This is my 4th attempt at writing a post about abandoned cart automation, after disappearing down a couple of a rabbit trails into the world of webhooks and APIs and pseudo-learning why some plugins don’t/can’t integrate easily with others.
(Think of camping overnight to buy Queen tickets only to be the first one told that tickets are “sold out” and then scrambling to find a sympathetic scalper over the next few days which of course you can’t because you already faked a “sick” school day to spend it in the Ticketmaster lineup so coming up with more excuses for an otherwise compliant child to leave the house is always a challenge and besides no one is willing to believe that you’re sick two days in a row especially on exam day and you already spent your allowance on the overnight sleeping bag, three 7-11 hoagies, and 5 hot chocolates and you can’t convince anyone else to buy them for you because none of your high school friends could care less about Queen or risk getting caught buying scalped tickets and you’re not supposed to go to the concert anyway so it’s not like you can ask any grown-ups to help you let alone advance your next month’s allowance. Searching for the quintessential plugin connection was kinda like that.)
Also, this post is coming from someone whose primary modus operandi is to find sustainable no-cost, user-friendly plugin solutions for common marketing automations.
Were I a little more eager to open the wallet, I’d likely be writing from a different perspective. As it is, the Scot in me is wired to search hill and dale for the least costly and most viable solution. That’s just the way it is.
TLDR
There are many ways to automate an abandoned cart email series but this post covers the easiest way I know for doing that, using specific plugins (if you’re not using FluentCRM, FluentForms, SureTriggers, or SureCart, this info may not be helpful).
I’ve mucked about with seven (7!) different integration plugins to do one 2-part thing:
- Capture the email from a SureCart checkout form as soon as it’s entered (regardless of whether the checkout is completed)
- Create or update a new contact from that email and assign a tag to them
That tag is used as a FluentCRM automation trigger to follow-up with people who did NOT complete the checkout process.
Prior to this updated post, none of the 7 plugins could accommodate cart abandonment automation with FluentCRM (more on that later). However, ONE plugin has since positioned themselves as the forerunner when it comes to integrating FluentCRM with SureCart’s abandoned cart checkout process.
Spoiler Alert
On May 1, 2024, I was tickled beyond measure to learn that SureTriggers has finally added the following trigger options:
- Abandoned Checkout Created
- Abandoned Checkout Recovered
[ Insert fireworks! ]
This means that I now have the option of using the native abandoned cart functionality of my ecommerce plugin, SureCart, OR I can create a FluentCRM automation that allows me to follow-up with people (who are also contacts) on my own terms.
So until this functionality is available directly via FluentCRM, SureTriggers is my go-to middleware solution.
SureCart Shortcomings
In my WordPress world, I strive to achieve 100% control over automation solutions and customer engagement. While I’m thankful for SureCart’s default 3-email approach, I want more.
I’ll admit that I don’t understand the first thing behind what makes these kind of connections work (not on my list of things to learn). I’m just a simpleton looking for a simple fix to a common problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that my ecommerce plugin recognizes an abandoned cart and gives me 3 emails to try to win people back. But I keep coming back to: What if 3 emails aren’t enough? What if I want to segment these contacts? Because goodness knows, SureCart isn’t a marketing plugin. Nor is it intended to be used as an engagement tool.
I get that a 3-part email series to follow-up with fickle contacts is the de facto standard according to marketing heavy-hitters, Rejoiner and ConversionXL.
But the fatalist in me knows that there’s a strong possibility that tire kickers will be lost to the digital hinterland if I can’t capture their email or segment them. Hence the desire to automate engagement with them on my terms.
Shortcomings of FluentCRM’s Integration with SureCart
I have a tendency to make assumptions. About movie endings, dessert choices, which child will be the first to send my Mother’s Day card, and even work-related things like expecting my plugins to do basic math. Or, in this case, talk to other plugins.
Knowing what I want to do (create a trigger from an incomplete checkout experience and initiate an email campaign), and knowing that the WordPress repository boasts a plethora of plugins for every scenario under the sun, I naturally assumed that the solution would be a walk in the park.
