Thank you page on your eCommerce store can increase more traffic and thus more sales. In fact, “thank you” page is a critical component of an eCommerce checkout process. The fact is that most eCommerce stores waste this opportunity.
Most marketers think that the eCommerce “thank you” page is the end of the sales funnel. That’s somewhat true. When customers reaches your “thank you” page, it means that they trust you with their money.
Importance of the Thank You Page
A thank you page generally comes after the visitors on your website has submitted some type of information. They may be made a purchase on your website, or they filled out a contact form or signed up for a newsletter. There is a benefit of having a thank you page and it is:
- You can actually track how many times thank you page loads and it helps you to track conversions as well. How many people actually filled out that form or purchased or signed up for newsletter. So it’s a great way for analytics purposes of your eCommerce store.
- It also helps the client to let confirm that those information was submitted successfully.
So, this is why when a client wants the visitor to submit some type of information, it will always include a thank you page, so they can know that everything went through successfully.
And finally, a thank you page is one last chance to get the visitors on to your social media pages, or ask them to sign up for an additional newsletter or whatever it may be. It gives them more information of where to go next.
That’s why a thank you page is very important.
What to Put on Your Thank You Page
While some thank you pages are seen by new subscribers, and others are seen by new or returning customers, every thank you page must have these essential elements: a confirmation message, a clear call-to-action (CTA), and specific instructions on what to do next steps.
Let’s go deep….
1. Confirmation Message
Confirmation message in your thank you page is very important for a good user experience. It also indicates that the user’s action has done successfully.
A simple, “Thank you for subscribing!” or “Thanks for your Order” or “Your order is complete!” is good enough. Just make it clear what happened right now and what to do next.
2. Call-to-action (CTA)
Once you confirmed them that they have successfully completed the action, now it’s time to take them to the next level by adding a call-to-action (CTA).
A clear CTA will move the visitors to the sales process. The CTA will also encourage them to take an action such as subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on social media, or check out some of your other products or related content.
Here are some great call to action examples:
Ask visitors to:
- White-list your email address
- Share on social media
- Register for a webinar or event
- Purchase a low-dollar offer
- Purchase a related product
- Create an account
- Fill out a survey
3. Specific Instructions on What to do Next Steps
The last elements of your thank you page is the specific instructions on what to do next.
You already have a call-to-action that will move visitors to the next step. But, in order to take the visitors to the actual place you’ll need to give specific instructions about what they should do and how to do that.
For example, if your call-to-action is to subscribe to the newsletter, you could include a specific instructions or screenshots of how to do that.
Or, if you want new subscribers to sign up for your newsletter, you could tell them to “Put your email below to subscribe”.
Now, you understand the essential elements of what a thank you page should contain, let’s look at some specific tactics that you can use to generate more revenue from this page.
1) Ask for Referrals with thank you page
According to a survey by Alignable, 85% of small business owners said they depend on word-of-mouth as a key influencer to get more local clients.
So, there is no denying how powerful the referrals are!
Referrals can be described as a current customer sending another person in your direction. Many consider it the best way to grow online business.
Asking for a referral too early in a relationship sends the wrong message. It only increases the chances of souring the relationship.
At the beginning of any customer relationship you should only focus on getting feedback to see if your customers are happy and even attempt to increase your workload. But as the relationship goes on, they’ll begin to trust you and learn what you’re capable of. At this point you can comfortably to ask for a referral.
Here are some common cues which suggest it’s time to ask for referral:
- You’ve hit a significant milestone in the relationship
- Your customer is always praising your store
- They’ve made it clear they’re delighted with your store’s output
2) Ask for Social Shares
Don’t ask your customers directly to follow you on social media. Instead, ask them to share their purchase experience on social media.
Give them a few buttons to quickly share to whichever social networks your customers prefer. This gives them an opportunity to show off to their friends about their recent purchase.
According to The Research, there are five key reasons why people share:
- 49 percent share to bring value, entertainment and information to others
- 68 percent share to define themselves to others
- 78 percent share to build relationships and connect with people they ordinarily wouldn’t
- 69 percent share information because it makes them feel self-fulfilled and involved in the world
- 84 percent share to support causes or issue they care about
When your customers share their purchases experience, you get free word-of-mouth exposure – the best kind of advertising.
3) Offer a Coupon or Discount
Coupons and discount are an enormous part of the modern shopping experience. But it’s important to know when to offer.
“Thank you” page is an excellent place to offer coupons because you know the viewer is willing to buy. The customer just needs a reason to become a repeat buyer.
For best results, try to connect the coupon to their purchase — you can also offer a discount on related products (products in the same category). A general coupon that works across your entire products catalog can also be effective.
You can also tie your coupon to a time limit to encourage your customers to take action quickly.
All in all, a coupon and discount is an excellent way to convince visitor who has already spent money at your store to spend a bit more.
4) Up-sell Additional Products
A customer completed a purchase doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to make another purchase.
Up-selling is an important part of any eCommerce marketing strategy. In 2006, Amazon reported that 35% of its revenues were a direct result of its cross sales and up-sells.
“Thank you” page is the right place to offer additional products because you have your customer’s attention. You should display products that relate to your customer’s recent purchase, but how you do that will depend on your eCommerce platform and what plugins and themes you are using.
5) Follow up With a Thank you Email
It is true, many of your customers will close their browser tab once they see “thank you for your purchase” message. According to econsultancy, most people only read about 20% of the pages they view and that’s usually the headline.
So it’s smart to send a follow up post-purchase email. Post-purchase emails are triggered when all products in an order are paid and fulfilled. This means there will be a delay between the receipt email and the post-purchase email.
You can use any of the tactics like coupons or discount, social sharing buttons, surveys, resources, etc. This creates another opportunity for your customers to engage with your brand and increase more sales.
Some Examples of Thank You Page
1. Unbounce
Look at the landing pages of unbounce which will take you to their thank you page:
Thank you page is Download the Ebook Here (PDF)
“Thanks for downloading – now put it to good use”
2. HubSpot
HubSpot nails this thank you page by taking an unconventional approach to look after. Rather than trying to move the visitor down the funnel, they use their next step to encourage visitor to spread the word, building awareness and expanding their reach.
3. RoboForm
Have a look at the thank you page of RoboForm, it shown to customers that have just upgraded their software. In addition to the referral program, they also links their social media pages to encourage their customer to further engage with their brand.
Generate More Sales With Thank you Page
We’ve gone over with some few ways to squeeze more value out of your “thank you” pages, but it’s important not to use them all on the same page.
If you give your customers more options to consider, you’ll overwhelm them. They’re more likely to follow your instructions if you give them fewer options.
Don’t overwhelm your new subscriber with requests, instead, focus on one best practice, test it, and iterate as needed.