Now that the entire Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend is digital, the online shopping space will not only be home to the existing eCommerce brands, but also the brick-and-mortar retailers who are now focusing on increasing their online presence.
Here are some BFCM strategies to help you set your brand apart from competitors, and provide a positive shopping experience for your customers:
- Send a gift guide:
Some consumers go into Black Friday with a shopping list already in mind, but others are simply looking for good deals for holiday gifts. Make their shopping experience easier by curating gift guides to inspire them with gift ideas. Use this opportunity to segment your products for different customers and tailor your recommendations to them.In addition to featuring these gift guides on your website, email them to your customers a week in advance so you stay top of mind.
- Launch a countdown campaign:A strong buzz-building campaign can bring existing and potential customers to your online store. Use your social media and newsletter platforms to share sneak peeks of your deals, host a countdown, and drive newsletter signups.
- Engage with influencers:Reach out to influencers months in advance of BFCM to start building brand awareness. As BFCM weekend approaches, leverage your partnerships to boost word of mouth about your upcoming promotions.
Don’t overlook the effectiveness of micro-influencers. Micro-influencers often have smaller yet highly engaged audiences. It’s always better to have less exposure with more engagement than to have millions of followers with no conversion (plus, it’s often better for your budget). - Host all your deals on a BFCM-dedicated landing page:Landing pages can have multiple purposes when it comes to Black Friday. When used properly, a landing page can drive traffic, increase sales, boost brand awareness, and improve the customer experience.Prior to the BFCM weekend, use a landing page to build interest for your deals. Your call-to-action for this landing page should be to sign up for your email newsletters. Then, you can include them in all of your email marketing.
Level up this strategy by creating multiple landing pages that are targeted to different audiences, thereby increasing conversion.
- Segment your emails for BFCM customers:Your customers can be divided into four categories:
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- Loyal Customers: As previously mentioned, BFCM is a great time to treat your existing customers like VIPs. They may already be planning to purchase, but giving them an extra discount or gift shows that you value them and will encourage them to stay loyal to your brand.
- Haven’t Purchased: If you have customers that have visited your website or opened your emails but haven’t purchased, BFCM is the perfect time to convert them. Send them an email with your most popular products or if you have the data, remind them of the products that they’ve recently viewed or left in their abandoned cart.
- BFCM Shoppers: these consumers were your customers last Black Friday, potentially gift shoppers. Even if they haven’t purchased since last year, don’t get discouraged. Use this opportunity to re-engage them with an email workflow to remind them that they shopped with you before and send them product recommendations based on their last year’s purchase.Segment this group by setting their last purchase dates as last year’s BFCM weekend: November 29 to December 2, or whenever you ended your BFCM deals.
- Bargain Hunters: these customers are self-explanatory. They’re looking for the best deals, and the best way to acquire them as customers is by sending them an email with your best promotions.
