How To Decide Which Messenger Marketing Platform is Right For Your Store
What percentage of your traffic isn’t completing their purchase? Bet you wish it were lower.
Messenger Marketing is the (not so secret) secret to maximizing eCommerce conversion rates…
The painful reality is that the average eCommerce store has a 69.57% cart abandonment rate.
To put it into perspective, if you were a brick-and-mortar store, almost 70% of your customers reach the front of the line, full carts and wallets in hand… only to walk out before paying.
But why do they leave?
Well, 58.06% of US consumers say it’s because they’re either “not ready to buy” or “just browsing”.
Now, no one’s keeping the lights on just for browsers. If you’re spending the money getting in front of them, you need them to buy.
And that’s where the power of Messenger Marketing comes in.
Messenger Marketing platforms like Recart, Octane AI, ShopMessage (and more) allow you to catch customers who would have stopped browsing and bring them back to the store by engaging with them on Facebook Messenger and sending them fast, personalized responses based on their browsing activity and questions.
And with 80% of shoppers revealing they’re more likely to buy from a company that provides a personalized experience… it’s also the perfect way to connect with new visitors to your site or socials.
So next time someone comments on your post clicks on your ad, visits your site, or abandons their cart… you can open up an automated Messenger conversation to engage them with your brand and convert them into paying customers.
How to Choose the Right Messenger Marketing Platform
If you’re a relatively small store, chances are you won’t need a feature-heavy platform. Reducing cart abandonment might be your primary goal. In that case, your best bet is a streamlined Messenger Marketing-only platform suitable for this funnel stage.
But if you’re looking for rapid growth and have the resources, opt for a feature-heavy platform that can grow with you. The time you invest in setting it up will be worth it in the long run.
And for enterprise solutions, you will want the tools that cater to the big brands.
It’s also worth noting that there is a sort of lock-in cost with Messenger Marketing. The platform you choose runs the relationship with all the users under your control, and switching platforms can be tricky because it may mean starting your user count back at 0. Imagine if that’s how switching email service providers worked… That said, there are ways to maintain your user base when migrating. I’m unsure exactly how it works; I know it’s tricky.
The Best Messenger Marketing Tools for eCommerce
- Recart - Messenger marketing is one of the first platforms in the Shopify app ecosystem, from a new store to an established brand.
- Octane AI - Messenger and SMS marketing for mid-market and enterprise merchants, but also with entry-level plans.
- ShopMessage - Messenger marketing with solid pop-up forms for growing merchants.
- FlashChat - Messenger marketing primarily focused on abandoned carts but with new features rolling out regularly.
- Maxwell - Messenger and Whatsapp marketing is primarily for smaller merchants.
- ManyChat - Messenger and SMS marketing for mid-market and enterprise merchants.
- jumper.ai - Messenger and Chatbot marketing for established, social-heavy merchants looking to grow.
Recart
Recart was first-to-market out of all Messenger Marketing tools, and they’re still the most popular platform used by Shopify stores.
Features
- Messenger
- Inbuilt quiz tool
- Template library
- Integrate with Click to Messenger and sponsor message campaigns
- Custom flows and automation
- Dynamic discount codes
- Smart pop-up tool for collecting Messenger subscribers on-site
Recart’s most unique feature is its built-in quiz tool, which allows you to drive traffic and drastically increase engagement and conversions.
Their data shows that most merchants can expect an average 8-14% increase in revenue once they’ve set up and optimized their campaigns, which translates to an ROI between 25 and 200x the cost of the software.
The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes building campaigns quick and easy. The platform’s template library is more advanced than any other.
Recart can cater to brands of any size, making them ideal for fast-growing brands in the early stages. Their original tool specialized specifically in solving abandoned cart issues. Since then, they’ve expanded the features to do almost everything you need to do in Messenger Marketing for eCommerce, including a nifty trick for moving users from Instagram to Facebook Messenger. So, if you’re looking to boost engagement and reduce churn, Recart is a serious contender.
Pricing
The price is based on the revenue tracked through their tool. It starts at $29/month for $1000 in tracked sales and goes up from there.
For larger merchants, the fixed fee structure starts at $499, at which point they guarantee an 8x ROI.
Try Recart.
Octane AI
Dedicated specifically to integrate with Shopify and Shopify Plus, Octane AI is a heavy-hitter if you want to improve engagement, retention, and conversions.
