B2B abandoned cart emails that work in 2024
If you think abandoned cart emails only apply for B2C, think again
To ensure you’re making the most of every interaction with potential customers and prospects, you need an automated abandoned cart email working for you behind the scenes. Because although up to 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned (source), abandoned cart emails recover 8% of those lost sales (source).
Imagine losing 100 sales, and all you have to do to get 8 of those sales back is to create one single email and have it sent on autopilot. Easy decision, right? Even if your average deal size is small, this simple, effective marketing tool can increase your conversion rate and revenue.
And if you’re thinking abandoned cart emails only apply for B2C, think again. Your B2B strategy is incomplete without an abandoned cart email in place. Let’s dig in to find out how to create an abandoned cart email that works for your business.
“Abandoned cart emails have an 8% win-back rate. This is a proven ecommerce tool that so many B2B companies are sleeping on.”
What is an abandoned cart email?
We all know what it feels like to add a few things to an online cart, then get ready to check out and see that it’s going to cost us $15 in shipping. Or the company wants you to create a unique login for their site, set a unique password, then confirm your account, then navigate back to your cart, then manually enter your credit card information…
Goodbye. Browser closed.
An abandoned cart email is a triggered communication that is sent automatically to users that didn’t complete the checkout process. This gives potential customers a chance to complete their purchase outside of whatever frustrations, distractions or doubts they may have been having on your checkout page (more on that later).
Chances are, they’re still interested in what you offer. So give them a nudge to complete the transaction by sending an automated email.
How do I know if I need an abandoned cart email?
A difficult checkout process or unexpected fees are the top two reasons people abandon their online shopping carts. But what about B2B? If your checkout or invoice process is overly complicated or creates mistrust with your clients, you could be facing the same issues as a B2C ecommerce site. Lost business is lost business.
The sales process may be more complicated for your prospects: there may be multiple decision makers, or lengthy budget approval that needs to happen on the back-end. All the more reason for you to create automated touchpoints that continue to build trust in your solution while those processes are unfolding.
Your conversion process may also be a bit more nuanced, or you may not even have a “cart” in the traditional sense. The concept of an abandoned cart email can be adjusted to work for your business and your prospects.
Free trials: If you offer a free trial of your product, you surely have web visitors who start free trials but never logged in and actually trial your service. That’s an opportunity for an automated touchpoint, which can direct them into your product so they can start to see the power of your solution.
Free trial ending: For users who have taken full advantage of your free trial but declined to convert to a paying subscriber, it makes sense to think of this as an abandoned cart of sorts. These users absolutely should receive an email from you, and automated is easier!
Booking a call with sales: If a prospect fills out a form to talk to sales but never submits the form, that’s a perfect opportunity to reach out with an automated message.
“If potential customers have the option to complete a self-serve online checkout process or conversion, you need an abandoned cart email working for you.”
4 elements of a powerful abandoned cart email
1. Keep the tone friendly but direct
Assume the recipient is interested in completing their purchase, and remember that you’re just offering an easy way for them to do that. You don’t need to be cheeky or overly clever (although I love a bit of humor done right in emails). And please don’t be passive aggressive. Nothing sours my interest in a brand more than a “Forget something?” subject line.
Chances are, the reason they abandoned their cart had something to do with a clunky checkout process or complicated purchase approvals behind the scenes, not because they forgot what they were doing mid-purchase. Don’t come at their inbox with an annoying email.
Simply give them another opportunity to convert, and remind them why they were considering your business in the first place.
2. Remind them of what they’re missing out on
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Within the email reference:
your competitive advantage
the ideal end-state your services deliver
or the problem that remains unsolved without your help
All of this content is likely articulated on your website already. Curate it for use in email so your prospect remembers why they were so close to purchasing. Short testimonials from current clients can also help build trust that you can deliver the solution they’re searching for.
3. Create urgency
Regardless of whether you have a traditional checkout experience or not, or even if your abandoned cart is sent after someone fails to book a call with you rather than purchasing, you can create some urgency to inspire action.
But on this note of urgency, please know that I’m not ever going to endorse dishonesty. You’re trying to build trust. Don’t lie about fake deadlines.
So how do you create urgency?
If you’re a busy service provider with limited capacity, make sure your prospects know that! It’s okay to remind them that you tend to book out quickly, or that you only take on a limited number of new clients per month.
If the coupon code they applied expires in 2 days, make sure you tell them that!
Or you can simply anchor to the fantastic outcome that they’re missing out on by not purchasing or converting. If you really believe in your offering, that should come through in your messaging and naturally create urgency for your ideal client who needs what you provide.
You do NOT need to provide a discount in your abandoned cart email. Yes, some people wait around for the abandoned cart emails just for a discount or free shipping. That’s fine. You don’t need to play that game if you don’t want to.
4. Make it easy!
You need to make it really easy to complete the purchase or conversion process from the email. Make it obvious where they need to click. Don’t bury the CTA. Place it prominently in the email and take them right back to their cart.
Creating an effective B2B abandoned cart email
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel: put the best practices above into action for your business so you can make the most of every opportunity and optimize your conversion rate.
And if you’re still unsure, or want to pull in outside expertise to check this one off your list, let’s chat. I bet it’ll be more than worth it to recover 8 lost sales.
