The launch of an all-new ecommerce website is both exciting and challenging, even the most practiced ecommerce managers, ecommerce specialists and marketing managers get a sense of dread when you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
How do you tell your customers that your old site is going to be replaced by a new one?
Preparing for the launch really does require solid planning, especially when it comes to getting your current customers excited about the launch. Not only does this lay the groundwork for getting orders through on the new website straight away, but it’s also a great way of creating a community around your brand. By bringing customers into ‘the fold’ by letting them in on the launch, maybe even how long you’ve been working on it for, can boost engagement and loyalty.
We were recently inspired by how our client Turner & George personally communicated the launch of their completely new website on Magento 2 to their very loyal customers as part of their emarketing strategy.
Invite and Excite Customers
When your previous website sucked, it sometimes means your business’ best features are cloaked in bad website design, unclear user experiences, and content with no creative direction. You may have even lost customers because of it. If this is the case, sending an email inviting them back — and let them know how the new website will improve their shopping experience online. You can even combine this with a discount if it makes sense.
Preparation is all part of ramping up excitement about the new site; you can spread the word in your digital marketing outlets and in-store. By getting your staff involved in the act, you can drive word of mouth and generate even more interest in the new ways you’ll be serving your customers.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Emarketing
According to Mailmunch, if you have 2,000 people in your subscriber list, 2,000 people who like your page on Facebook and 2,000 people who follow you on Twitter – on average:
435 people will see your email and open it
120 of the people who like your Facebook page will see your post
40 of the people who follow you on Twitter will see your tweet
Turner & George have been telling customers about their upcoming website for months, and in the final weeks they sent out a great email campaign inviting customers to checkout their new website soon!
Explain New Features
There’s always a drop in conversion and traffic when new websites launch, Google needs time to crawl the content so it can reduce visibility in search engines, which can often lead to a drop in revenue. But if you can ensure your customers are aware of the new site and which features will add value to their shopping experience online, it will help to maintain a more consistent revenue stream directly after launch.
That transparency about how to use the new site will ensure customers are effortlessly guided through the site from home to checkout. Turner & George’s recent mailer covered all the value-added features their new customers will love, including:
The new look and feel, including a shout out to the photographer Tom Gold
New product filtering capabilities at the category level – shop by occasion, meat type, cut and more!
Updated product ordering functionality, including secure card detail storing (they use Sagepay’s Tokenisation tool), new quicker checkout and the launch of wishlist.
The announcement of the ‘add to existing order’ feature that’s coming soon – we’re as excited about the launch as they are, it’s a customised feature our Magento developers built for the website.
Bigger and better recipes library, plus collaborations with influencers in the foodie world.
Launch of a new product range on the website.
Think about your campaign subject line:
“Check out our new website!” versus “Now you can order from our butchers on the go – click & collect or deliver to you.” or “Now you can shop our recipes instantly!”
Which one would you open?
New Website, New Customers
Approximately 96% of visitors that come to your website are not ready to buy, so ensure you’re exciting them about the benefits of your new website from the beginning.
An informative pop-up is a great way of telling people about the new experience, whilst reassuring them that even though you overhauled your ecommerce website, it doesn’t mean you overhauled the entire business! Take a look at how Turner & George do it:
Updating any visual Google or social advertising will ensure you’ve got greater coverage of your online audience too.
Consider these key points when promoting your new ecommerce site :
Have we got a budget assigned to the launch marketing?
How can we make our content stand out without interrupting the user journey?
Are we using any social media channels or have any other marketing outlets that we can promote the new site in?
How can we make sure any content we promote is unmissable without being clickbait?
Are we utilising all the Magento features we have to ensure our message is visible and clear on the website?
What free marketing can we do eg email signature promo, word of mouth etc?
The Personal Touch
We’re not talking about hyper-personalisation of your website content, although that’s not a bad idea either, we’re talking about your tone of voice in any outbound marketing you’re doing.
The key takeaway point from the Turner & George launch marketing strategy is the TOV they’ve adopted. Keeping it cool, calm and casual like their customer service in-store will help to encourage their customers to explore, engage and convert instead of getting lost.
Ask yourself:
What are my expectations if I was going to a website with a new user journey, look and feel etc?
How can we make our marketing as transparent as possible?
Are our selling techniques for this new website consistent online and offline?
How can we manage any customer service inquiries after launch? What’s our message?
Are we covering all customer service outlets – the store, social channels, email?
Summary – Website Launch Lessons
So in short, how can retailers, whether you’re on Magento or not, successfully communicate the launch of a new ecommerce website to customers through digital marketing and offline marketing?
Get a budget in place
Start planning early on
Do communicate the launch to your customers in emarketing, Ads, social, on your current site (if it’s not been taken down!)
Cover online and offline outlets
If you need anything additional on the site, make sure you use the Magento features you have to hand or speak to your ecommerce agency to organise any temporary site changes for the launch period
Have a physical store? Get your on the floor staff in on the promo as well
Track your campaign’s success – learn from it!
Ensure your customer service is covering all outlets, just in case anyone is struggling with the new user experience
Book yourself a launch party – for internal purposes 😉 you deserve it!
