Retailers of any size can offer voice notifications through Alexa, Siri, Google and similar assistants, which could build customer retention in an Amazon-like fashion.
Imagine a shopper with an Amazon Echo device. When FedEx or the US Postal Service delivers an order, a yellow light on the Echo notifies the buyer, who asks Alexa. “Your Amazon coffee order has arrived,” Alexa replies.
This verbal notification is valuable to Amazon in at least a couple of ways. It announces the company name, Amazon, elevating the brand. And share a useful message in a convenient format, strengthening your relationship with that customer.
The Alexa Echo Dot is one of the most convenient ways to notify shoppers of a delivered order.
Additionally, a shopper searching for the status of a pending order can ask Alexa for an update. And finally, cars now include Alexa (and other voice assistants). A driver can request order status or even purchase an item while driving.
retention
Shilp Agarwal is CEO and co-founder of Blutag, a SaaS platform for building retail voice applications. He and others hope the medium can grow to facilitate the complete buyer’s journey. However, notifications alone are one of the best entry points for channel testing.
Think of it this way. Customer acquisition and retention are the pillars of e-commerce growth. A merchant or direct-to-consumer brand must first acquire customers and then work to retain them. Acquisition tactics typically include advertising, content marketing, and search engine optimization. Retaining these customers focuses on lifecycle marketing, plus content marketing and the overall experience. Voice notifications can address this third aspect of customer retention: the shopper experience.
Customer acquisition can be the most enjoyable part of online retail marketing. Acquisition can seem like a money making machine – find a channel like Meta Ads that consistently drives profitable sales at a fast and furious pace.
Many digital brands generate almost all of their revenue through a paid acquisition channel. Invest more and the profits accelerate – a racing car with income.
Customer retention is less flashy, but it’s also a steady growth channel with unique benefits. For one thing, marketing to customers is less expensive than acquiring them. The cost of generating a sale from a series of ads is almost certainly greater than from an email or text message list.
Also, loyal shoppers spend more. Depending on the source, such as a decade-old Adobe report (PDF), repeat buyers have an average order value three to five times higher than new buyers.
Finally, a business that retains customers can invest more in acquiring new ones. This is vital in highly competitive markets
Voice notification
In this context, a simple delivery notification can help a retailer or brand, just like it helps Amazon. The brand gets its name out loud, potentially increasing recognition and reminding the shopper of the store and its products. And shoppers appreciate the convenience.
Shopify stores can use Blutag’s free app to enable Alexa notifications. Other stores may hire a developer to connect to Alexa and similar assistants through an application programming interface—the Alexa Voice Service API, for example. This is an achievable (though not easy) DIY project, just like other forms of app development.
Once voice notifications are set up, a business can measure the impact on customer retention. This progression is something that Agarwal described. She founded an online store, Szul Jewelry, in 2000. The business flourished. But when the Great Recession hit in 2007, acquiring customers was much more difficult.
“It was at that point that I started focusing on customer retention,” Agarwal said. “Acquisition costs they were unpredictable, but we had it [existing] customers, and if they made a few additional purchases, we could increase their lifetime value.”
At that point, Agarwal turned to lifecycle marketing. A buyer purchasing an engagement wedding ring would receive an email with the entire set. Buy a wedding ring set and you’ll see an email with gifts for the bridal party.
This experience focused Agarwal on customer engagement and interactions beyond a web browser.
Starting
Try to find out if buyers who receive voice notifications buy again at a higher price than others. Consider providing back-in-stock notifications to customers who ordered these products. Then experiment with other interactions. Combine a tracking text with voice notification to create lifecycle experiences.
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