Black Friday is one of the most important days in the commercial year. In 2019 there were 93.2 million purchases made globally on Black Friday, so it’s not surprising that the day looming closer can be a stressful and daunting time for businesses. We have put together a list of tips you can follow to ensure your Black Friday campaign runs smoothly and is as successful as possible.
Plan ahead of time
Black Friday campaigns take a lot of time and preparation to be successful, so planning is a crucial step of the process. One of the first things to think about is how to stand out from the competition. Know what makes your business different and why customers should buy your product or service over another. You also need to carefully consider what offers to use. Will you offer a discount on everything or set up a discount code? Tying in new product or service releases and competitions can be a great way to engage people to shop with you on Black Friday, and offering exclusives to regular customers can help build brand loyalty.
Black Friday sales can get a little out of hand, even for online shops, so you need to be prepared for increased demand. Make sure everything on your site works correctly and have a backup plan if you run into any issues on the day. It’s also important to keep in mind that ad prices on platforms like Google and Facebook may go up at this time of year, so make sure you factor this into your budget.
Have a strong social media and marketing campaign
Social media is one of the most important tools in any sales campaign as it has the capacity to reach so many people. Start your campaign early, creating a slow buzz for your audience to build momentum. The longer they see your content, the fresher your business will be in their mind and they will be more likely to make a purchase on Black Friday. Remember to make offers and products seem limited to create a sense of urgency for your customers.
Remarketing is also crucial with any Black Friday campaign, so make sure tracking pixels are set up so you can target customers who are the most likely to make a purchase. It is also useful to build a remarketing audience as any traffic driven to your website during Black Friday can be remarketed going into Christmas and New Year.
Make use of email marketing
Email marketing is a great way to target your previous customers to keep them updated about sales and promotions, such as Black Friday. Use your social media accounts to encourage your audience to sign up to your mailing list and spend some time crafting strong subject lines and compelling text for your newsletters.
Plan a series of newsletters to be sent out in advance of Black Friday. Some examples of effective newsletters are: announcing the sale, sneak peeks, exclusive offers or benefits to subscribers and final reminders about the sale. It’s also a nice idea to follow up with a newsletter to say thank you to your customers around a week after Black Friday. You should also make use of segments, such as regular shoppers and customers who haven’t shopped in a while.
The importance of your website
Your website is probably the most important part of your Black Friday campaign. No matter how good your marketing campaign was, a slow or difficult to use site could lose you customers and cause your whole campaign to fall apart. It’s crucial that your website is speedy and looks great to ensure a smooth user experience, and make sure to pay attention to how people shop. Mobile sales tend to outperform desktop ones, so check your website is easy to use on mobile devices. Use features like autofill and implementing services such as PayPal to make the checkout process quick and easy for customers. You should also make sure you have an easy return service to eliminate any sense of risk customers may have before making a purchase.
It’s also important to have strong support on your website. Making sure you know your products well, setting up an online chat feature, answering questions quickly and creating standard answers to common queries are all brilliant ways to provide efficient support to customers who need it. Customers who chat with a brand are three times likely to convert and have a 10-15% higher average cart value than those who do not, an online chat feature is definitely worth your time and efforts.
Record your processes
Throughout the process of setting up and running your campaign, be sure to take notes and screenshots. These will help you improve your techniques and set goals and targets for future years, as well as helping you not repeat any mistakes you may make the first time around. Ensure Google Analytics is set up correctly so you can learn more about your customers and their shopping habits which can help you improve your site and future marketing campaigns.
Let us make you visible
Black Friday campaigns can be a lot to take on, even if you’re an expert at pulling them off. Hiring an agency, such as Make Us Visible, can help take the weight off your shoulders. We will take care of everything from the initial planning, organising the marketing campaign and adding the sales to your site, allowing you all the success of Black Friday without the stress.
To discuss your Black Friday campaign, or a different project, get in touch with our friendly team today.