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8 Powerful eCommerce Marketing Automation Strategies and Top Tools for 2024

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Pushpendra Shukla

date icon Aug 01, 2024

date icon 10 min read

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As marketing professionals, we understand that you are always looking for ways to keep your company ahead of the game and on top of industry trends. If you are an eCommerce brand, you know how important it is to remain relevant, acquire new customers, and retain existing ones.

But have you tried marketing automation software yet?

Automation plays a significant role in eCommerce marketing. It saves time on repetitive tasks, helps your team work more efficiently, and ensures you get the most out of your marketing budget.

In this blog, we'll cover 8 eCommerce marketing automation strategies and introduce you to the top 6 marketing automation tools for eCommerce marketing to give you a hand.

What is eCommerce marketing automation?

eCommerce marketing automation means using software to handle regular marketing tasks automatically. This helps online stores work more smoothly and grow.

eCommerce marketing involves a lot of hands-on work, such as getting leads, talking to potential buyers, sending emails, making sales, and keeping track of customers. Manually performing these tasks takes a lot of time, can lead to mistakes, and keeps your team from doing more important work, which can make things less efficient and productive.

Also, if someone visits your online store and finds it boring or hard to use, they might leave without buying anything. To address this, leveraging marketing automation services can enhance user experience, streamline interactions, and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Research shows that almost 45% of US online adults will stop their purchase if they can't get quick answers to their questions. So, using software to handle your marketing and sales can help you make more sales by making it easier for customers to buy.

Benefits of eCommerce marketing automation

A good marketing automation system can improve sales, eliminate unnecessary steps, and increase returns on investment. A study by Marketo found that using marketing automation could boost lead generation by 80% and lower the cost per lead by 33%.

Below are some of the advantages of automating your online marketing tasks.

  • Time and resource optimization: Automation reduces the need for manual, repetitive tasks, allowing your team to focus on strategic initiatives.
  • Improved customer experience: Deliver timely, relevant messages to your audience across multiple channels, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.
  • Increased conversions and sales: Targeted and relevant campaigns can increase the conversion rate and average order value by a large margin.
  • Provide accurate and detailed insights: Automation tools help marketers understand customer behavior and assess campaigns efficiently, bypassing manual tracking. Globally, 60% of companies use these tools for cost-efficient processes, allowing marketers to identify performance gaps through visual reports and make data-driven predictions for improvement.

8 Proven eCommerce marketing automation strategies

1. Personalized email onboarding journeys

First impressions matter, especially in eCommerce. A well-crafted email onboarding sequence can turn new subscribers into loyal customers.

Here's how to automate this process effectively:

  • Segment new subscribers based on their signup source, interests, or initial browsing behavior.
  • Create a series of welcome emails tailored to each segment, introducing your brand, products, and unique selling propositions.
  • Use dynamic content to personalize product recommendations based on the subscriber's preferences or browsing history.
  • Incorporate educational content, such as how-to guides or product care tips, to provide value beyond sales pitches.
  • Gradually introduce promotions or special offers to encourage the first purchase.

2. Cart abandonment reminders

Cart abandonment is a significant issue in the eCommerce industry, with an average rate of 70% .

Automated cart recovery campaigns can help recapture these potential sales:

  • Set up triggers to identify abandoned carts and initiate a recovery sequence.
  • Create a series of reminder emails, starting with a gentle nudge and potentially escalating to a special offer.
  • Experiment with different channels like email, SMS, or web push notifications to determine which works best for your audience.
  • Use dynamic content to display the abandoned items and make it easy for customers to complete their purchases.
  • A/B tests different message styles, timings, and incentives to optimize your recovery rate.

3. Automated price drop and inventory alerts

This strategy drives sales and shows you are attentive to customers' interests. With automated alerts, keep your customers in the loop about products they're interested in, leveraging growth marketing automation to enhance engagement and boost conversion rates.

  • Allow customers to "watch" or "favorite" products they're interested in.
  • Set up triggers for price drops or restocks on these watched items.
  • Create an automated email or push notification templates for these alerts.
  • Include clear calls-to-action and direct links to the product pages to facilitate quick purchases.
  • Consider segmenting your audience based on their price sensitivity and tailor your messaging accordingly.

