As eCommerce unlocks immense opportunities during ‘BFCM,’ the internet becomes a battlefield for winners and losers. Customers sit back and browse the best Black Friday & Cyber Monday ‘BFCM’ deals as promotional emails flood their inboxes.
Each year, e-merchants devise means to cut advertisement costs without offering less to their customers. But this time round, there is much to evaluate than just advertising costs.
As the previous guns targeted customer experience, the present ones are aimed at customer outreach. Thanks to the pandemic that has altered customers’ shopping approaches.
Therefore, it all calls for a strategically and articulately planned BFCM Promotion idea to achieve business goals and outweigh the competition.
Plan your BFCM Campaign
First of all, build up your customer base. The easiest way to do this is by reaching out to wider audience. For this, you will need to encourage your social media followers and website visitors to subscribe to your mailing list.
Make sure joining your mailing list is as simple as directing visitors to a standalone webpage rather than a complex path. This step collects the key contact information. In addition to asking for basic information such as name, email, and address, you can ask visitors for their preferences or suggestions about the product/services. Using this information, you can generate targeted messaging. After all these steps, create a plan about when to shoot these promotional messages.
Prepare Email Marketing that clicks
Now that you have gathered the details about your customers, you can use the information to send them personalized emails and prompt them to take action.
Neil Patel suggests building a permission-based list rather than purchasing one. He further explains that purchased lists often contain uninterested recipients or invalid addresses, hurting your sender’s reputation and potentially landing you in spam folders. He also recommends building an email list organically through signup forms and lead magnets.
To increase engagement, avoid sending generic emails, as they are less likely to resonate and will eventually land in the spam folder. Experts suggest segmentation is effective in creating and directing content based on interests, demographics, or purchase history. People only open emails when they are genuinely interesting and relevant.
Your email consists of some crucial elements that you should curate perfectly. Let’s discuss what are some best practices you can follow to get everything right.
Let’s start with the Subject lines. These are the first impressions, so they need to be clear, concise, and pique the reader’s curiosity, as given in the following example.
The fundamental rule for writing the subject line is to write it while keeping the readers’ concerns in mind. For example, if you help your dietician, you can send this kind of email with the subject line: 5 Natural Weight Gain Superfoods to Include in Your Diet.
Next is the Sender’s Name. It helps you build trust with your audience. The name will help the reader decide whether to open your email or not. The more number of times they encounter your name, the more likely they are to find you authentic and an expert in your field.
Another essential element is personalization. Now, you may wonder how to personalize an email. This tip is so often recommended but not well defined that marketers sometimes don’t understand what personalization actually means. In fact, personalization has become generic, as many believe it’s just adding the recipient’s name. Well, there is more to it. If you have acquired any information from your users, such as whether they are freelancers or the concerns they often face, you can use that information. However, you don’t have to be creepy at the same time.
Here is a perfect example you can draw inspiration from;
Coming to Body Copy, this is one of the most important parts of email. Make sure to use fine tone and layout. Keep your copy concise and interesting. It should not be visually dense. This will increase the likelihood that your readers will click through.
Then comes the image. It grabs the viewer’s attention the most. It also plays a role in conveying the message. Make your images relevant. A random stock photo won’t tell the reader what your email is about or what you’re offering. It’s much more effective to have the image match your offer.
Easy enough, right? Besides being relevant, pick an eye-catching image to grab the reader’s attention immediately.
Now, let’s talk about the Call to Action (CTA). You want your readers to click and convert. The call-to-action (CTA) is the most important part of your emails because the main goal is to get readers to click on it and take action. You’re optimizing your emails to get more readers to click the CTA and go to your landing page, where they can become leads. This is where the transition from a click to a conversion happens.
At last, keep your emails mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of emails are opened on mobile devices. Your emails need to be responsive and display well on smaller screens.
Landing page
A landing page is a standalone web page which is specifically designed for a marketing or advertising campaign. It’s where a user “lands” after clicking a link in your email. Unlike a website’s homepage, which offers a general overview, landing pages are focused and have a single goal, also known as a Call to Action (CTA).
