The art of crafting irresistible eCommerce offers

In the world of eCommerce, getting your customer to perform a targeted action - like adding a product to a cart or making a purchase - is made easier with an attractive offer. 

Providing a 50% discount to all shoppers would have the desired effect. But what business makes a profit from cutting their prices at such a high margin?

There is an art to striking the balance between creating a strong offer that doesn't give too much away.  

• ‍But how do you create these offers?
• What do these offers need to say?
• Who should receive them?
• How should you measure their effectiveness?

That's four questions straight away.

RevLifter has been working with some of the world's leading retailers to boost their eCommerce offer game. Many of these brands have gone from giving their customers the same thing to satisfying their unique needs through 1-2-1 targeting.  

In this post, we'll explore the art of creating irresistible eCommerce offers and show you how technology can help you do just that.

The foundations of creating a strong eCommerce offer

Step one: don't rush in. Think about what you're trying to achieve before you even begin considering what your offer will say. 

Most brands start by picking their goals. Acquiring new customers, increasing conversions, and growing average order values (AOV) are the top ones.

The next move is to calculate what you can afford to give away. Let's say you want to acquire more new customers – what level of discount can you offer? This could even dial up depending on cart values (e.g. '10% off on orders above $50' or '15% off on orders above $75').

The last point is to consider where you want your offer to appear. Some options include:

• Homepage banner: usually reserved for big sales to grab attention
• Product pages: advertises a promotion on the item in question 
• Cart page: prevents abandonment by getting customers to check out

You should keep your options flexible, but having a rough idea of your position gives you a head start.

Which types of eCommerce offers exist?

When we think about offers, our mind often goes straight to discount codes. Viewing an offer more as an 'intervention' (i.e. your response to a customer's action) opens up a whole new world of opportunities. 

Some of the most popular eCommerce offers include:

Product recommendations

Grow your AOV by recommending products to in-market customers. Think tops to someone checking out with the matching set of bottoms or an extended guarantee to someone viewing a games console. 

See how Hewlett-Packard recommends relevant accessories to customers looking into buying a laptop.

Attaching a small discount to your recommendation can make it even more effective, but presenting the right product to the right customer at the right time is where the real gains are made.

Exit-intent offers

Trigger an offer when a customer shows a sign of abandoning their cart. Common exit signals include mouse movements toward the close window button, the copying of product names, and the opening of new tabs, usually indicating a price comparison search. 

These offers tend to be used for boosting conversions. However, you can apply better targeting by only showing them to new customers or those with high-value carts. 

Spend-and-save offers

Need a great all-rounder? The spend-and-save offer trades bigger spend for a bigger discount. Most brands set multiple tiers to give every customer a relevant offer. For example:

‍Tier one: 'Get free delivery when you spend over $25'

Tier two: 'Get 10% off when you spend over $50'

Tier three: 'Get 15% off when you spend over $75'

Free gifts

Preserve the value of your sale while improving conversions by offering a free gift with certain purchases. These offers are great for converting high-value value orders or bringing back customers who haven't purchased in a while. 

Free shipping

Many retailers don't provide discounts on low-value sales, but they do offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. Their error is failing to position this as a promotion.

Show a customer how close they are to getting free shipping with a progress bar and you could see them increasing their spend to make up the shortfall.

Loyalty points 

Finally, if you have a loyalty program, you should use points to drive targeted actions. For example, we see many retailers offering rewards when customers buy new products, which is a great way of converting full-price sales. 

Crafting compelling offer copy

Once you've chosen your offer, you can iron out the finer details. 

The right language can make all the difference in enticing customers to take advantage of your eCommerce offers. Here are some solid tips for crafting captivating offer copy:

• Clarity is key: The offer should avoid jargon or complicated terms. Your customer should understand the offer right away — 'Buy one, get one free,' '20% off your next purchase,' or 'Free shipping on orders over $50' are all clear and concise.
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• Create urgency: Use time-sensitive language to give your offer a sense of urgency. Phrases like 'Limited time offer,' 'Sale ends today,' or 'While supplies last' can create a fear of missing out, which is proven to drive higher levels of brand engagement and excitement. 
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• Highlight the benefit: Make sure your copy communicates the value of the offer to the customer. Instead of saying '10% off,' say 'Save 10% on your next order.' This places the focus on what the customer gains, making the offer more appealing.
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• Use actionable language: Your offer copy should encourage the customer to act. Use words like 'Buy now,' 'Start saving,' or 'Get your discount,' to inspire action.
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• Test and refine: Different customers respond to different types of language. Test various phrases and styles to see what works best with your audience. Use A/B testing to compare the effectiveness of different variations of your copy and refine based on the results.

If you are using images alongside your copy, make sure they are HQ, quick to load, and relevant. 'Put your product in the best light' would be the best way to summarize your goal here. 

Targeting

Now comes the fun bit. You've created an offer – now you need to find an audience. 

Some brands choose to bring every promotion out to their entire audience. We see a lot of this over major sales events like Black Friday, where an offer will apply sitewide or on specific products.

A more effective approach can be had by targeting your customers on a 1-2-1 level. You'll need a technology like RevLifter's Intelligent Offer Platform for this.

By analyzing data about your customers and their behavior on your website, the technology can hand-pick which customers need an offer to drive your goals. 

For example, if a customer has recently been browsing a particular product category on your website, you can create an offer for that category specifically. Or, if a customer has purchased in the past, you can offer them a discount on a related product.

Using intelligence to only show an offer when it will increase value also avoids giving it away unnecessarily. The role of the technology here is to compare your current site visitors with previous journeys to determine their next step. By using this data, you can decide who needs an offer to drive your goal, and who will convert without one, all in real time. 

By using technology to make your strategy more targeted and intelligent, you gain a fast-track to creating personalized offers that are tailored to each customer's needs and preferences.

Next steps

Creating irresistible eCommerce offers is an art, but it doesn't have to be difficult. 

By completing the human side of the puzzle through punchy copy, HQ designs, and blending this with technology for reacting to customer behavior, you are far more likely to create offers that drive your goals.