Features
- Messenger & SMS
- Advanced Analytics
- AI/chatbot responses
- Ad integrations
- Website pop-ups
- Venture-backed startup
Octane has great functionality, including a comment-response bot that allows anyone commenting on your posts to opt-in to Messenger.
They currently claim to have the most eCommerce-specific flows on any Messenger platform. Like a flow or template in Klaviyo, these flows make it easy and foolproof to launch a new sequence and start winning more customers.
Flows
- Abandon cart
- Browse abandonment
- Welcome series
- Win-backs
- Post-Purchase flows
Plus, you can create your own flows to use directly in Messenger (and SMS) and the on-site Messenger widget.
Their integrated AI works to identify common consumer questions and offer the most relevant answers in real time. This creates a scalable conversational marketing strategy and mitigates many customer service inquiries.
If you’re considering adding SMS to your marketing strategy, Octane is a good choice. Messenger and SMS marketing on the same platform allows for better cross-channel communication.
Their advanced analytics allows you to track revenue results in more detail, including repeat purchases and refer-a-friend campaigns.
Because of their platform’s robustness, you need a dedicated marketer working on weekly and even daily campaigns to get the maximum value with Octane.
Price
Starting at $9/month with a 14-day free trial.
Prices go up based on features and the number of monthly active users, which means you won’t be billed for users who haven’t received or sent a message within the last 30 days.
If you make over $100k/year, you may want to upgrade to the pro plan for additional functionality, including SMS and custom flows.
Try Octane.
ShopMessage
ShopMessage is a long-standing powerhouse for Messenger Marketing, geared towards the more established merchants looking for robust campaigns and automation from the start of the customer journey to the end (hopefully there is no end, am I right?).
They offer an easy way to start conversations with prospective customers and keep them engaged throughout the customer journey.
And they have a 400% ROI guarantee.
Features
- Messenger
- SmartSense technology
- Dynamic discount codes
- Custom sales offer
- Easy-to-understand analytics
- Direct integration with Facebook Ads
- 4x ROI guarantee
ShopMessage offers what they’ve dubbed “SmartSense” technology. This is a fantastic tool that allows you to set your website pop-ups to only trigger when your visitors are already logged into Facebook. This bypasses the risk of losing them down a Facebook rabbit hole that would normally take them away from your site.
Their powerful segmentation tool allows you to deliver personalized messages for every stage of your customer’s journey, seamlessly turning unaware customers into loyal, repeat buyers.
ShopMessage can be used by any size merchant, but we recommend it for growing brands. Its retention value makes it more suitable for a store looking to reduce customer churn and make loyalty a key part of its marketing strategy.
If you have a smaller store or don’t have the resources or time to tie your Messenger Marketing channel to your wider marketing strategy, this tool probably isn’t for you.
Price
ShopMessage offers an impressive 4x ROI guarantee on their software and a generous 30-day free trial to get started.
After the trial period ends, prices start at $9/month for up to 250 recipients, with $25 added for every 1,000 additional recipients.
Try ShopMessage.
Flashchat
Flashchat is a strong competitor at the intersection of reducing cart abandonment and using Messenger Marketing to drive revenue growth.
Features
- Winback campaign tool
- Specialists in abandoned cart automation
- Shipment tracking and updates
- Mass conversational campaigns
The app is easy to jump into if you start with Messenger Marketing.
They claim to increase sales by as much as 10% in the first few months, with most of that growth coming from converting lost sales abandoned during the checkout phase of a customer order and converting higher percentages of customers in Facebook Messenger than email or traditional retargeting campaigns.
Their “win back” campaign tool allows you to send customized messages to customers throughout their buying journey, creating additional opportunities for them to make a new purchase.
The mass conservational campaigns also allow you to broadcast non-promotional content to your opted-in messenger list, such as recent blog posts and company updates.
Flashchat is best for eCommerce merchants who don’t have time for intricate “bot building” or very elaborate automation sequences. Larger stores will probably need a more robust platform.
It’s designed to get quick wins from Messenger Marketing, making it ideal if you’re starting.
Pricing
Flashchat starts at $9/month, with your first 2 months fixed at $9/month regardless of usage. The price goes up based on a successful automated Messenger conversation. This means you pay when a sale is made directly, for example, if you make a sale from an automated abandoned cart sequence without human input on your end.
