A Powerful & Customizable Retail Marketing Strategy (FREE)

A comprehensive retail marketing strategy, covering the entire sales funnel and all digital marketing channels. Designed to you get more traffic and customers for your retail business.
Prepared by: Eduardo Yi
Created on: March 5, 2025
Your Strategy
Primary Item (H2)
Primary Item (H2)

The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a visual way to understand the journey your customers take, from first discovering your business to eventually making a purchase. Imagine it like a funnel shape: at the top, many people might learn about your business, but fewer move down to become actual buyers.

Optimizing your entire sales funnel, you're able to increase the number of people who move smoothly from interested browsers to loyal, paying customers.

It helps ensure every part of your business—from your website to your follow-up emails—is designed to guide people toward buying. The clearer this pathway, the easier it is to boost your sales and grow your business.

The marketing plan below includes dozens of marketing ideas and tactics to optimize your entire sales funnel.

Your Target Personas

A target persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, created by researching and understanding the behaviors, needs, and preferences of people most likely to buy your products or services.

Think of it as drawing a detailed portrait of your best customer, including details like their age, interests, job, daily habits, and the challenges they face.

By visualizing this customer, you're better able to understand what motivates them, how to communicate effectively, and how to reach them through your marketing efforts.

Rather than trying to appeal to everyone—which can lead to wasted resources and ineffective marketing—you can specifically tailor your messages to resonate deeply with the people most likely to become loyal customers.
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Your Target Persona #1: Eco-friendly Ella
Age: 30 | Education: Bachelor's in Environmental Studies | Occupation: Marketing Coordinator at a non-profit
"I often struggle to find reliable places that offer high-quality, eco-friendly products without compromising my values or style."
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Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Support brands that prioritize sustainability
Find stylish yet eco-friendly home products
Participate in local sustainability workshops
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True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to make a positive impact on the planet with my purchases"
"If I find quality sustainable products, I can inspire friends to follow suit"
"I need to learn more about eco-living to feel confident in my lifestyle choices"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I'm concerned that eco-products won't meet my quality standards"
"I fear that I'm paying too much for sustainable options"
"I've had bad experiences with poor customer service at niche stores"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
We carefully curate our inventory to ensure that all products meet high standards of quality and sustainability.
Our pricing is competitive, and with our loyalty program, you can save even more while switching to eco-friendly options.
We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and are always here to guide you with any questions or concerns.
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Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"Shopping here has changed my life. Now, I confidently choose products that align with my values. I feel empowered knowing that my purchases support the environment, and I love sharing my discoveries with friends."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.
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Your Target Persona #2: Sustainable Sam
Age: 28 | Education: Master's in Design | Occupation: Graphic Designer at a tech startup
"Finding affordable, stylish, and eco-friendly options is challenging, and I often feel overwhelmed by the choices and the authenticity of the brands."
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Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Create a stylish and eco-conscious home
Discover sustainable fashion brands
Attend workshops to enhance my sustainable lifestyle
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True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to express my personality through sustainable choices"
"If I invest in eco-friendly fashion, I can contribute to environmental change"
"I need to feel part of a community that shares my commitment to sustainability"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I doubt the long-term durability of eco-friendly products"
"I worry that my friends will judge my style choices if they are not trendy"
"I have a limited budget and can't afford high-priced sustainable items"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
Many of our eco-friendly products are designed to last and come with guarantees of durability.
Our curated selections are trendy and appeal to style-conscious individuals, blending sustainability with aesthetics.
We offer a range of price points, including sales and discounts, to ensure you can find eco-friendly items within your budget.
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Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"Now that I've shopped with you, I feel proud of my stylish yet eco-friendly home. I've learned so much through workshops, and I love being able to share these insights with others."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.

