X-Cart forums

[neaisha]

Hmm...disregard above. Well, don't disregard, I just wasn't sure if I should delete the above post. I found that if I applied the patch line by line manually, with a few changes as referenced above, the patch worked. So for example this...

CREATE TABLE xcart_abandoned_wishlists (login varchar(32) NOT NULL default '',email varchar(128) NOT NULL default '',expiry int(11) NOT NULL default '0',PRIMARY KEY (login),UNIQUE KEY email (email),KEY expiry (expiry)) TYPE=MyISAM;

was applied correctly if i do it individually/manually. if i did the whole file, it resulted in an error. i will test it now and see if it works.

where i do understand how this would be an annoyance to customers, i think the annoyance comes in the wording of the original file. in a previous post someone mentioned how the email should be worded as if an individual is contacting the customer vs. a form email. i think if you personalize the email, which i will do, it comes across more a friendly follow-up/personal shopper approach vs. "why didn't you order from us? how dare you leave a cart with all this stuff in it! place your order now damnit or i will harrass you until you do!" kind of email.

[carpeperdiem]

where i do understand how this would be an annoyance to customers, i think the annoyance comes in the wording of the original file. in a previous post someone mentioned how the email should be worded as if an individual is contacting the customer vs. a form email. i think if you personalize the email, which i will do, it comes across more a friendly follow-up/personal shopper approach vs. "why didn't you order from us? how dare you leave a cart with all this stuff in it! place your order now damnit or i will harrass you until you do!" kind of email.

Buy.com used to send these emails. I stiopped shopping with them since their annoying emails wouldn't stop.

Amazon tried this for 10 minutes a few years ago, and I sent them a letter saying that if they ever sent me another "you have items in your shopping cart -- did you have a problem checking out?" letter again, I'd never shop there again. They stopped.

Customers have a zillion reasons why they abandon a cart -- and the goodwill (negative) that I think this sales tactic brings far outweighs any benefit. My opinion.

[neaisha]

hmm...i'm an idiot. i totally missed the second post which corrected everything in the original file. so i deleted my original post and kept the second.

carpeperdiem, i totally understand what you're saying. if i get negative feedback or if sales decrease thereafter, i can always disable it.

i also think it depends on your business. for most of my customers, i find that they really do need additional help. the only time i ever truly get creeped out when shopping online is when a site has a live chat feature and that keeps popping up or if i'm shopping and an operator invites me to chat. i think with this, given there is a discount code associated with the email, it's less...aggressive but i shall see.

i still cant get the darn thing to work. i cant figure out if i need to execute the cron or what and i couldn't edit the admin/menu.tpl file (even though i replaced the original and don't think i ever edited it in the first place). so i'm not sure if there's a link that needs to be in the admin menu that makes this thing work. can the originator reply please? what should be in admin/menu.tpl?

[fropirate]

Maybe this could be modified so that when customers register, or in their account profile, they can choose whether or not they want to recieve e-mails about abandonded carts.

[balinor]

You think anyone in their right mind would check that box?

[betty4]

This is a great marketing tool. I think I will try this module because it deal only with registered customers. Maybe they got shipping shock or stopped to look around the internet some more or got distracted by day-to-day activities. It would work for my type of store. It's a good way to stay connected. I will customize email content to suit my customer base. I really like the idea of providing a special coupon for future purchases. Thanks.

[junaid]

i would go for it.
regards
Junaid

[WhiteDoveGifts]

I just read an article about a major Dutch online wharehouse www.wehkamp.nl who won a "Silver Emmy" (e-mail marketing award) for their abandoned cart module and accompanying case.

Leads on those abandoned cart e-mails were 4 times higher than other marketing e-mails.

They were recognized for the "Tone of voice" and the very personal approach in those e-mails as well as the tech support behind it.

So it is possible to make this successful but you need to have a well thought plan and the right module/content in place

[Jerrad]

Originally Posted by WhiteDoveGifts

I just read an article about a major Dutch online wharehouse www.wehkamp.nl who won a "Silver Emmy" (e-mail marketing award) for their abandoned cart module and accompanying case.

Leads on those abandoned cart e-mails were 4 times higher than other marketing e-mails.

They were recognized for the "Tone of voice" and the very personal approach in those e-mails as well as the tech support behind it.

So it is possible to make this successful but you need to have a well thought plan and the right module/content in place

Do you have a link to that article, WhiteDoveGifts?
Have you seen the new looks of wehkamp, btw?

Thanks!

[WhiteDoveGifts]

http://twinklemagazine.nl/nieuws.aspx?id=19054

http://www.marketingtribune.nl/nieuws/Zilver-voor-Wehkamp-32438/

http://www.adformatie.nl/nieuws/bericht/wehkampnl-wint-zilveren-emma

Yeah, great improvement on their new looks and feel!