Abandoned Carts and Win-Back Messages: SMS, Push, Telegram

An abandoned cart is when a customer has added dishes to the cart but not finished the order. A timely reminder (SMS, push or a Telegram message) often brings the order back. You can also send a promo code to a customer who hasn't ordered for a long time and win them back.

This customer has already chosen from your menu, so bringing them back costs less than finding a new customer. Below we describe which messages exist, when they are sent and what to measure.

Key points:

• A cart reminder brings back the customer closest to ordering.
• A promo code goes to a customer who has been silent a long time.
• Channel choice: push in your own app, a Telegram message in the bot, SMS for the rest.

What is an abandoned cart and why does it happen?

The customer picks dishes and adds them to the cart, but doesn't finish the order. The reasons vary: delivery price is unexpectedly high, payment is awkward, the phone distracted them, they moved elsewhere. Sometimes the customer just wants to think it over.

You don't know the reason, but you can bring the customer back with a reminder. For this you need the customer's contact: they must have registered or started the bot. So this method works in your own channels, not at an aggregator.

Which messages exist?

Four main messages: an abandoned cart reminder, a message to a customer silent for a long time, a promo code to a customer who orders a lot, and order status messages. The Delever marketing module includes cart reminders, SMS reminders, promos, cashback and promo codes.

You try the timing yourself: send a cart reminder after a short while, and for long-silent customers, according to your customers' usual order interval. There is no standard number: customer habits differ in each restaurant.

Which channel is best in which situation?

Push is free to send if you have your own app. A Telegram message is for a customer who ordered through the bot. SMS is for a customer who uses neither the app nor the bot, but every SMS costs money. In Delever the channel can be chosen by whether the customer has the app.

For SMS you sign a contract with a provider (Eskiz, PlayMobile, SMS-center, SMS-fly) and pay for traffic yourself, while Delever connects it and sets up templates and triggers. We wrote about the Telegram bot's capabilities separately.

How should the message text read?

Short, clear and with a single call to action. The customer should see what they left behind and be able to finish the order in one tap. No pressure is needed: "your cart is waiting" is enough.

In a message with a promo code: what is given and for how long. Don't go above your margin: there is a formula in how to calculate promo profit.

What should you measure?

Three things: how many of the customers who got the message placed an order, how much those orders brought, and what the messages cost. From these three you know whether reminders are profitable or a loss.

Don't send customers too many messages: too many annoy them. Send by segment: RFM analysis shows who to send what.

Conclusion

• Turn on the abandoned cart reminder.
• Prepare a separate message and promo code for long-silent customers.
• Choose the channel by the customer and measure the result.

We show how to set up cart reminders in Delever: delever.io or @delever_bot on Telegram.