In December 2013 Triggered Messaging and cottages4you worked together to introduce a browse and cart abandonment strategy which went live in early January 2014. Cart abandonment is a challenge that faces every organisation selling online, but it is dependent on visitors placing items in their basket. Crucially, it doesn’t’ take in to account the often larger number who simply browse and leave. This case study looks at how “For every £1 invested with Triggered Messaging it has returned £9.57.
From its head-office in Earby, Lancashire, cottages4you offers over 15,000 privately-owned properties located throughout the UK, Ireland, France and Italy. It is the largest holiday cottage letting agency in the UK.
The holiday letting business is a hugely competitive market and when it comes to booking a vacation people typically shop around a lot before making their final decision. The key to success is making it easy for a visitor to find the properties that are right for them on the website and ensuring the booking process is quick and simple. However, equally important is the ability to engage with visitors who have visited and since left the site, reminding them of the properties they viewed and encouraging them to return and make a booking.
When someone who has registered their details with cottages4you in the past visits the site but does not make a booking, the company is able to ensure that they receive an email in their inbox within one hour of leaving the site, whether they have been browsing, or if they added to their shopping cart but did not check-out. Marketing Director at cottages4you, Nick Smith explains: “The Triggered Messaging system automatically populates and sends an email that includes photos, text and links regarding each of the properties that they have been viewing.”
“The experience of working with the Triggered Messaging team has been really good and we are very pleased with the service, regular reports and constructive feedback that they provide,” adds Smith. “It is testament to the work put in at the start of the project that our browse and cart abandonment strategy runs itself.”
Cottages4you sends an average of 3,500 emails per month with its busiest times around the key holiday periods, so March (for Easter) and July/August (for summer). Working with Triggered Messaging for its browse and cart abandonment has delivered many benefits for the company and its customers as Smith explains: “A holiday is a considered purchase, so often a customer will want to discuss the properties with friends and family before confirming a booking. So, receiving a timely email letting them know it is still available is really useful, as they can simply click on the link and it takes them directly to the relevant page, without having to complete the search all over again.”
Since cottages4you implemented its browse and cart abandonment strategy the company has achieved an astonishing 957% Return on Investment. “For every £1 invested with Triggered Messaging it has returned £9.57,” concludes Smith.