Top of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Top of the Funnel: Awareness
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona isn't aware of your product and isn't even necessarily looking for a product. They just know they have a problem. Your objective at the top of the funnel is for them to be aware of your business by providing value (without trying to get them to buy right away.)
New visitors to website
Total views on Instagram
Social media shares
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Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating the assets you'll promote and optimize on through the different marketing channels (SEO, social media, email marketing, and ads.) At the top of the funnel, you're creating your mass-market content, aimed to attract as many people as possible.
Content ideas:
Blog post: '10 Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Changes You Can Make Today'
Infographic: 'The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion vs. Sustainable Fashion'
Video series: 'Meet Your Eco-Friendly Brands: Behind-the-Scenes Looks at Our Products'
Social media campaign: 'Weekly Sustainability Tips' featuring eco-friendly hacks
Podcast episode: 'How to Start Living Sustainably: Tips from Experts'
Webinar: 'Sustainable Living: What You Need to Know'
What to measure:
Blog post views
Social media engagement rates
Video watch time
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SEO
With SEO, you can get your content to rank on the top of search engines for the keywords that your marketing persona is typing into Google. At the top of the funnel, the keywords you'll target will likely have a higher search volume and will be harder to rank for.
Keyword ideas:
Eco-friendly lifestyle changes
Environmental impact of fashion
Sustainable products for home
Benefits of eco-friendly products
How to choose sustainable brands
Sustainable living tips
Eco-conscious shopping guide
Impact of consumerism on the planet
Trendy eco-friendly fashion
Shop local for sustainability
What to measure:
Organic traffic
Keyword rankings
Referral traffic from social media
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Paid Advertising
When it comes to ads, targeting is probably the most important predictor of a winning campaign (closely followed by ad creatives.) At the top of the funnel, you'll be looking for brand new audiences who have never heard about your company — these are called "Prospecting" campaigns.
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Target women aged 25-35 interested in eco-friendly living and home décor.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Target users following sustainable fashion influencers.
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Reach viewers of sustainability-related content on popular channels.
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Show ads to users searching for sustainable products online.
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Target visitors who have browsed your eco-friendly collections.
What to measure:
CPC
Ad impressions
Reach
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Social Media
The hardest part about doing social media as a brand/business, is that you should look to not behave like just another business on social media. Your social media content should be native to each channel in tone, format, and style. Because of its mass usage, social media is perfect for top of the funnel content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Create a visually appealing challenge encouraging followers to share their eco-friendly habits using a specific hashtag.
Host a live Q&A session on Instagram about sustainable living.
Start a 'Customer Feature' series showcasing eco-friendly products in real-life settings by customers.
Collaborate with influencers to promote educational posts about sustainability.
Regularly share user-generated content of customers with positive experiences and eco-friendly products.
What to measure:
Engagement rate
Hashtag reach
Follower growth
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Marketing Experiments
For whatever campaign you launch, there will always be room for improvement. It's a good idea to pick a few experiments ideas and launch split tests designed to improve your most important metrics.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different headlines for blog post URLs to see which drives more traffic.
Run a split test on social media post formats to determine which gets better engagement.
Evaluate two different video thumbnails for the sustainability video series to enhance click-through rates.
Test engagement tactics by sending the same post at different times/days to identify optimal performance times.
Experiment with call-to-action phrases in your bios and posts to evaluate which encourages more visitors to check the website.
What to measure:
Traffic conversion rate
Click-through rates
Engagement rates

