Stockouts are an increasing problem for eCommerce businesses, with Shopify merchants losing out on acquiring new shoppers and earning more revenue. What’s more, shoppers are less willing to go through a long opt-in process, making Facebook Messenger a great channel for remarketing automation. In this guide, we are getting into the details of how you can set up back-in-stock alerts using Facebook Messenger. Follow our steps to maximize revenue from this channel and ensure your shoppers come back to your Shopify store.
The Problem: Negative Impact of Stockouts
$25 billion. That’s the amount of loss that stock-outs have caused businesses back in 2011. This number is likely to have inflated in the last 9 years. This loss isn’t just a financial loss. An eCommerce store with out-of-stock products will see long-term negative impacts— customer loss, low satisfaction rates, and negative word-of-mouth. Your first step to avoiding stockouts is to predict how your inventory moves out of your Shopify store. Understanding the pattern of how your product gets sold can help you stock up your inventory better and avoid long gaps of stockouts.However, it’s hard to control your inventory to the minute details. You’ll surely have a short period of time between when your product goes out of stock and when it is stocked up again. You need to have a system in place during this time to avoid losing your interested shoppers from making a purchase due to product unavailability.
The Solution: Back-in-Stock Facebook Messenger Notifications
With more people opting for shorter marketing messages, Facebook Messenger marketing has risen to popularity. 1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger each month. With such a large active user base, Shopify stores are rushing to maximize their marketing efforts on this channel. Facebook Messenger also poses an advantage over email. Opting into Messenger promotions is a quick process. If the shopper is already logged into Facebook, all they need to do is check a box on your Shopify store and they are officially subscribed.The opt-in for Messenger works the same when subscribing for in-stock updates. The shopper doesn’t have to fill in any details, just check the box. Once the product is in store, they will get a message within their Messenger app. Your in-stock update will be automatically sent to the shopper when the product is back in stock so that you don’t have to worry about updating every shopper about the product stock.
How to Use Facebook Messenger for Back-in-Stock Alerts
The Back in Stock app is an easy to use, powerful tool that helps merchants leverage shopper interest and then bring back the shopper automatically when the product is back in stock. You can set back-in-stock alerts to be sent via Facebook Messenger by following these 4 steps:
Step 1: Integration
Before you can start sending out in-stock updates via Facebook Messenger, you need to integrate the app with Facebook Messenger. This integration can be done directly through the Back in Stock app by connecting your Facebook page.Once integrated, you are ready to set up in-stock messages!
Step 2: Create back-in-stock message
Set up your well-crafted back-in-stock message within the Back in Stock app. You can include variables in the message to show the name of the product they are interested in and store name so they can quickly recall.You can find best practices for creating high-converting back-in-stock messages via Facebook Messenger below.
Step 3: Subscription
Set up a back-in-stock subscription widget that is shown to shoppers on product pages where the stock is unavailable. For Facebook Messenger, you can show an instruction message that gets shoppers to subscribe. Once subscribed, your shopper will see a confirmation message which you can customize on the Back in Stock dashboard.Once subscribed, the shopper is added to the waitlist.
Step 4: Monitor performance
Now that you’ve set up your back-in-stock workflow, you just need to sit back and monitor its performance. When the product is back in stock, shoppers who expressed interest will receive an automated message via Messenger, informing them about the stock update. You need to keep a close eye on how many shoppers are converting their interest into a purchase. You can view open rate, click rate, and revenue generated within the Back in Stock dashboard. Use this data to optimize your back-in-stock message so that you can maximize conversions and increase sales.
3 Best Practices for Back-in-Stock Updates Via Facebook Messenger
When setting up your back-in-stock message, ensure that you've kept these 3 best practices in mind to successfully grab your shopper's attention.
1. Optimize copy on product page
Your back-in-stock subscription widget has a default Facebook Messenger copy that will be shown to shoppers to nudge them to subscribe.
Customize this copy to reflect your brand voice. Use exclusivity within your copy so that shoppers know that this in-stock update will be sent to them when the product is back and that they will be the first to know.
2. Use urgency in your copy
Your back-in-stock message needs to be crisp and highly relevant to the product that was just stocked. Your copy should be crisp and reflect who you are as a brand. A great tactic you can use is to add urgency phrases like “Act now”, “Limited stocks” and “Only for 24 hours”. Urgency is a great way to push your shopper to take action on their interest.
3. Ensure timely updates
Your in-stock updates must be sent as soon as the product is back in stock. This timely update can help you re-engage shoppers and the use of urgency in your copy will make them rush to your store to shop the product instantly.Our app sends back-in-stock alerts automatically. Our automation process ensures that the interested shoppers get an update about the product as soon as it’s back on your store. This way, you don’t have to manually let your shoppers know, saving you time and making your in-stock updates efficient.
Have you set up Facebook Messenger for In-Stock Updates?
We hope this thorough guide helps you to set up in-stock messages on Facebook Messenger. With more people using Messenger, you need to take advantage of this channel and cater to shoppers who prefer subscribing to your in-stock updates through Messenger.
