Introduction

In 2024, the e-commerce market saw an overall decline in conversion rates of 8.1% compared to the previous year*.
This decline highlights increasing competition and changing consumer behaviour, making conversion rate optimisation (CRO) even more critical for businesses looking to maximise the value of their online traffic.

Optimising the customer journey is essential to stand out from the competition, as every interaction can influence the buying decision, making a seamless experience essential to closing sales.

Marketing automation, combined with personalised marketing strategies and conversion rate optimisation (CRO), can significantly improve the sales funnel and conversion rates. This makes it possible to attract prospects and guide them effectively through their buying journey.

In this article, we’ll explore email automation to engage customers, landing page optimisation for optimal user experience and data-driven marketing for informed decisions.

What is customer journey optimisation?

Customer journey optimisation is a process that aims to analyse and improve each stage of a customer's interaction with a company, from product discovery through to purchase.

 

Automation and personalisation

Good optimisation not only improves the user experience, but also stimulates conversions, which plays an important role in helping businesses to grow.

 

This means mapping each stage of the customer journey and interacting with customers in a personalised way through automation scenarios. We're talking here about automatically sending targeted emails or messages based on customer behaviour and preferences. This approach creates a more personalised and human relationship, while optimising the time of marketing teams.

 

CRO optimisation formats

In order to increase the effectiveness of CRO conversion rate optimisation strategies tenfold, it is essential to use certain tools, including :

  • Targeted emailing, which is used to send personalised emails based on user behaviour, thereby increasing engagement and conversions, for example by sending reminder emails to those who have abandoned their shopping baskets or special offers to loyal customers.
  • Automated push notifications are based on geolocation or user preferences, making it possible to attract the user's attention at the right time with the right message, used to promote flash offers or in-store events.
  • Automation also makes it possible to serve each visitor content tailored to their profile and stage in the buying journey, which serves to increase the relevance and effectiveness of conversion content (landing pages, product sheets, etc).

 

CRO in the sales funnel

It should be noted that marketing automation also plays a key role in optimising the sales funnel, from the awareness phase through to conversion, by automating certain repetitive tasks, the user journey becomes smoother and more focused on higher added-value interactions.

It's a powerful lever for boosting conversion rate optimisation performance and generating more qualified leads and sales.

It goes without saying that email automation has become a key element of digital marketing strategies, offering companies the opportunity to increase customer engagement and loyalty.

By automating the sending of emails, businesses can communicate more effectively and relevantly with their customers, providing them with information at the right time based on specific triggers, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.

This means sending personalised messages at key moments in the customer journey, strengthening the relationship between the brand and the consumer - for example, sending a welcome email automatically when a user registers, or a follow-up message after a shopping basket has been abandoned.

Email automation tools

Any good marketing strategy relies on effective communication with customers, and email automation tools have become essential for achieving this objective.

 

There are several popular tools that facilitate the automation of email campaigns:

- Mailchimp: Known for its ease of use, Mailchimp offers autoresponder features that allow you to send personalised messages based on user behaviour.

- ActiveCampaign: This tool offers a complete platform for managing marketing campaigns, including email automation based on birthdays or specific events.

- Salesmanago: offers not only email automation but also advanced customer relationship management (CRM).

These tools enable companies to segment their audience and send targeted messages, increasing the chances of engagement. 

CRO optimisation methodologies

One of the main advantages of data-driven marketing is its ability to improve customer segmentation and enable the implementation of marketing automation systems that increase the relevance and effectiveness of campaigns.

 

The importance of segmentation

Segmentation is important in the context of automation because it enables companies to divide their database into specific groups according to various criteria such as buying behaviour or interests.

Thanks to this functionality, it is now possible to send tailored messages that precisely meet the needs of each group. For example, we can target customers who have not made a purchase for some time and send them a special offer to encourage them to return.