Middle of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Middle of the Funnel: Consideration
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona is aware of your product but isn't ready to purchase. They are still doing research and comparing your solution against competitors. This is the time to build trust by giving them more information and provide answers to questions they might have. Your main objective at the middle of the funnel is to turn a stranger into a lead.
Returning visitors
Email subscription rate
Lead conversion rate
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the middle of the funnel is typically called a "lead magnet." This is usually a free (or very cheap) piece of content that you'll offer to your marketing persona in exchange for their contact information (e.g. email address or phone number.)
Content ideas:
Webinar: 'The Future of Sustainable Living: Trends and Innovations'
Blog post: 'How to Transform Your Home with Eco-Friendly Products'
Video tutorial: 'Choosing the Right Eco-Friendly Products for Your Lifestyle'
Downloadable guide: 'Your Essential Checklist for Sustainable Shopping'
Customer testimonial videos: 'How Our Products Changed My Eco-Living Journey'
Infographic: 'Understanding the Benefits of Sustainable Choices'
What to measure:
Webinar registrations
Guide downloads
Blog post time on page
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SEO
At the middle of the funnel, your marketing persona is likely specifically searching for information about the solutions to their problem (without looking into any specific product, yet.) These keywords are considered to have "higher intent" (aka, more valuable) than the ones at the top of the funnel, but they will have smaller search volumes.
Keyword ideas:
Benefits of eco-friendly home products
Sustainable living trends 2023
Best eco-friendly brands review
How to shop sustainably
Durability of eco-friendly products
Eco-savvy shopping guide
Tips for a sustainable lifestyle
Customer reviews of eco-friendly products
Sustainable workshops in my area
Top eco-friendly fashion brands
What to measure:
Organic leads generated
Time on site for key pages
Bounce rate on informational content
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Paid Advertising
At the middle of the funnel, your paid advertising campaigns will zoom into people who are already aware of your brand somehow, but haven't yet become leads. "Remarketing" campaigns are great for this (although, you might also sometimes experiment with prospecting campaigns that try to convert strangers to leads right away.)
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Target users interested in sustainability, home decoration, and eco-conscious living.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Focus on users who follow eco-friendly influencers and brands.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: People who visited the 'products' page but haven’t made a purchase.
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Visitors who engaged with our sustainability video content but didn't subscribe or attend events.
[Prospecting] LinkedIn Ads: Professionals involved in environmental initiatives or non-profits.
What to measure:
Cost per lead
Ad engagement rates
Click-through rate on educational content ads
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Social Media
The social media campaigns at this stage of the funnel are designed to get your marketing persona off of the social media channel and into your own platform (e.g. your website), where you can actually capture their contact information.
Social media campaign ideas:
Run an Instagram Live discussing the benefits of eco-friendly products and answer viewer questions.
Share blog posts highlighting customer testimonials focusing on quality and service.
Create engaging polls on Instagram Stories to understand what eco-friendly topics resonate most with followers.
Post behind-the-scenes content showcasing the sourcing and curation process of eco-friendly products.
Host social media contests encouraging followers to share their sustainable living tips with a dedicated hashtag.
What to measure:
Post engagement on testimonials
Increase in followers after polls
Reach of live sessions
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Email Marketing
Email marketing is an often overlooked channel that's critical for the middle of the funnel. Email is a very effective way to reach your marketing persona directly. The most common mistake businesses make is underutilizing email in their marketing (you should think beyond just email newsletters.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Welcome email campaign for new subscribers, introducing them to sustainability topics and offers.
Email sequence inviting subscribers to the 'Future of Sustainable Living' webinar.
Monthly newsletter featuring blog highlights, product releases, and eco-living tips.
Follow-up email post-webinar sharing recorded session and additional resources.
Exclusive promotions for email subscribers to encourage product purchases.
What to measure:
Open rates for welcome emails
Click-through rates for webinars
Unsubscribe rates from newsletters
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Marketing Experiments
For this stage of the funnel, your experiments will be designed to maximize the number of leads you get from your campaigns.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different subject lines for newsletters to improve open rates.
Evaluate landing pages for the webinar by testing copy and visuals against user engagement.
Test various formats for customer testimonials on social media to see which garners more responses.
Run a split test on blog post layouts (image-heavy vs. text-focused) to ascertain preferred user interaction.
Experiment with call-to-action placements in blog posts to increase form submissions.
What to measure:
Conversion rate of landing pages
Engagement time on varying content types
Lead generation rate from A/B tests

