Retarget abandoned baskets

While basket abandonment is often regarded as a bad thing, it does in fact offer a reflection of the buying process: visitor’s comparing options, price checking, looking at delivery dates and charges, so it’s not something to lie awake worrying about. However, abandoned baskets do signal an opportunity, and abandoned basket retargeting should be a key part of any digital B2B marketing mix.

Businesses need to implement a strategy to make the most of basket abandonment by recognising that when a customer places items in a basket, they are expressing interest in the product. Although they haven’t completed the purchase, the interest or intent was there and today’s smart technology is able to automatically recognise an ‘abandoned basket’ and take action to help turn them into additional revenue for the business. Targeting customers with the right message at the right time can bring them back to their basket, and even help to increase basket sizes. This is even truer in the B2B space, as the community of potential buyers is typically smaller, the order values larger, and the opportunity to contact these potential customers via phone, email or web or in person are often greater.

To turn abandoned baskets to their advantage B2B marketers should consider the following tips:

1. Target at the right time

Many systems that monitor basket abandonment will automatically come to the conclusion that a basket has been dropped after a fixed time. Triggers will say ‘if a visitor has not completed a purchase within 30 minutes of placing an item in the basket, then it’s abandoned.’

However, buyers will devote time and effort to comparing brands, styles, prices and product options in order to get the best deal for their business. This means that while the customer continues to browse the site, the basket should not be defined as abandoned. Finding the right balance between targeting too soon while a customer is still considering their options, and too late when they have already purchased elsewhere, is key. B2B businesses often deal with high value sales, so marketers need to be sure the browser has actually abandoned the basket before offering a discount or getting in touch. It’s also vital that they ensure that they act quickly once they determine that it has been abandoned.

The best approach is to create a rule based on a buyer’s overall interaction with the business, for example: ‘If a customer has stopped browsing the site completely for 25 minutes, then a basket is abandoned’, and action should be taken immediately.

2. Target all customers as individuals

B2B businesses traditionally have a very good understanding of the exact needs of their customers, so are in a prime position to target basket abandoners in the most appropriate way possible. There are three main ways to approach the customer once it has been established that the basket has been dropped. The first, targeting the customer on the webpage with relevant banners while they browse or when they return to the site, works particularly well to target anonymous bag droppers. Where possible, an email to the customer will have more effective results because while the email remains in their inbox, it serves as a reminder to return and buy.

Nevertheless, as B2B businesses often have the potential to make high value sales, they can realise the best results by calling a telesales team into action, particularly given the B2B businesses’ better understanding of their audience. This works especially well for complex items, such as technology, where a well-timed call can help answer any questions the customer might have and secure the sale. It also gives the chance for the business to either establish or maintain a relationship with a high value customer, persuading them to return for the personal service and additional assistance.

3. Offer incentives

Making the customer feel valued is a positive side effect of basket abandonment and can also be achieved by offering a timely discount or free delivery, which can make all the difference when persuading the buyer to complete a purchase. Communicating this either though the site, a well-timed email or a quick phone call to discuss current offers can be just what’s needed to attract the buyer back to their basket.

Yet, it is important that marketers keep track of the incentives and offers they make to each individual customer in a profile that informs the lifecycle marketing process across every channel. In a B2B environment offers might encompass deals that can be offered to an individual as part of a group purchase scheme, or a regional offer. This is because the customer and their organisation are known to the vendor, and because the web system will be providing information about the organisation the visitor is visiting from.

4. Keep communication simple

Over-complicating things rarely guarantees success. For example, building a campaign to ensure that the email sent contains the exact basket items the customer abandoned so they can ‘buy from the mail’, can cost more to implement. Often the buyers are not always looking to buy every item they placed in the basket so the complexity is not worth the investment and, as we note below, it is typically a good idea to get the visitor back to the web site to complete the sale. Concise emails with links back to the site should be all that’s needed to engage the customer.

5. Persuade customers back to the site

Encouraging customers to return to the site through links in an email – rather than giving them the option to buy directly from it – means businesses gain the additional benefit that the site’s merchandising may persuade customers to add additional items to their discounted basket, potentially increasing average basket sizes.

6. Don’t teach your customers bad tricks

B2B marketers should remember that their customers are extremely savvy these days, and targeting them with the same message and a discount every time they abandon a basket for half an hour will inadvertently teach them to exploit such tactics.

The trick is to use intelligent triggers to limit the offers. In this way customers are targeted with the right message, at the right time. A marketer can decide to make only one abandoned basket offer per customer a quarter or once per customer. That way the customer will be given the timely incentive but won’t learn to exploit the offers and get unnecessary discounts. 

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