 

Thanks to data-driven segmentation, we can, for example:

  • Understand customers by analysing their demographic and behavioural data to identify their specific needs.
  • Launch targeted campaigns tailored to each segment to increase engagement and loyalty.
  • Identify high-value segments to improve acquisition and retention.
  • Develop improved products using insights derived from data to refine offers according to the preferences of each segment.
  • Focus on the segments that generate the highest return on investment.

 

Landing page optimisation

Landing pages are just as important and play an essential role in maximising conversion rates as part of digital marketing strategies.

A well-optimised landing page acts as a strategic entry point, turning visitors into potential customers. It needs to be designed to grab attention immediately, with eye-catching headlines, attractive visuals and clear calls to action (CTAs), and as a result, an effective landing page can achieve conversion rates of up to 50%, while less effective ones only achieve 5%.

 

Marketing automation therefore plays a key role in optimising landing pages, particularly through the use of dynamic content and A/B testing.

Dynamic content allows page elements to be personalised according to user behaviour and preferences, increasing relevance and engagement. At the same time, A/B tests allow you to compare different versions of a page to identify the elements that generate the most conversions.

 

Marketing automation workflows

Automation tools make it possible to collect, analyse and integrate data from a variety of sources, such as website interactions, purchasing behaviour and campaign responses.

Automation facilitates lead nurturing by regularly sending relevant and engaging content. Automated emails can include information on new products, special offers or even surveys to gather customer feedback, creating ongoing interaction with the customer to reinforce brand loyalty.

 

We talk about marketing automation workflows when sequences of automated actions are triggered in response to user behaviour or predefined events, thereby managing repetitive tasks and optimising time by ensuring smooth communication with customers.

Automation plays a very important role in the management of marketing tasks by reducing manual interventions such as sending emails, managing leads or segmenting audiences.

It also guides prospects through the buying journey, giving them the information they need to increase the chances of conversion.

 

As a result, there are several types of Workflow that are set up to meet marketing needs:

  • Welcome series send a series of emails to new subscribers to welcome them and introduce them to the brand, with the aim of increasing initial engagement.
  • Re-engagement campaigns target inactive users to rekindle their interest through special offers or personalised content.
  • Cart abandonment sequences, sent to customers who have abandoned their basket as a reminder and incentive to complete their purchase.- Lead nurturing provides educational content to prospects along their buying journey so that they can make an informed decision.
  • Reward and loyalty workflows reward loyal customers with special offers, points or exclusive benefits.
  • Support and after-sales workflows automate customer support processes such as order confirmations or parcel tracking notifications.

 

So there's no denying that email automation is a powerful tool for improving customer engagement and loyalty by choosing the right tools and implementing an effective segmentation strategy, which will enable personalised messages to be sent at the right time, maximising the chances of conversion and retention.

Marketing automation platforms

There are several marketing automation platforms on the market, each offering a unique set of features.

  • HubSpot Marketing which is an all-in-one solution with an intuitive interface and a wide range of features and offers advanced tools for lead management, email marketing and analytics.
  • Marketo Engage is a platform designed for medium and large enterprises, offering advanced automation and personalisation capabilities and integrating with Adobe Experience Cloud for an omnichannel customer experience.
  • Pardot is a B2B solution from Salesforce that focuses on lead generation and nurturing, with advanced features for lead segmentation, scoring and qualification.
  • Mailchimp, with its user-friendly interface and affordable rates, is best suited to small businesses and offers simple tools for e-mail marketing and automation.

 

Choosing the right platform and designing effective workflows will deliver a smoother, more personalised customer experience and help you stand out in a competitive digital landscape. It is therefore highly advisable to develop a strategic approach

Conclusion

In summary, conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is essential for maximising the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and improving your bottom line. By combining effective marketing automation with a CRO strategy, you can personalise the engagement with your prospects and optimise their buying journey.

Choosing the right automation platform is crucial to supporting your optimisation efforts. By adopting these practices, you will become more competitive in an increasingly demanding market.

At Eminence, conversion rate optimization agency, we invite you to explore tailored strategies for maximising your site's potential through CRO and marketing automation.

*Souce : https://www.irpcommerce.com/en/gb/ecommercemarketdata.aspx

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