommerce platform. Look for features like email marketing, SMS automation, chatbot builders, AI-driven customer segmentation, and omnichannel engagement.
Infobip Moments makes it easy to manage and design marketing flows, with the channels your customers love to use:
These features will make it easier to build tailored and relevant marketing flows that reach your customers at the right time and on the right channel.
Step 3: Audience segmentation
It’s time to segment your audience based on the goal you set on the platform you’ve chosen. Automation will perform the best when segmentation is done right, here’s a few common ways eCommerce brands might segment their customers for marketing automation:
- Purchase history (first-time buyers, repeat customers)
- Browsing behavior (products viewed, time spent)
- Engagement level (active, dormant)
- Demographics (location, age, preferences)
This type of segmentation ensures that your customers are getting the most relevant information for them. For example, you wouldn’t want to send a generalized re-engagement message to customers who have bought products in the last week and ones who haven’t purchased in months.
Step 4: Set up automated workflows
Now that you know who you are talking to, you can set up automated marketing workflows to improve your marketing efforts:
- Welcome messages: Engage new users with your first email or SMS message
- Abandoned cart reminders: Set up triggers to remind customers they’ve left something behind
- Post-purchase follow-up: Send a thank you message and a survey to gather information on their experience and satisfaction
- Re-engagement campaign: Send dormant customers exclusive offers to win them back
- Loyalty programs: Reward your loyal customers with points and perks, giving them access to special deals and exclusive offers
Step 5: Add personalization to your messages
No one finds generalized marketing messages engaging or impressive. Use dynamic content, product recommendations, and behavioral triggers to create hyper-personalized messages. For example, if a customer frequently browses smart watches on an electronics eCommerce store, send tailored offers related to their browsing history that will encourage a purchase.
Step 6: Optimize timing and frequency
Test and analyze when to send marketing messages to your audiences. You also don’t want to come off as spammy or annoying, so carefully plan how often to reach out to them to avoid any unsubscribes. A/B testing can help you refine send times, message content, and frequency of your messages.
Step 7: Monitor, analyze, improve
Just because your marketing messages are now automated doesn’t mean the work is done. Automation simplifies the process and makes sending marketing campaigns simper and faster, but it’s critical that you regularly monitor the success of your campaigns, adjust workflows and message content to constantly improve your strategy and offer the best experience to your customers.
A breakdown of 8 eCommerce marketing use cases ideal for automation
Let’s deep dive into eight common use cases from the world of eCommerce and how brands can use automation or AI to enhance experiences.
1. Welcome new users
You want to catch the attention of new customers with an engaging welcome message. This can be automated by a sign-up trigger for a new account or even a first-time buyer who purchased as a guest on your eCommerce store.
Your goals
- Introduce your brand
- Convert them to first-time buyers
- Promote your channels
- Encourage campaign opt-ins
Audience
- New subscribers
- Site visitors
- App installers
- First-time buyers
When to send
- At sign up
- First purchase
- App download
The marketing automation checklist:
- Thank your customer – their time is valuable
- Personalize the content based on their signup data
- Include a clear CTA on what they should do next – browse, subscribe, or buy
- Add a failover channel
- Segment the campaign based on if they made a purchase or not
- A/B test recently viewed items versus best-sellers to see what converts them
2. Promote recently viewed items
Use your customers browsing history as a benchmark for what kind of content to send them over automated messaging. Send personalized messages to customers with discount codes or free shipping on items that they have recently viewed.
Your goals
- Entice them to make a purchase through recently viewed items
- Show them you know what they want
Audience
- Customers who have viewed specific products but have not added it them to their cart
When to send
- 30 minutes to 1 day after viewing items on your web shop
The marketing automation checklist:
- Thank them for viewing the web shop
- Offer additional assistance or an incentive to complete a purchase
- Use product images and offer recommendations
- Include a link to the items viewed
- Set a trigger to halt messaging when they add the item to their basket or make a purchase
3. Cart abandonment messages
Improve the rate of cart recovery with messages targeted to customers who have abandoned their purchase. With an engaging message on a rich channel, you can send images, suggestions for alternatives, and offer a promotion or urgency around completing their purchase.
Your goals
- Re-engage customers
- Promote a conversion
Audience
- Customers who have added items to their cart, but have not completed a purchase
When to send
- A reminder a few hours after abandonment
- A discount offer after 24 or 48 hours
The marketing automation checklist:
- Trigger messages after customers abandon their purchase
- Include images of the products left in their carts
- Send a second reminder with a time-sensitive offer or discount to encourage conversions
- Use an OTT channel like WhatsApp or Viber to grab their attention
4. Send delivery campaigns
Improve the rate of cart recovery with messages targeted to customers who have abandoned their purchase. With an engaging message on a rich channel, you can send images, suggestions for alternatives, and offer a promotion or urgency around completing their purchase.