Your email’s goal is to capture the recipient’s attention with a compelling message and a clear call to action (CTA) that typically includes a link or button. Clicking the CTA/button in your email takes the user to a specific landing page designed to convert that interest into a desired action.
This action could be signing up for a free trial, downloading a PDF, or making a purchase.
Landing pages are entirely focused on driving conversions. They typically have minimal distractions, clear messaging that aligns with the email content, and a prominent CTA button that’s easy to find and click.
Here are some most recommended practices to follow during BFCM to make landing pages:
- Don’t wait till the last minute! Review past sales data to identify top-selling products and customer segments for targeted promotions.
- Go beyond just discounts. Try out other promotional options like limited-time offers, bundle deals, or early access for VIP customers to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity.
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, can handle increased traffic, and has a smooth checkout process to avoid cart abandonment.
- A strong email list is crucial for reaching your target audience. Run contests or offer lead magnets to incentivize signups.
- Social media promotions and targeted ads. Consider starting early to build anticipation.
- Show appreciation to your existing customer base with exclusive offers or early access to sales.
- Showcase customer reviews, testimonials, and social media mentions to build trust and encourage buying decisions.
- Free shipping is a major incentive for online shoppers. Consider offering it as a minimum purchase threshold or for specific product categories.
- Many shoppers start looking for deals early. Consider extending your BFCM promotions to capture early birds and last-minute shoppers.
Create Gift Guide
During the holidays, shoppers are always on the lookout for gifts they can give to family and friends. By putting together gift guides for different types of customers based on their interests, personalities, or hobbies, you can help them find the perfect gifts without all the hassle. This way, you’re showing off more of what you’ve got in store.
To make it even more appealing, think about throwing in some deals on items or bundles. It’s a great way to boost sales and make the most of the holiday shopping frenzy.
Offer Early Access to VIPs
You can learn this from POPFLEX. They offer a tiered approach where the standard discounts are available for everyone on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, they also made exclusive access to sale items at extra discounts before running the public sale. The latter offer was offered to the customer in the highest tiers (VIP tiers) of their loyalty program and those who signed up for their email list or SMS. Some of them were among those who were engaging with POPFLEX on social media platforms and unlocked early access codes.
This helped purchases buy their favourite stuff before stock ran out, leading to higher sales. VIP treatment boosted a sense of value and appreciation among the customer base of the brand. POPFLEX also countered the risk of inventory holding costs very well.
Here is another great example of a tiered discount offer:
Run contests or giveaways specifically for wishlist users
Target’s approach with its “Black Friday Sneak Peek” is a textbook example of leveraging exclusivity to drive both short-term sales and long-term customer loyalty. They smartly introduced the sale, which granted early access to discounts exclusively to members of their loyalty program, Target Circle. This move not only enticed shoppers to sign up for the program to access these special deals but also built a stronger bond with existing members as it rewarded their loyalty with early access.
By offering this sneak peek, Target also created a buzz and excitement among shoppers, drawing them in before the Black Friday rush. This strategy not only boosts sales during the preview period but also sets the stage for increased engagement and repeat visits throughout the year. It’s a total blast where customers felt valued and rewarded, while Target saw increased sales.
So, whether you’re a retail giant or a smaller business, there’s a lot to learn from Target’s playbook. Creating exclusivity, rewarding loyalty, and timing promotions strategically can all contribute to a successful sales strategy, not just during peak seasons but year-round.
Make Creative Countdown Emails
You know those emails that come in clutch right when you’re on the hunt for something special? Countdown emails are like that. They’re all about creating that “gotta act now” urgency. Take your own example when it’s nearing Christmas, and you’re browsing for gifts and Ding! You get an email with a ticking timer telling you exactly how long you’ve got to order if you want those gifts to arrive by the big day.
Let’s take Greetabl’s example, a website selling thoughtful gifts. Their email marketing campaign uses a simple yet effective countdown timer to drive holiday sales. They placed the countdown timer prominently above the fold at the top of the email. This ensured that as soon as customers opened the email, their attention was immediately drawn to the countdown timer. It became the focal point of the message, compelling customers to take action right away. They also used impactful words like “last day” in bold and all caps. Customers instantly understood that if they didn’t act promptly, they risked missing the opportunity to have their gifts delivered in time for Christmas.