This makes it tough to calculate how much you’re likely to spend each month until you establish a baseline from which to work.
Try Flashchat.
Maxwell
Maxwell is a (currently) free Messenger and Whatsapp marketing tool that offers both live chat and automation options.
Features
- Messenger & Whatsapp
- Abandoned cart
- Shipping notifications
- Live chat
Maxwell’s most important feature is their Messenger abandoned cart sequence, which, according to them, increases your overall conversion rate by between 7% and 14%.
Aside from the standard plan being free, Maxwell’s biggest differentiator is their WhatsApp tool. Usually, this function is only available on larger platforms, making Maxwell a fantastic low-commitment option for merchants to try out WhatsApp and Messenger for the first time. Still, it is not ideal for larger merchants or brands wanting to do more chatbots or automation with their Messenger marketing.
That being said, they are constantly building out new features to compete.
Pricing
This is a free tool with an optional premium membership with additional features starting at $4.99/month. It’s low barrier to entry makes it the perfect platform for the new or small store to start out with Messenger marketing.
Try Maxwell.
ManyChat
ManyChat was one of the first Messenger marketing tools. However, it only recently started focusing on eCommerce.
This means that, for the moment, their functionality is behind that of Octane, Recart, and ShopMessage.
That’s no reason to discount them, though. The speed at which they’re developing new features means they are likely to become a major player in not just eCommerce but conversational commerce very quickly.
Features
- Abandoned cart
- Discount codes
- Messenger
- SMS
ManyChat’s flow builder is one of the best-designed builders, making set-up and segmentation incredibly easy.
As the original chatbot builder, ManyChat allows you to create detailed, choose-your-own-adventure-style flows. If increasing customer engagement and satisfaction is a major area you want to focus on right now, ManyChat is your solution.
Pricing
A limited free option is available with paid plans starting at a reasonable $10/month and custom pricing for larger merchants. ManyChat is a good option if you want a tool that grows with you.
Try ManyChat.
jumper.ai
What we love most about Jumper.AI is the ability to sell and check out customers directly through Messenger and website chatbots.
Features
- Messenger
- Chatbot
- Abandoned cart
With their main focus on helping you make sales, they also allow you to create orders for your customers based on items you think they’d like. Then, send a link via Messenger directly to the checkout page with an added coupon code to encourage customers to buy.
These are powerful features, but to make the most of the platform, you must make significant adjustments to everything from your advertising strategy to your customer service offering.
Therefore, we recommend this for social-centric merchants with the resources to implement and manage the platform.
Pricing
Jumper.ai offers a free (limited) tool, but plans start at $200/month to access its most powerful features. That makes it most suitable for established and growth-stage, social-centric brands that want to focus more on social and conversational commerce to grow their stores.
Try Jumper.ai.
Next Steps
Now that you know the nuances of each platform, pick two or maybe three that closely align with your store and stage of business and investigate them more closely.
The larger your store, the more visitors and daily customers you should have, the more time you should spend vetting platforms. If you’re getting your store off the ground, choose quickly, and you probably won’t go wrong. Suppose you need robust functionality and deep integrations by adding Messenger. In that case, you will (slightly) disrupt your business processes, vet the more robust tools in the space, and ensure they will work with your existing systems.
If you’re new to Messenger Marketing… there is a learning curve, but you will find it fairly similar to email, with just a little more conversation. Rely heavily on the templates; you’ll soon have the data and confidence to introduce your ideas.
After installing a tool, you must set up as many ways as possible to get users to opt in. Primarily those are:
- Pop-up checkboxes or “Send to Messenger” buttons
- Checkboxes added to product detail pages, cart pages, and checkout pages
- Post-purchase page “Send to Messenger” as well as email sequences asking for the opt-in
- Ad campaigns and on-channel engagement strategies that drive subscribers
- QR codes in your store
- Begging your friends to sign up
(OK, the last two are a little unlikely)
Once the list grows, examine how people are engaging and ensure that those abandoned cart sequences are firing.
Connect your Messenger channel with your helpdesk, like a Gorgias or Re: Amaze, to ensure any responses get sent to your customer service team.
From there, it should be smooth sailing, with an extra 3%-5%+ in total revenue, all from this one channel.
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