Your goals
- Turn first-time buyers into repeat customers
- Encourage loyalty
Audience
- Customers who have made a purchase
When to send
- Usually between one to seven days post-purchase
The marketing automation checklist:
- Ensure you leave enough time following a purchase to the time of delivery
- Be contextual and remind them what they bought
- Set up triggers for transactional notifications, delivery updates, and review requests
- Thank your customer
- Segment customers based on lifecycle stage
5. Send repurchase reminders
Keep your customers coming back regularly with reminders to repurchase items they might be running low on. This is also a great way to encourage subscription signups so customers get monthly deliveries of their favorite items like foods, vitamins, cosmetics, and more!
Your goals
- Encourage repeat purchases
Audience
- Customers who bought perishable or consumable products
When to send
- Dependent on when they bought the product and the expiry date
- Based on a repeat customer purchase behavior
The marketing automation checklist:
- Include an image of the product and link to purchase
- Offer a gift or incentive for repeat purchase
- Segment communication based on customers lifecycle stage
- Include upsell recommendations
- Ask if they’d like to sign up for a subscription
6. Re-engage dormant customers
Spark a conversation with customers who haven’t visited your site in some time or who have not made a purchase. Remind them of the great offers and products you have and sweeten the deal with a promotion or special offer. These are great to send before a big store-wide or seasonal sale.
Your goals
- Re-engage inactive customers
- Promote loyalty
Audience
- Dormant or inactive customers
When to send
- Setup a rule as to what you consider a lapsed or inactive customer based on last browsing or purchase activity
The marketing automation checklist:
- Remind them about the benefits of shopping with you
- Segment based on customers’ past lifetime value to offer personalized incentives
- Include recommendations based on past behavior
- Add a failover channel
- A/B test newest products versus personalized recommendations to monitor conversions
7. Automate loyalty campaigns
You want to thank and reward your most loyal customers. Set up a loyalty program and automate your marketing messages to keep them updated on their status and points and what they can take advantage of with your loyalty program.
Your goals
- Satisfy and incentivize loyal customers
- Maximize their revenue potential
Audience
- High value customers based on: lifetime value, frequency of purchase, average order value, membership status
When to send
- When they sign up for the loyalty membership or change membership level
- When there are offers for loyal customers
The marketing automation checklist:
- Thank them for being a loyal customer
- Personalize the offer according to their habits
- Recommend products with AI-based product recommendation
- Segment your loyal customers based on tiers
- Add a failover channel
8. Launch special occasion campaigns
You can make your customers feel special and boost satisfaction with your brand with little effort by automating special occasion messages. Trigger birthday, anniversary, or holiday messages to go out to customers, with a little special treat just for them.
Your goals
- Promote loyalty and show customers they are important to your brand
Audience
- Customers celebrating milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries, or first purchases
When to send
- At the time of the event
The marketing automation checklist:
- Thank them for being a loyal customer
- Personalize the offer according to their habits
- Recommend products with AI-based product recommendation
- Segment your loyal customers based on tiers
- Add a failover channel
Best practices and tools for eCommerce marketing automation
Having a grasp on the best use cases for automation is just one step of the process. The planning and execution behind each use case will determine how successful your automation efforts will be. Take a look at some best practices to keep in mind while planning eCommerce marketing campaigns.
Segmenting audiences with AI
Segmenting the flow of your marketing automation campaigns helps create a more personalized journey flow across different customer groups. By dividing your audience based on their past interactions with your brand, purchases, and browsing history you can send the relevant campaigns to the right customers.
AI in combination with a customer data platform (CDP) can make segmentation more efficient and accurate. AI can streamline the segmentation process and accurately group audiences with ease. This way, brands can target groups quickly and more accurately and predict what customers want to see.
AI-generated personalized content
Personalization is the king of customer engagement. The more you can personalize your campaigns to customer personas, the better your marketing efforts will perform. Behavior-based campaigns are more personalized than a broadcast blast, and marketing automation powered by AI lets you take that a step further with personalized recommendations, incentives, and promos.
Similarly to how it works with segmentation, AI algorithms can pinpoint patterns and behaviors in massive amounts of customer data. This allows for more accurate segmentation and hyper-personalization of the content you send to your audiences.
AI combined with a customer engagement solution can personalize content through:
- Personalized subject line and body copy, incorporating data from past purchases, browsing history, etc.