Next time you see that countdown email in your inbox, think of it as a friendly reminder to snag what you need quickly, without stress.
Leverage Hybrid Abandonment Flows
Running hybrid abandonment flows, plural, means setting up multiple automated processes to bring back customers who ditched their browsing, cart, or checkout without buying.
In this case, as well POPFLEX serves as a great example. Before Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM), POPFLEX levelled up their game by adding SMS notifications to three of their abandonment flows for:
- Browsing
- Cart drop-offs
- Checkout bailouts
This move let POPFLEX ping subscribers with SMS reminders to finish their purchase before the sale ended.
And it worked big time! Their revenue from automated campaigns shot up 3.3 times compared to the previous year’s BFCM, and their SMS campaign revenue soared by 172% year-over-year.
Notman calls SMS a game-changing marketing channel. He claims, “SMS is an exciting emerging marketing channel. It’s the future—it’s where people are, and it’s the device that they’re on.”
CJ Palmer from Klaviyo also highlighted how SMS rocks for re-engagement during BFCM: “If someone clicks and then bails earlier in the day, shoot them an SMS later to reel them back in. We might handle SMS carefully, but since they signed up, it’s perfectly fine to text them.”
Create Bundles
Product bundles are like those combo deals where you get a bunch of stuff together at a lower price. Businesses do this to either clear out extra stock or get customers to spend more in one go (especially when there’s a minimum spend for the deal). It’s smart to tighten up your return policy for bundles so customers don’t abuse the system by returning the freebies for cash.
For nailing your Black Friday/Cyber Monday bundles, follow these tips:
- Mix Similar-Value Stuff: Don’t pair something pricey with something cheap. Stick to combos where everything feels like a good deal.
- Be Clear About What’s Included: Make sure customers know exactly what they’re getting and how much they’re saving with the bundle.
- Skip the Coupon Hassle: People love bundles they can just grab without hunting down a coupon code. It makes checkout smoother.
- Give Choices: Let customers pick between buying a bundle or grabbing items separately. Flexibility is key.
- Suggest Add-Ons: Throw in suggestions for other stuff they might want when they’re checking out. It can boost sales and make shopping easier.
Take Orangewood’s Black Friday deal, for example. They’re offering a sweet bundle with a guitar, accessory kit, and Ernie Ball strings. Following our tips and getting inspired from such examples you can also rock your bundle deals, whether it’s Black Friday or any big sales event.
Use Cart Abandonment Deals
To address Black Friday churn from cart abandonment, you must understand why customers leave their carts even with discounts. Typically, 67% of shoppers ditch their carts on ecommerce sites, spiking to 73% during Black Friday. Offering quick bonus discounts on abandoned orders can really hike up your chances of recovering those sales.
A smart move is to use tools like the Voucherify Qualification API to give instant perks right in the cart. You could offer discounts, cheaper items, or finish off bundles with missing stuff. These proactive steps not only save potential sales but also show customers you’re on it when it comes to their shopping journey.
Offer coupon at checkout
Incentivizing the customers who make their way to the checkout can draw them even closer to completing the purchase. It’s like giving your customers a surprise that they can even save more. And who would not complete the purchase after it? This approach enhances how your deals are perceived and can result in increased conversion rates.
Offer Free Shipping
Offering free shipping can nudge customers who are hesitating to make a purchase. Getting rid of unexpected shipping costs at checkout can really up the chances of them completing their order. Studies show that surprise shipping costs are a top reason people abandon their carts. Free shipping has become a major expectation for online shoppers, especially during major sales events like BFCM. The term “free” is inherently attractive to consumers. Free shipping can make customers feel like they’re getting a better deal, even if the overall price (including shipping) might be the same as one with a paid shipping option.
SUMMARY
Dedicate time and develop a reliable Black Friday Cyber Monday ‘BFCM’ Promotion plan to help realize your goals. Remember that it can even take you a day to create it as long as you consider the right business aspects. Plan, considering the fact that you are not the only one planning for this big BFCM season.