Bottom of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Bottom of the Funnel: Purchase
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona already knows your product and is ready to make a purchase decision. They already have all the information they need. Your objective at this stage is to address purchasing objections and convince them to take that last step and become a paying customer.
Conversion rate
Average order value
Customer acquisition cost
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the bottom of the funnel is purposely design to get your marketing persona to purchase. You don't have to be afraid to be sales-y or about talking about your product directly.
Content ideas:
Video testimonial series featuring satisfied customers discussing their eco-friendly purchases and how it impacted their lives.
Blog post: 'The Ultimate Guide to Our Eco-Friendly Product Range: What Sets Us Apart?' detailing product benefits, reviews, and comparisons.
Live Q&A webinar where potential buyers can ask about specific products, returns policies, and customer service inquiries.
Interactive infographic comparing prices and longevity of eco-friendly products against traditional options to address cost concerns.
Email case studies showcasing successful transformations in customers' lifestyles after switching to your eco-friendly products.
Promotional landing page spotlighting a limited-time discount for first-time buyers, emphasizing the loyalty program benefits.
What to measure:
Engagement rate on testimonials
Landing page conversion rate
Time spent viewing key product pages
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona will be searching Google for information about your product (for example: reviews, pricing, features, etc), which is why you'll be optimizing for a lot of "branded" searches — these are searches that include your brand/product name.
Keyword ideas:
Best eco-friendly products to buy
Eco-friendly options comparison
Sustainable products reviews
Eco-friendly product durability
Affordable sustainable living tips
Customer testimonials for eco-friendly products
Where to buy eco-friendly home goods
Loyalty programs for eco-friendly shopping
Product guarantees and customer service
Benefits of our eco-friendly collection
What to measure:
Monthly organic conversions
Ranking for product review keywords
Bounce rate on product pages
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you'll be running conversion campaigns to get purchases. These will be your highest revenue campaigns, where you will be keeping a close eye on your return on ad spend (ROAS.)
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Target users who added products to their cart but did not complete the purchase, encouraging them to finalize the transaction.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Show ads to users who visited the product detail pages but left without purchasing, highlighting discounts or user testimonials.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Promote a campaign that features your best-selling eco-friendly products, targeting lifestyle aesthetics to catch attention.
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Retarget viewers who watched product demonstration videos but didn't make a purchase yet.
[Remarketing] LinkedIn Ads: Reach professionals who exhibited interest in sustainability-related content on your platform.
What to measure:
Cost per acquired customer
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Conversion rate from remarketing campaigns
🚀 Help me execute this paid ads strategy
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Social Media
The bottom of the funnel campaigns will usually only make up a small minority of your social media content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Create posts highlighting customer reviews, especially focusing on quality and satisfaction from previous buyers.
Run a flash sale countdown on social media to build urgency around specific eco-friendly products.
Host a social media event where previous customers share their experiences with the community in real time.
Encourage followers to post their eco-friendly purchases with a unique hashtag, offering an entry into a giveaway as an incentive.
Monitor social media channels for mentions that could indicate customer frustration, and respond promptly to alleviate concerns.
What to measure:
Impressions on review-focused posts
Engagement rates during promotional countdowns
Hashtag reach from user-generated content
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Email Marketing
Email is perfectly tailored to run bottom of the funnel campaigns. After you've provided value to customers via your other email campaigns, you can run sales and promotional campaigns to get conversions.
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Follow-up email campaign to cart abandoners encouraging them to complete their purchase with additional product information.
Offer limited-time discount emails to subscribers on selected eco-friendly items to entice quick purchases.
Post-purchase thank you email that includes links to product care guides, workshops, and additional recommended products.
Exclusive early access email for loyal customers to new product launches or upcoming sales.
Monthly recap emails showcasing new arrivals, top-rated products, and loyalty program benefits to encourage repeat purchases.
What to measure:
Redemption rates on discount emails
Open rates for follow-up campaigns
Repeat purchase rates from thank you emails
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Marketing Experiments
Your bottom-of-the-funnel experiments will have the objective of maximizing your profits. That could be by getting more first-time customers or increasing the amount of money you get from each customer on their first purchase.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different versions of product pages (price display vs. product reviews prominent) to improve conversion rates.
Experiment with checkout flow by testing the impact of a guest checkout option versus requiring account creation.
Run a split test on emails showing various promotional offers (percentage off vs. free shipping) to see which converts better.
Test different formats for customer testimonials on product pages to determine the most persuasive style.
Analyze the effectiveness of live chat support on product pages to reduce purchasing objections and enhance conversions.
What to measure:
Conversion rates for A/B tested pages
Checkout abandonment rate
Customer feedback on chat support efficacy