- Creative banners and relevant call-to-actions
- Personalized recommendations, such as product or store locations
- Meaningful incentives and offers
Go omnichannel
Reach your customers on the channels they prefer by delivering consistent brand moments and messaging across all channels. Mix traditional channels like Email and SMS with digital channels and in-app messaging to boost visibility around your campaigns and offer customers better overall experiences.
For example, if a high-value customer has abandoned a purchase, why just send an email? Send them an SMS or a WhatsApp message to prompt instant and effective action.
Some popular channels for omnichannel marketing include:
Use social media entry points
Speaking of omnichannel, make sure to use social media platforms to their full potential. If you follow these best practices, you will have detailed and accurate audience data segmented into relevant groups for your campaigns. You can personalize the campaigns and send them over any channel – including socials.
For example, you can launch a targeted campaign on Instagram or Facebook and include a click-to-chat on WhatsApp button on the ad, giving customers easy access to speak with your brand and find out more about the offer. Once they have reached out on WhatsApp, you can guide them through the customer journey with an interactive and personalized conversation.
FAQs for eCommerce marketing automation
eCommerce marketing automation is a marketing strategy built to streamline and optimize processes for eCommerce brands, allowing them to set up scheduled, triggered, and personalized marketing messages for customers.
Marketing automation in eCommerce helps businesses streamline operations, improve customer engagement, and drive sales by automating repetitive tasks. Brands can use marketing automation to personalize marketing campaigns, segment audiences, set up automated workflows, launch omnichannel interactions, and track performance of marketing communications.
- Streamline workflows: Automate repetitive tasks like data entry and customer follow-ups, freeing marketers to focus on strategy.
- Improved marketing segmentation: Use automation to segment customers based on behavior, enabling more targeted and personalized campaigns.
- Simplify the customer journey: Set automatic triggers to enhance efficiency and seamlessly guide customers across their preferred channels.
- Reduce human errors: Automation minimizes mistakes in marketing campaigns by eliminating the need for manual, repetitive tasks.
- Better reporting and analytics: Gain real-time insights to track performance, optimize strategies, and drive data-driven decisions.
- Send abandoned cart reminders
- Send personalized promotions or product recommendations
- Re-engaged dormant customers
- Welcome new users
- Notify customers on events
- Ask for feedback
Brands should strategically choose which channels to use with marketing automation. Based on popularity with the customer base, the features of the channels, and reach/scalability, eCommerce brands can choose from a variety of channels like:
- SMS / MMS
- RCS
- Social media
- Viber
- Zalo
Marketing automation enhances the eCommerce customer journey by delivering seamless, personalized, and timely interactions across every stage of the buying process. Here’s how:
- Awareness: Automate targeted ads, email campaigns, and social media interactions to capture leads. Use AI-driven chatbots to answer queries and guide visitors through product discovery.
- Consideration: Implement automated email sequences with educational content, reviews, and product recommendations. Use personalized retargeting ads to remind shoppers about viewed or related products.
- Purchase: Send automated cart abandonment reminders with incentives like discounts or free shipping. Use AI-powered product recommendations to upsell or cross-sell relevant items.
- Post-purchase: Automate order confirmation, shipping updates, and post-purchase follow-ups. Send personalized thank-you messages and request reviews or feedback.
- Retention and loyalty: Set up automated rewards programs, birthday discounts, and VIP offers. Use behavior-based triggers to send personalized product restock reminders or exclusive deals.
- Re-engagement: Identify dormant customers and send automated re-engagement emails with special offers. Use channels like SMS or WhatsApp reminders for time-sensitive promotions.
Yes! Marketing automation allows brands to set up perfectly timed triggered for customers who have abandoned their carts. With rich messaging on channels like RCS or WhatsApp, brands can showcase their products or even enable in-chat purchases to make the journey smoother. Add a pressing message like “Selling fast! Go to checkout before they’re all gone” to add a sense of urgency and encourage the purchase completion.
Some key metrics to track include:
- Open rates
- Click-through rate
- Abandoned cart rate
- Conversion rate
- Customer lifetime value
- Re-purchase rate
- Customer churn rate
- Return on investment
Ready to kick-start marketing automation for eCommerce?
Automating marketing campaigns and incorporating AI can be a daunting task for brands. How do you know you’re making the right moves? Targeting the right groups? Did you properly train and implement your AI?
Our professional services team takes the stress away from eCommerce brands when it comes to marketing automation. With CX consulting, customer integration, migration services, your brand can focus on customer experience strategies while we take care of the heavy lifting.
Customers know what they want from eCommerce brands – personalization and ease of service. Give them what they want while simplifying internal processes with marketing automation tools and techniques.
