Bring Back Lost Customers With Instant Back-in-Stock Notifications
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, losing sales due to out-of-stock items can be detrimental to your business. Read how our engineers used a MuleSoft Salesforce solution to share data between Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud in order to instantly deliver back-in-stock notifications.
The Client
An athletic apparel retailer.
The Challenge
The company was facing customer-experience challenges when the products went out-of-stock on their website. They did not have a way to automatically inform the customers when a product was restocked and available for purchase.
Due to these challenges, the company was losing revenue and potential customers. Worst of all, the negative experience discouraged the visitors from coming back to the website.
In short, the company needed to:
- Recapture their lost revenue: Many purchase decisions were made in the spur of the moment. The company was losing potential sales when an item went out-of-stock and customers completely forgot about the purchase. The company needed a way to retain an interest in the purchase to recapture their potentially lost revenue.
- Reduce customer frustration: Customers became frustrated with the dead-end experience. The company needed a way to end an out-of-stock session on a positive note.
- Keep unconverted visitors fully engaged: The company sought to sustain the interest of visitors who were yet to make a purchase.
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The Solution
To address these challenges, our team created a back-in-stock alert-based solution. These alerts will allow the customers to subscribe to getting instant notification when an out-of-stock product was back in stock via an email or SMS.
To enhance the customer experience, the new system presents a popup window to guests if they select an out-of-stock item, asking if they would like to receive a notification when the item is restocked. The system ensures the notification process is secure by validating email addresses and checking for abusive cross-site request forgeries. Additionally, the system checks for email server errors to ensure customers receive notifications without interruptions or delays.
Once the email address is verified, Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) delivers the notification opt-in and welcome emails. If the system receives opt-in confirmation from the customer, a background job checks the inventory daily. If the item is in stock, a “back-in-stock” notification is sent to the customer. If the item is still unavailable after 60 days, the customer can extend a back-in-stock notification option.
Here is a list of key takeaways for the solution:
- Vastly improved customer experience: Since the new solution helps in ending out-of-stock sessions on a positive note, it tremendously reduced the up-front frustration with low inventory levels.
- Smooth purchase process once the product is back in stock: When a product becomes available again, customers receive a notification, which takes them directly back to their cart to purchase it. This easy purchase path increases the overall conversion rate.
- Flexible notification period: A customer can extend a back-in-stock subscription duration by clicking an extension link in the mail from SFMC.
- Overcomes SFCC storage limitations: There are maximum limits in Salesforce commerce cloud on how many records can be stored in custom objects. The solution handles customer request data efficiently and avoids quota errors.
Business Impact
- Massive boost in revenue generation: Once the new system was in place, the conversion rate increased by 15-20%, translating into a solid revenue boost.
- Substantial increase in customer satisfaction: The customer satisfaction Net Promoter Score (NPS) jumped by 5%. An NPS score increase indicates a higher level of customer loyalty, satisfaction, and advocacy, which can lead to increased sales and revenue.
- Increase in customer engagements: The revised system resulted in a 5% increase in customer engagement.
- Increase in the value of a visitor profile: Previously, a visitor’s profile held little value for the business. Now the back-in-stock notification system allows the company to communicate with them directly and offers insights into their requirements.
- Insights into product demand: The back-in-stock notifications provide excellent information about product demand. This information allows company management to make informed production and inventory movement decisions.
Technologies Used
Related Capabilities
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