4. Social media and search ad remarketing

Leverage the power of remarketing to re-engage visitors who have shown interest in your products:

  • Integrate your eCommerce platform with major advertising networks like Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
  • Create custom audiences based on website behavior, such as product views or cart abandonment.
  • Develop dynamic ad creatives that showcase the specific products a user has viewed.
  • Implement target cost and CPA to control bids and budgets according to performance.
  • Use sequential messaging to tell a story across multiple ad exposures, gradually building interest and urgency.

5. Chatbot automation

Chatbots can be used to give instant customer service and to recommend the right products at the right time 24/7:

  • Implement an AI-powered chatbot on your website and social media channels.
  • Program the chatbot to handle common queries like shipping information or return policies.
  • Use the chatbot to guide product discovery by asking customers about their preferences and needs.
  • Set up automated follow-ups for customers who engage with the chatbot but don't make a purchase.
  • Continuously analyze chatbot interactions to improve responses and identify common customer pain points.

6. On-site personalization in marketing automation for ecommerce

With lead nurturing marketing automation, create a customized shopping experience for each website visitor.

  • Use behavioral data to dynamically adjust product recommendations on your homepage and category pages.
  • Implement personalized pop-ups or banners based on a visitor's browsing history or referral source.
  • Customize search results and category sorting based on individual user preferences.
  • Create automated product bundles or "frequently bought together" suggestions to increase average order value.
  • Use geolocation data to display relevant shipping information and localized content.

Tailor product recommendations, offers, and communication based on individual interests and behaviors to enhance engagement and drive conversions.

7. Customer re-engagement and churn prevention automation

Keeping existing customers engaged is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Here's how to automate your retention efforts:

  • Set up triggers to identify customers at risk of churning based on time since the last purchase or decreased engagement.
  • Create segmented re-engagement campaigns tailored to different customer personas or lifecycle stages.
  • Engagement messages should be sent at the right time and through the most effective channel as identified by predictive analytics.
  • Automate loyalty program communications, including points balance updates and exclusive member offers.
  • Implement win-back campaigns for lapsed customers, potentially offering incentives for their return.

8. Cross-channel customer journey

Create seamless, personalized experiences across all customer touchpoints:

  • Map out typical customer journeys and identify key interaction points.
  • Use a customer data platform to unify data from various sources and create appealing customer profiles.
  • Implement cross-channel triggers that adapt based on customer behavior and preferences.
  • Create automated workflows coordinating messaging across email, SMS, push notifications, and ads.
  • Use AI-powered tools to determine the optimal channel and timing for each communication.

6 best eCommerce marketing automation tools

Now that we've explored key marketing automation strategies, let's look at some of the best marketing automation for eCommerce platforms available in 2024:

1. Omnisend

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Channels: Email, SMS, Web Push

Key Features: Visual workflow builder, pre-built automation templates, product recommender

2. Klaviyo

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Channels: Email, SMS

Key Features: Advanced segmentation, predictive analytics, robust integration ecosystem

3. ActiveCampaign

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Channels: Email, SMS, Chat

Key Features: CRM with sales automation, machine learning-powered recommendations, site tracking

4. Drip

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Channels: Email, SMS, Social media ads

Key Features: Visual campaign builder, revenue attribution, personalized product recommendations

5. Mailchimp

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Channels: Email, Social media ads, Postcards

Key Features: AI-powered creative assistant, behavioral targeting, landing page builder

6. HubSpot

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Channels: Email, Social media, Ads

Key Features: All-in-one marketing platform, CRM integration, content management system

3 major factors for choosing the right eCommerce marketing automation software

Choosing the right marketing automation tool is important for your eCommerce store. Here are three key factors to consider:

1. Supported Channels

Make sure the tool supports all the channels you use, like your website, email, and SMS. If one tool can do all these, you will save time and the unnecessary use of other tools.

2. Key Use Cases

Look for a tool to handle your marketing tasks, from simple email marketing automation campaigns to more complex tasks like cross-channel marketing and customer retention. Choose one that fits your specific needs.

3. Flexibility and Integrations

Your automation tool should work well with your other systems, such as your website platform and analytics tools. Check for flexible APIs and pre-built integrations to ensure smooth operation.

Conclusion

By using the proper marketing automation tools for eCommerce, it becomes much easier to offer customers a more personalized shopping experience and to significantly boost your online store's growth.

These tools can also help make your business run smoother by improving important factors like how many visitors buy something (conversion rates), the average amount spent per order, and the cost of getting a new customer.

If you want to start using these effective strategies but are worried about not having enough time or a creative team, no worries.

Contact Saffron Edge today to take your eCommerce business to the next level!

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