Want to double (or triple!) your online sales without having to work day and night?
Then it’s time to stop working harder, and start working smarter.
Every ecommerce store owner wants to hit those big revenue targets. But here’s the thing…
Most store owners are still manually sending individual emails, posting to social one-by-one, and trying to remember who they should be following up with next.
That’s just not scalable.
To start driving serious sales growth, it’s time to start thinking in terms of automation.
Without automation, you’re leaving money on the table.
Shopify’s marketing automation tools can revolutionize the way you connect with your customers and increase your revenue.
In this ultimate guide, I’m going to tell you exactly how you can use these tools to start driving major sales growth in your store.
Let’s dive right in.
What you’ll learn:
- The importance of marketing automation for driving sales growth
- Shopify’s automation tools that actually work
- How you can use smart automation to increase your revenue
- Step-by-step process for building your automated sales machine
Why Marketing Automation Is The Secret Weapon To Drive Sales Growth
Marketing automation is a necessity in 2023, not a luxury.
Stores that are powered by smart automation tools are leaving the competition far behind. The best ones in their niches dominate.
Here’s why: Companies are earning $5.44 for every $1 spent on marketing automation. That’s 544% ROI!
And the benefits of marketing automation go much, much deeper than just that.
Save Time & Increase Efficiency
Do you really want to be stuck doing the same old repetitive tasks, over and over and over again?
- Sending welcome emails to new subscribers
- Sending abandoned cart recovery emails
- Posting on social media
- Segmenting your customer lists
Automation can do all of that for you. It will work while you’re sleeping, just to turn those new prospects into paying customers.
Deliver Personalized Experiences at Scale
If you don’t offer your customers personalized experiences, they’re not going to stick around.
Personalizing every single customer interaction manually, though? Good luck if you’re servicing thousands of customers.
Shopify’s marketing automation tools let you scale up, and offer your customers unique, personalized experiences based on their behavior, purchase history, and preferences.
The result: More engaged customers and more sales.
Don’t Miss A Single Sales Opportunity
You’ve lost sales before because you forgot to follow up with a customer in time, right?
Or because you didn’t send that crucial email at the perfect moment to seal the deal?
Marketing automation makes sure you never lose another sale. These systems can work 24/7, endlessly nurturing your leads and converting them into paying customers.
The Shopify Marketing Tools That Actually Move The Needle
Shopify has an incredibly powerful suite of marketing automation tools. But not all of them are worth your time.
The following tools can really help you start driving serious sales growth:
Shopify Email
This is your ticket to driving repeat sales.
Shopify Email integrates with your store data, allowing you to send targeted campaigns based on customer segments and purchase history.
Some of the best features to use for sales growth:
- Automated welcome series for new subscribers
- Automated abandoned cart recovery emails
- Automated post-purchase follow-ups
- Automated product recommendation emails
You’ll be setting up your automated email campaigns with Shopify Email, and you’ll need professional design and strategy for this. Shopify email is a platform for some powerful automated marketing tools, but for them to be effective, you’ll need to work with a reliable provider who can develop customized solutions that are tailored to your needs. Envisage Digital’s team of experienced designers can help you with optimizing your Shopify services and solutions in order to maximize conversion rates.
Shopify Flow
Shopify Flow is essentially a smart marketing assistant.
This automation platform lets you build your own custom workflows that are triggered by specific actions within your store.
Flow automations that can drive sales growth:
- Tagging high-value customers automatically
- Sending VIP discount codes to repeat buyers
- Creating automated inventory alerts for your best sellers
Shopify Audiences
Ever wonder how to find more customers that look exactly like your best ones?
Shopify Audiences uses your existing store data to create lookalike audiences for your ad campaigns. It’s like having a crystal ball that can tell you exactly who to target.
Social Media Integrations
Shopify syncs automatically with all major social platforms, so you can:
- Sync your product catalog automatically with Facebook & Instagram shops
- Create targeted ads based on customer behaviors
- Track social commerce performance
How Smart Automation Will Drive Revenue Growth
Automation isn’t just a trend. It’s a massive business growth opportunity for your ecommerce business.
Here are some of the major stats that show just how big this industry is:
- The marketing automation market will reach $15.62 billion by 2030
- CAGR of 15.3% annually from now until then
- 82% of organizations use marketing automation today
- Automation platforms save companies an average of 2.4 hours per day
But how does automation translate into more revenue for your store?
Recover Lost Sales With Automated Cart Abandonment Campaigns
Cart abandonment is every ecommerce store owner’s worst nightmare. The average cart abandonment rate is a shocking 69%.
But with the right automated tools, you can turn that frustration into revenue.
Automated cart abandonment emails can recover anywhere between 15-25% of those lost sales. Money that would otherwise be gone forever.
A good cart abandonment sequence has three emails like this:
- First email (1 hour after abandonment): Send a simple reminder
- Second email (24 hours later): Highlight customer reviews or add a sense of urgency
- Third email (48 hours later): Offer a small discount
Increase Your Average Order Value
Smart automation can do more than just recover lost sales. It can also increase the value of every sale you do make.
Post-purchase email sequences can recommend complementary products and accessories, driving repeat purchases and higher lifetime value.
Build Customer Loyalty
The cost of acquiring a new customer is 5-7 times higher than the cost of retaining an existing one.
Automated loyalty programs can help you keep your customers engaged and excited:
- Thank you emails after purchase
- Product tips and tutorials
- Exclusive discounts for repeat purchases
How To Build Your Own Automated Sales Machine
Ready to set up your own automated sales machine?
Here’s exactly what you need to do.
Start With Email Automation
Email automation has the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel.
Set up these key automated emails first:
- Welcome series for new subscribers
- Automated cart abandonment sequence
- Automated post-purchase follow-up
- Automated re-engagement sequence for inactive subscribers
Implement Smart Segmentation
Not every customer is the same. Smart segmentation allows you to send targeted messages to the right person at the right time.
Powerful customer segments to create:
- First-time buyers vs. repeat customers
- High-value vs. budget shoppers
- Product category preferences
- Geographic location
Trigger Campaigns With Customer Behavior
The most powerful and effective automated campaigns are triggered by customer behavior, not just dates on the calendar.
Here are some of the best triggers for powerful automation campaigns:
- Product page visits (send related product recommendations)
- Email opens (send follow-up offers)
- Purchase completion (trigger cross-sell campaigns)
Test, Optimize, And Iterate
If you’re not testing and optimizing, you’re leaving money on the table.
Your first automated campaigns will not be perfect. That’s ok. The important thing is that you continue to test and iterate:
- A/B test subject lines
- Experiment with different send times
- Test different email designs
Wrapping Up This Shopify Marketing Automation Guide
Shopify’s marketing automation tools are game changers for serious ecommerce businesses. 76% of companies see ROI from their marketing automation investments in less than one year.
The best stores in each niche are powered by smart automation tools. The ones that are leading the pack. The ones that are leaving the competition far behind.
While their competitors are manually performing every last marketing task, stores using Shopify automation are scaling to new heights effortlessly.
Just remember these key lessons:
- Focus on email automation for the biggest bang for your buck
- Trigger your automated campaigns with smart, behavior-based triggers
- Segment your customers to deliver personalized experiences
Don’t wait to start. The best time to start automating your marketing efforts was yesterday. The second best time? It’s right now.