Especially from my preferred line-up of plugins. And especially since one of my plugins already has native abandoned cart functionality. Which, to me, sets the stage for even more glorious feats of plugin integration.
You know what they say about assumptions…
I love using SureCart. I’m not a big box store so it suits my purposes. And I’ve yet to work with a client with a big box inventory so, so far, everyone has been perfectly happy with it.
I also love using FluentCRM. The licensed version makes it one of the most intuitive CRMs out there. And I trust the developers to maintain and improve it. Plus its sister plugin, FluentForms runs all of my engagement forms and maps well with FluentCRM. These are keepers.
And, I love that SureCart and FluentCRM talk to each other with relative ease.
But despite their individual and robust feature sets, the integration between them results in a limited number of automation triggers: New Order Success and Revoked Order.
Yep, two.
So if I want to maintain contact with people who don’t complete the checkout process, or segment them in some way, those options aren’t available.
Hence the need to look for a solution to connect these two plugins. That’s where the rabbit trail started (researching other high profile plugins that notably don’t measure up to SureTriggers).
Shortcomings of SureTrigger’s Integration with SureCart and FluentCRM
I’m partial to the plugins that I use, with a preference for a family of addons developed by someone with a solid reputation for improving and maintaining them. It typically means better compatibility and fewer conflicts within the whole plugin ecosystem. And who doesn’t want that?
SureTriggers was my first choice to connect my ecommerce plugin (SureCart) with my CRM (FluentCRM) because I love the idea that it’s a non-techy SAAS application (not hosted on my server), making it an agile solution in terms of processing and budget. Best of both worlds.
Having a go-to integration solution is huge. Even though SureCart gives me the option of using its built-in abandoned cart follow-up emails, I’m over the moon that SureTriggers’ integration with FluentCRM allows me to automate my own follow-up experience.
Shortcomings of 6 Other Plugin Integrations with SureCart
Although now moot, my rabbit trail had me testing 6 leading plugins for abandoned cart follow-up. If I were a more diplomatic sort I might have deleted this part, but I feel that it’s important to show how competitive options can sometimes fall short.
I started with Uncanny Automator because I’ve used it in the past and know how robust and user-friendly it is. But despite having a decent amount of trigger options, there’s still no free or paid options for incomplete purchases.
WP Webhooks Automator offers a single trigger: ‘Product Purchased.’
AutomatorWP offers two triggers: “Purchases A Product” or “Completes A Purchase.”
Integrately has a greater selection of triggers but only for successful purchases.
Zapier has a decent list of triggers but none are associated with an abandoned cart. The “Order Payment Failed” isn’t helpful in the event that someone simply clicks off of the checkout page so for me, this isn’t a fully viable solution for what I want to do. Also, the only way to connect with FluentCRM is via webhook, so adding a tag requires work (I know what you’re thinking).
WP Fusion’s paid Abandoned Cart addon tracks abandoned carts with FluentCRM but only from integrations with WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, LifterLMS, or MemberPress.
For what it’s worth, WP Fusion integrates with individual SureCart products as “Remove tags in FluentCRM.” However, it doesn’t work in a FluentCRM automation since the only SureCart triggers are still only for a successful or revoked sale. When no sale happens, removing a tag is irrelevant.
The Best Abandoned Cart Automation Solution
In the effort to update this post with the revelation that SureTriggers has become a game-changer for my automated email marketing efforts, I could have whittled down much more of the content than I did. But the prevailing intent is as much about the lack of support from other leading middleware plugins as it is about finding the one needle in the haystack that met my needs.
I can’t say enough good things about the dev teams behind WP Ninja products and the SureCart team. I’ve been around WordPress long enough to know that, when you find a valuable plugin backed by a reliable developer, you build your tech stack around THAT.
And lesson learned by me: If a solution doesn’t exist, premier developers are likely already working on it and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to fruition.
For everyone else, hang in there, maybe the competition is working on something too.
