Posted on 6 Dec 2022
There’s one KPI that is better than all the others for ecommerce.
Subscription to Conversion Rate.
It’s not just about the number of newsletter subscribers you get, it’s about the amount of subscribers that convert.
This one KPI becomes the flywheel of massive ecommerce growth.
What is the subscription to conversion rate?
This is the rate of people that sign up for a discount to your newsletter and the percentage of those that complete a purchase.
Example: 100 people subscribe for their 15% off and 10 people purchase, your subscription to conversion rate is 10%.
How do you track subscription to conversion rate?
The best way to track this KPI is by using unique coupon codes, comparing emails or phone numbers from signup to orders, or a combination of all three.
Not all software is created equal when it comes to tracking these elements.
In fact a lot of software overestimate their attribution.
You need to be able to use unique coupon codes in your signup forms.
Where should you track subscription to conversion rate?
You should track subscription to conversion rate across your traffic sources, your individual forms, and by UTM. For your ads, you’ll look to track by Campaign, Ad Set, and Ad.
This one KPI is the leading marker for understanding the quality of the audience that you’re driving and the steps you need to improve the journey for those that subscribe.
Why is the Subscription to Conversion KPI so important?
Signing up for a discount code is a lead indicator in making a purchase from a store. In fact, looking at data we know that 90% of all conversions happen within just a few days of subscribing to a newsletter for a discount.
With these high intent customers, that are knowingly and willingly considering a purchase and more motivated by looking to take advantage of a coupon code to complete it.
If we can’t convert them, it’s unlikely we’ll have a good conversion rate overall.
What is the best way to improve your subscription to conversion rate?
Creating a great customer journey requires you to learn about your customers. To do this effectively we advise using multi-step sign up forms with data collection to better understand your customers intent.
We recommend asking between 3-5 questions relevant to the customer journey.
Who someone is shopping for?
What they are most interested in?
What matters most to them in the items?
What is their current experience with the products?
When are they looking to make a purchase?
More data, better decisions, easy campaign creation.
We’ve built software that is squarely aimed at solving these problems.
Step 1: Collect more data during signup
Stop trading a discount code for just an email and/or a phone number. Instead, look to ask followup questions that are relevant to the customer journey to better understand how to meet the customer’s needs and provide information necessary for them to make a buying decision.
Step 2: Understand what data points are leading to conversion
Knowing what data point combinations lead to conversion can help you identify potential gaps in your customer journey. The only way to identify these gaps is to look to data to identify what answers trigger the need for a more detailed customer journey.
Step 3: Identify quick wins through campaigns
The best way to drive increased performance is to create email campaigns that talk directly to the subscribers who didn’t purchase. We highlight potential campaigns that we believe have the most upside which allow internal teams to customize those emails to increase conversions.
Step 4: Test quick win campaigns for content breakthroughs
Test and iterate on content ideas to your segments. Micro test copy, subject lines, and other email elements via weekly campaigns to your segments.
Step 5: Integrate winning campaigns into personalized welcome flows
Automate what works.
When you land on a winning combination of improvement, work towards creating improved welcome flows incorporating your learnings to drive consistent increases in conversion rates from your subscribers.
From here you should have a steady stream of increased revenue by personalizing your welcome flows on autopilot from your individual email testing.
Step 6: Repeat until subscription to conversion rate increases
Until you hit 100% conversion rate, always be testing and optimizing via your communication channels and look to also incorporate your winning creatives and content back onto your website.
Conclusion
Product market fit means that you’re driving quality traffic that converts, start by focusing on those that are the highest intent to convert and use your learnings from a captive audience to improve the overall customer journey for all your visitors.
Use multiple sign up forms to maximize your opportunities for conversion.
Focus on getting product in hands at all possible costs.
