As an eCommerce business owner, there’s a good chance you’re looking for ways to end the year strong after what’s been a challenging 2022. Fortunately, we’re here to share several proven ways that have helped our DTC clients generate incremental revenue and will help grow your profits throughout Q4. We’ve managed over $50M+ in media spends (small and big monthly), helped hundreds of eCommerce brands scale sales so these are proven ecommerce growth strategies that you can start executing immediately.
#1 It’s Not All About Lowering Your New Customer CAC
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter around how higher advertising costs and more expensive benchmarks are necessary to acquire new users. As a result, we’re seeing a lot of worried business owners looking for ways to fix their CAC. But with maximum profits in mind, what is perhaps the most obvious (yet the most overlooked) way to squeeze in more profits is by deploying the appropriate strategies to get these “one & done” customers to come back for a second order.
Far too often we see companies focusing so much on new customers that they forget to pay attention to all of the first time customers they’ve acquired throughout the year. They neglect the simple fact that it will likely cost a lot less to get an existing customer to purchase vs. convert a new customer. Learning how to manage your existing audience/existing customer base and getting first time customers to move to a second order is key. Especially if you have a database of 5,000 or more users in Klaviyo and/or Attentive.
Here are just a few areas you should be looking to leverage:
Audience Segmentation
Develop more personalized messaging that resonates with existing customers and motivates them to take action. Review your data to get a better idea of what existing customers may want to order next. (TripleWhale does a great job at giving you valuable clues on the timing of a second order alongside which products you should be focusing on)
Reward Programs
Launch a generous rewards program/loyalty points to gamify placing orders with your business
VIP Club
Develop exclusive messaging that makes VIP customers feel special and different from other buyers. Early access to new collections. Direct VIP customers to separate landing pages
Offer High Rewards/Discounts
Incentivizing existing customers will likely be less costly than generating new ones from scratch
For the sake of pure Q4 profitability, the best way to counter high new customer CPAs is to generate higher returning customer revenue.
#2 Don’t Slow Down Your Media Spend in October
Customers are well aware of the upcoming sales that await them come November. Combined with inflation and talks about a looming recession, there’s a good chance buyers are going to wait to purchase anything before Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Despite the seasonal slowdown in demand, now’s the time to focus on driving quality traffic to your website via Facebook, Google, TikTok and Pinterest ads. Introduce your brand to potential customers 30-45 days before Black Friday/Cyber Monday to capture email addresses and phone numbers, give them a glimpse at what your brand stands for and which best sellers they should be considering. Best of all, use this time to take advantage of cheaper advertising costs vs. waiting until peak season in November.
Throughout the past few years, it’s become very clear that the bigger the active email and SMS lists you bring into November, the bigger the overall Q4 revenue. At Evestar, we believe that advertising aggressively in October is far more valuable than boosting spend during those Black Friday/Cyber Monday intra-days (think Saturday and Sunday between those two key sales events). So don’t pause advertising during this down time. Insead, use this valley to grow your funnel and drive conversion come November.
#3 Make Your 45-Day Plan a 90-day Plan
You’d be surprised to learn how much money is left on the table following the Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush. That’s why your Q4 strategy should always take into account opportunities to drive revenue in those post holiday slowdowns.
You’re tired (so are we) but we’re here to tell you that you’re not allowed to take a break until you’ve flushed out a strong December and early January plan. Let us help you get organized by sharing a few key calendar moments:
The first 10-days of December (right after Black Friday/Cyber Monday) is a perfect opportunity for your brand to offer special deals to gift shoppers and loyal customers. Be creative— brainstorm incentives that encourage them to shop even after the peak shopping day deals. Maybe it’s a BOGO offer, discount on overstocked popular items, a free gift…the possibilities are endless.
Create a sense of urgency around the ‘last day to order before Christmas’. Consider offering a discount on expedited shipping to get those last-minute shoppers to take action.
Take advantage of those shoppers who have some extra cash to spend on post-Christmas sales. Q5 as Meta calls it, is a great opportunity for your brand to plan an end of year sale that helps you clear excess inventory or simply give people one last chance to get a deal before the year is over.
January is the month when shoppers are looking to kickstart new resolutions. Leverage this sentiment to drive campaigns around products that offer shoppers a fresh start and help them achieve their goals.
Tweaking your Q4 plan by injecting just one of these proven tactics will almost guarantee more revenue for your eCommerce business.
If you want to leave nothing on the table, our eCommerce Marketing agency Evestar can immediately help you execute on all fronts, from paid media management, ad creative, to email and SMS marketing, and everything in between. Our entrepreneurial team has extensive experience taking eCommerce businesses to the next level and revenue growth is our only focus.
When setting up campaigns, we implement Conversions API alongside the pixel to help fully optimize funnel tracking. WIth a more efficient algorithm, you can help to increase visibility and gain insight into the overall customer journey.
Another important setting: make sure you set your sharing to “maximum” in the CAPI settings in the Shopify backend.
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