Retention

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Your Goal at the Retention Stage: Increase Lifetime Value
In the retention stage, your marketing persona is already a customer of your product. Your objective is to increase the value you can extract from them directly by generating repeat purchases, upsells, or reducing churn; or indirectly by improving brand image or promoting referrals.
Customer lifetime value
Repeat purchase rate
Churn rate
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Content Marketing
The objective of the content you'll create at the retention stage is to keep your existing customers happy by providing ongoing value (even after purchasing.)
Content ideas:
Monthly educational workshop on topics related to sustainable living, encouraging customers to continue learning and engaging with the community.
Newsletter featuring success stories from Eco-friendly Ella and Sustainable Sam, highlighting their journeys and eco-friendly swaps they've made.
Blog post: 'Top 5 Tips for Keeping Your Eco-Friendly Products Forever' focusing on maintenance and care, which enhances customer satisfaction.
Social media campaign spotlighting loyalty program benefits and exclusive member-only eco-friendly products.
Interactive content like quizzes or fun challenges related to sustainability that encourages participation and sharing among customers.
What to measure:
Engagement rates on newsletters
Attendance at workshops
Time spent on retention-related content
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, you'll want to make sure your marketing persona can find all the information she needs to get the most of your product (e.g. knowledge base articles), or to solve any problems that may arise (e.g. support/contact page.)
Keyword ideas:
Eco-friendly product maintenance tips
Longevity of eco-friendly products
Sustainability workshops near me
Benefits of loyalty programs for eco-friendly shopping
How to connect with other eco-conscious consumers
Eco-living community support
Customer service excellence in eco-friendly stores
Affordable sustainable lifestyle tips
Where to find sustainably sourced home goods
Best eco-friendly practices for new purchases
What to measure:
Organic traffic to retention content
Keyword rankings for loyalty-related searches
Visitor engagement on eco-friendly maintenance tips
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you might choose to be run campaigns promoting of new features, upgrades, or promotions.
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Target previous customers who engaged with loyalty program promotions but haven't returned for new purchases.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Show ads to past customers promoting upcoming workshops or seasonal collections focused on sustainability.
[Remarketing] Instagram Ads: Promote testimonials from Eco-friendly Ella and Sustainable Sam showcasing their continued support for the brand.
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Target users similar to previous customers with videos about maintaining eco-friendly products and sustainability benefits.
[Remarketing] LinkedIn Ads: Engage professionals who previously showed interest with eco-living events and product updates.
What to measure:
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Click-through rates on retargeting ads
Conversion rates on promotional campaigns
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Social Media
Retention campaigns on social media revolve around building a sense of community with your existing customers. You'll do a lot of monitoring of brand mentions on social media.
Social media campaign ideas:
Run a social media challenge encouraging users to showcase their eco-friendly lifestyles and share their experiences with your products.
Monitor social media for mentions of your brand and ensure engagement and support is provided promptly to foster community trust.
Share user-generated content where customers display their eco-friendly purchases at home, creating a relatable brand image.
Create a series of posts or videos where team members discuss their personal commitments to sustainability and engage customers to join in.
Highlight spotlights on loyal customers who have made an impact, showing the human side of your brand.
What to measure:
Engagement rates on user-generated content
Mentions of the brand in social conversations
Growth of community interactions
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Email Marketing
Retention email campaigns will be a mix of educational emails (onboarding, activation, etc), transactional emails (reports, receipts, reminders, etc), and promotional emails (upgrades, upsells, etc.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Monthly performance report email sent to loyalty program members detailing purchases, rewards earned, and tips for maximizing sustainability.
Follow-up email series celebrating customer anniversaries with personalized offers based on purchase history.
Exclusive invitations to eco-living workshops and events tailored specifically for repeat customers, enhancing their community involvement.
Emails featuring curated collection updates or limited-time offers available only for loyalty program members.
Personalized tips and tricks email series based on previous purchases to help customers make the most of their eco-friendly products.
What to measure:
Open rates on loyalty program emails
Participation rates in workshops via email invitations
Redemption rates on anniversary offers
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Marketing Experiments
Your retention experiments will have the objective of maximizing lifetime value of existing customers.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different loyalty program structures to determine what incentivizes repeat purchases most effectively.
Experiment with the frequency of email communications to find the optimal cadence that maintains interest without causing fatigue.
Test variations in post-purchase follow-up methods (educational vs. promotional) to see which leads to higher repeat purchase rates.
Run split tests on landing pages for eco-living workshops to see which elements yield more audience registrations and involvement.
Evaluate incentive-based prompts at checkout to encourage sign-up for the loyalty program, testing placement and messaging.
What to measure:
Conversion rate on loyalty program sign-ups
Signup engagement rates during A/B testing
Repeat purchase increase from email follow-ups

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