Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) can often be a stressful time of the year, with businesses competing against one another for an influx in sales. One thing we can assure you is due to the unusual year we’ve experienced, consumers are going to be ready to shop online more than ever. So, we’ve compiled a checklist for you to reach your business goals & ensure you hit the ground running and avoid last-minute scrambles and just focus on your campaign.
your BFCM marketing checklist
1.
Partner with a marketing team
We love helping brands reach their business goals and work with you every step of the way as if we are apart of your company. We believe a strategic marketing campaign in line with your business goals is exactly what your business needs to run a successful BFCM campaign, consisting of an emailer, beautifully designed social media graphics, web banners & so much more.
2.
Test & ensure your website can handle a surge in traffic
Find out how your website’s bandwidth can make or break your BFCM sales. Test your site’s bandwidth and get a report.
3.
Use online sales channels
Reap the benefits of multichannel selling. All it takes it identifying which channels are most lucrative towards reaching your business goals, which can be done through a strategic analysis of your brand and determine what channels will resonate most with your target audience.
4.
Keep your competitors top of mind
Keep tabs on your competitors through following them on social media, subscribing to their email list and analysing the campaign they’re using. This can therefore enable you to gather ideas for your own BFCM deals and ensure you have that ‘competitive edge’.
5.
Make Inventory decisions early
Decide which products you want to promote early (especially if you need to order more stock from suppliers before the big day). Remember, your suppliers may be operating at capacity during BFCM season, so don’t leave this until the last minute. When you customer orders on BFCM, they don’t want to wait weeks for their order to arrive – This can also lead to a negative brand identity, which can be avoided so easily if the correct procedures are in place.
6.
Craft an irresistible BFCM Offer
“Promotional messages flood everyone’s inbox during BFCM. With all of this noise, finding ways to stand out is crucial.” We couldn’t agree with this statement more from Shopify. Make your selling pitch/ offer different to everyone else’s, think out of the box. We’ve got some great offer ideas for you awaiting in our next blog.
7.
Start announcing early
Let your audiences know about your upcoming BFCM offers & that you will be partaking in the shopping extravaganza. Early email campaigns for your VIP customers are also a great way to build a relationship with them and thank you them for all the support they’ve given your brand by giving them an extra special offer before everyone else.
8.
Retarget past customers
If you’ve already set up a Facebook Pixel on your store, now’s the time to use it. When you retarget previous visitors, you’ll reach people who may have forgotten about your store and wouldn’t have checked out your sale otherwise.
9.
Abandoned carts
Defined: “Abandonment is an eCommerce term used to describe a visitor on a web page who leaves that page before completing the desired action. Examples of abandonment include shopping cart abandonment, referring to visitors who add items to their online shopping cart, but exit without completing the purchase.”
Before BFCM, ensure you are emailing visitors who abandon their carts. This will happen at a higher volume on BFCM, and an automatically triggered email will help capture some of those abandoned conversions.
10.
Wishlist
Ensure your website has a wishlist option, this will not only add to your email marketing database but will ensure that your audiences who have added to their wishlist will be notified on BFCM that their desired product is on promotion.
11.
Think mobile-first
We can’t stress this enough. With the majority of the population shopping on their mobile devices more than a laptop, there has never been a more important time than now, to ensure your website is mobile-friendly – ensuring ultimate user experience. Test your site.
12.
Assess your check-out experience
Simple & user friendly is key! Go onto your website on your desktop and mobile device and follow the process all the way through to the final checkout stage. Assess the process and make sure it is seamless and easy – If your checkout process is too lengthy & not user friendly, you may be losing potential purchases. This is why setting up abandoned carts is particularly important too & can be the difference between a sale or not.
13.
Offer Hassle-Free Returns
Ensure that your returns policy on your website is clear, fair, and well-communicated. We’ve got e-commerce clients and a free return can often be the difference between an on-the-fence customer to convincing them to make the purchase. Especially if they’re first time buyers.
14.
Google Analytics
Knowledge is power and understanding how your customer’s shop on your online store is crucial knowledge. Google Analytics, is a tool that provides valuable insights and can assist you in achieving your business strategy. We also recommend to set up Google Ads, to ensure your business reaches the right audiences.
Partner with our team of marketing experts to create a winner BFCM campaign.
Is your brand ready to take on the excitement of Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) this year? Get in touch, we’d love to help your brand achieve its marketing goals.