The August warm-up: How to re-engage "ghosted" leads before the holiday rush
The holiday season is creeping closer and closer and with that comes the rush and urgency to shop, to score the best deals and limited edition items. What also comes with it is the noise, we’re about to be inundated with holiday marketing, new launches, gift guides, and everything in between.
As mentioned in a previous article, many Canadian (and U.S.) shoppers begin their holiday shopping as early as October. So while we may be moving into the spooky season right now, it’s the perfect time to think about re-engaging those “ghosted” leads before that holiday rush.
What does it mean to be ghosted?
During the holiday season many brands will be hoping to attract new customers as well as connect with their loyal customer base, but there’s also an opportunity to attract those who had some interest in your brand but disappeared after. From a brand’s perspective, this could mean someone who visited your website with the intention of possibly buying but didn’t, or someone who filled but then abandoned their cart, began signing up or engaged with a promo but didn’t finish, or something in between.
Where to start
Start with what you have. If you’re able to, here are a few things you can do to prioritize those leads:
Are there site visitors with filled carts that have been abandoned or are waiting for a deal
Are there users who have a list of “saved” or wishlist items
Look at previous engagement and past conversations
Are there people who recently ghosted you
Give them a reason to shop
I can’t count how many times I’ve received an email that said something like, “Are you still interested in…” or “ Are you still shopping?” or even “items in your cart are selling out.”
This is a simple way that you can approach and re-engage that audience. Sweetening the deal is another good way to approach re-engaging consumers. This could look like offering a promo/discount code, having a seasonal offer, if something went out of stock, sending “back in stock” messages, etc.
Here are a few stats from attentive to consider when you’re trying to re-engage those “ghosted” leads:
85% are more likely to purchase after receiving a price drop/sale on the item(s) they wanted.
81% are more likely to purchase after receiving a “back in stock” email.
73% prefer when follow up messages add something new.
Pro tip: If you’re able to, add some personalization. Include the customer’s name, reach out to them and speak about their past interest or questions, etc.
According to the report above, 64% of customers want marketing to be more personalized.
As mentioned in the introduction, the holiday season brings urgency and at times scarcity, and while it’s perfectly acceptable to have sales or items that are limited, be careful not to manufacture fake urgency or scarcity. That may look like telling customers that something is “low stock” when it’s really not. These types of practices erode trust and can break down customer loyalty.
You can do all of these things and still not get the customer and guess what? That’s okay. You can’t win over everyone, so it’s important to know when to stop too.
Overall, the important thing to remember is that “ghosted” leads aren’t necessarily gone forever and there is an opportunity to re-engage them.
Need help with your marketing before the holiday rush? Book your free 20-minute consultation.