3 Exciting Things We Learned at the 2015 Bronto Summit

Winter in New York hasn’t been particularly kind this year but, after a couple of trips to the tropical, sandy beaches of Miami, Spring doesn’t feel so far out of reach. Last week, Katie and I took the opportunity to travel back to Magic City for the highly anticipated 2015 Bronto Summit.

Bronto kicked off the festivities with its first ever Partner Day, where business development guru Ryan Murden discussed the company’s efforts and exciting new objectives in the commerce marketing sphere. In addition, we had the opportunity to turn the tables and put clients behind the mic during a client panel featuring big name brands including Envelopes.com, Gander Mountain and Pool Supply World.

Because I don’t want to make you jealous, I won’t tell you about the balmy weather, breathtaking sunsets, beach parties and dazzling ocean views. Instead, I’d like to fill you in on a few of the most buzzed about topics from last week’s sessions, keynote addresses and major moments.

Bronto Clients are Happy People

Conferences are almost always brimming with excited visionaries looking to share and gain industry wisdom, but the Bronto summit was especially positive.

CEO Joe Colopy and COO Chaz Felix took plenty of time to mingle with attendees and immerse themselves in the conversation. This sort of approachability and transparency is why we feel Bronto clients are among the happiest in the industry. (Not to mention, they hosted a 5K two mornings in a row. So, as an avid runner, I may be a little biased.)

Cart Recovery is a Hot Topic

Shopping cart abandonment is a challenge facing nearly every ecommerce business on the web. However, at the summit we heard from some creative marketers who are overtaking this hurdle and increasing conversion. During last week’s summit, there were plenty of musings around what conference attendees referred to as the “trifecta of commerce email marketing”:

• Welcome series

• Cart recovery reminders

• Post-purchase follow-ups

Of course, while the welcome and post-purchase emails are crucial to customer loyalty, the cart recovery message can make or break your cart abandonment rate. We’re excited by the strides marketers are making in these efforts.

Data is Everywhere

When Gilt Groupe founder and strategic advisor, Alexis Maybank, took the stage to share the company’s story and recent successes, she cited third-party data and internal purchase behavior data as two of their most critical drivers. By integrating the two types of data, the brand has excelled in its personalization efforts and become a leader in online shopping and flash sales.

But Gilt Groupe isn’t the only TowerData and Bronto client successfully converting customers through personalization and targeted content. Bonobos.com‘s recent shopping guide campaign earned the company an open rate 50% higher than earlier emails, double the revenue of any previous campaign and the Golden Bronto Award for Most Successful Campaign.

If you missed this year’s Bronto Summit, don’t worry! Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on themes discussed at this year’s conference, including tips for a successful cart recovery campaign and how to best apply customer data.

Speaking of data-when was the last time you exercised a little database hygiene? Get a head start on your Spring cleaning with a free email validation report!