How to Boost Customer Engagement with Web Push Notifications

How does your brand engage customers? If sending web push notifications isn’t part of your current customer engagement strategy, it should be.

You’re probably familiar with push notifications that can be sent to customers after an app is downloaded, but web push notifications are a bit different. Website push notifications are opt-in messages sent to customers on their desktop or device without installing an app or visiting your site. These messages can reach up to 80% of all internet users and have an opt-in rate of up to 15% — making them ideal for customer engagement.

To help time-strapped marketers implement web push notifications, we’ll provide practical applications for these messages along with writing tips.

4 Practical Web Push Notifications You Can Set Up Today

Monitor hot items

You can deliver push notifications to customers who want to keep an eye on a specific product. Maybe they want to be notified when there’s a sale on their favorite pair of jeans or want to know when a popular piece of jewelry is back in stock.

These kinds of “monitoring messages” are not only helpful to customers, but they’re often the reason people are willing to sign up for push notifications in the first place. Obviously, once a customer subscribers, it gives your brand a chance to keep him or her engaged.

Cart abandonment reminders

People abandon their online carts more frequently than you might think. Research suggests up to 75% of online carts are filled with items, but aren’t paid for. When a cart is abandoned, it’s a lost opportunity for your brand. Obviously, the customer is interested in your products, but how can you close the deal? By sending customers a reminder.

You can automate abandoned cart messages. For instance, a simple reminder message can go out two hours after the cart was abandoned and another follow up, this time with a 10% coupon, can go out after 24 hours.

Welcome series for new customers

When new customers subscribe, it’s important to set the tone of your relationship – and push notifications can help. You can set up a series of push notifications to onboard new users. The purpose of these messages is twofold: to engage customers and to provide helpful, introductory information.

Let’s say a new user just subscribed to your blog. You can “drip,” or slowly release, automated messages that welcome the user, point out features of your products, and provide helpful tips – even when the customer isn’t actively using your tool.

Engage customers who download an asset

Many brands create specific assets for different stages of the sales funnel. For example, your company might create a whitepaper or infographic with information that’s relevant to new prospects.

When a download occurs, setting up triggered push notifications can nurture the lead. These notifications can also be tailored to the asset to maximize personalization.

Tips to Write Effective Web Push Notifications

Writing an effective push notification isn’t as easy as it sounds. You need to convey a message in a short, compelling manner. To help create successful messages, here are some tips to follow:

• Keep it to short

What’s the ideal length of a message? Research suggests 24 characters provides the highest conversion rate. You’ll only have enough room for a few words, so make each one count.

• Ask a question

One of the easiest ways to drive customer engagement is by asking questions. Consider crafting a short question like, “Ready for a hot sale?” or “Interested in an exclusive event?” These short questions are intriguing and succinct, which is ideal for a web notification.

• Create FOMO

Push notifications that create a ‘fear of missing out’ are often quite effective. You can do this by offering a discount for a limited time, reminding customers that a fast-selling item is back in stock, or offering a limited-edition product to a select number of customers. These messages create a sense of urgency that encourages customers to act.

• Don’t mass-message your entire list

Web push notifications should go to segmented lists of customers as opposed to messaging every single customer. The days of reaching out to customers in bulk are over. They’re simply not effective. Segmented messages give you the chance to tailor the messages to small groups and prevent message fatigue.

• Consider adding an image

The value of an image shouldn’t be overlooked. We live in a visual society. Pictures are shared and viewed regularly now, so it stands to reason that web push notifications can be more effective with an image than just simple text.

Web push notifications can elevate your marketing strategies to new heights, but you’ll likely need a marketing platform that streamlines this process and provides real-time analytics. With CleverTap, you can engage customers with automated, scheduled messages and see robust metrics that provide decision-making intel. You can segment customers based on current or past behaviors, add emojis, and include deep links in your messages. Schedule a quick, personalized demo of CleverTap today.