We recently wrote an article on how to recover lost sales through the use of cart abandonment follow-up sequences and in this article we’re going to expand on this and give an example of a sequence of 4 emails that have been designed to help you convert those abandonments into customers.
In each of the email examples we’ll be going through, there will be several [placeholder] elements and you’ll want to replace these with details about your product(s) or business as needed.
It’s also important to ensure that you set up your checkout and autoresponder systems to remove people from your abandonment sequence IF they do complete an order, as you wouldn’t want customers to continue receiving emails asking them to complete their order when they’re already a customer!
Email #1 – Friendly Reminder and Call to Action
For the first reminder email, we’d recommend having this sent 30-60 minutes after they’ve abandoned, whilst everything is still fresh in their mind and they may have been distracted but still available to complete an order.
Subject: Whoops! [Customer Name], you forgot to complete your purchase.
Body: Hi [Customer Name],
Thank you for showing interest in [Product Name]. We noticed that you started the checkout process but didn't complete your purchase.
We understand that sometimes life can get in the way, and we'd like to offer you a reminder that [Product Name] is waiting for you. Click the button below to finish your purchase and start using [Product Name] right away.
We're here to help you make the most of our [Product Features], and we don't want you to miss out on all the benefits.
[Call-to-Action Button] Complete my purchase
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly team at [insert email or phone number].
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Company Name]Email #2 – Limited Time Offer
For the second reminder email, we’d recommend having this sent ~24 hours after they’ve abandoned. the goal here is to again gently remind them of your product and your offer and lead them to coming back to complete their purchase.
Subject: Time Running Out - Get the Ultimate [Product Type], [Customer Name]
Body: Hi [Customer Name],
We noticed that you still haven't completed your [Product Name] purchase and would love to help you get started with our platform.
[Product Name] is the ultimate [Product Type] that will help you [Product Features Benefits]
Don't miss out on this opportunity to get started with [Product Name] today. Click the button below to complete your purchase and take advantage of this offer.
[Call-to-Action Button] Complete my purchase
If you still have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly team at [insert email or phone number].
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Company Name]Email #3 – Payment Plan Option / Contention Addressing
For the third reminder email, we’d recommend having this sent 48 hours after they’ve abandoned. The point of this email to to either offer them a payment plan (if you have a high-ticket offer) or use the feedback from other people who’ve not purchased to address your most common contention from your prospect customers.
Subject: Split your payments with [Product Name], [Customer Name]
Body: Hi [Customer Name],
We understand that sometimes it can be challenging to make a large purchase all at once. That's why we're excited to offer you a payment plan option for your [Product Name] purchase.
With our payment plan, you can split your purchase into [X] monthly payments and still start using [Product Name] right away. Our [Product Name] will help you [Product Features Benefits]
To take advantage of this offer, simply click the button below to complete your purchase and select the payment plan option at checkout.
[Call-to-Action Button] Complete my purchase
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly support team at [insert email or phone number].
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Company Name]Email #4 – Discount Offer
For the final reminder email, we’d recommend having this sent 72 hours after they’ve abandoned. The purpose of this email is one last push to get them over the edge and spend some money with you.
Subject: Final offer - [$X] discount on [Product Name]
Body: Hi [Customer Name],
We noticed that you haven't completed your [Product Name] purchase yet, and we'd like to make you one final offer. For a limited time only, we're offering a [$X] discount on your [Product Name] purchase.
[Product Name] is the ultimate [Product Type] that will help you [Product Features Benefits]
Don't miss out on this final opportunity to get [Product Name] at a discounted price. Click the button below to complete your purchase and claim your [$X] discount.
[Call-to-Action Button] Complete my purchase
If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to our friendly support team at [insert email or phone number].
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Company Name]Additional things to consider
Where possible, it may be worth surveying users who abandon your checkout to try and find out the reasons behind their choice of leaving. With a large enough sample size, you may also find that potential customers reply to your initial reply with the reason why they quit without purchasing and with that information you can look to further refine your main offer or your follow-up sequence to better convert those following these patterns.
Don’t be quick to discount.
One thing a lot of businesses do is jump straight to the discount and by doing this they’re potentially leaving thousands of dollars on the table.
For example, if price isn’t the main contention point for your visitors abandoning your checkout, you’re offering these people an unnecessary discount. If you have a popular product and it becomes known that to get a discount you just need to ‘abandon’ the checkout, then this could get shared around and you’ll see your abandonment rate artificially spike as users play the system.
If pricing is a contention point for your potential customers, look at offering payment plans or recommending alternative payment methods like Klarna. If you offer PayPal as a payment method then customers may be eligible for their Pay Later service which also splits a one-time payment across several smaller payments.
Finally,
If after the above sequence you’ve not converted the prospect into a customer, then you should look at moving them to a different list in your autoresponder. Instead of removing those prospects completely, keep them as potential follow-ups in the future, for example if you run a flash sale or new promotion, you could reach out reference their previous interest and let them know of your new exciting offer. You may not close them now, but you may still in the future.
