Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) has been a long-standing tradition in terms of holiday shopping. Consumers have evolved so much but this tradition seems timeless.
Ever wondered how ‘Black Friday’ came into existence? Back in the 1980s, a large group of suburban tourists would often hit Philadelphia to do their shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving and go to an Annual Navy Football match the next day. Retailers soon utilized this unique opportunity and started giving additional discounts to keep customers coming. The word spread, and now it’s the biggest shopping event before the holidays. Retailers then added small business Saturdays followed by cyber Monday which has now evolved into ‘The Cyber Week’.
Up until now, people look forward to this day owing to the huge discounts offered. History has also witnessed some cruel and petty fights over discounted items during BFCM.
For e-commerce businesses, BFCM is a golden opportunity to boost sales and acquire new customers. It’s that time of the year when people have their wallets readily open. Over the years, there’s been a lot of innovative campaigns driving the black Friday sales. Let’s take a look at some unique strategies that e-commerce brands have incorporated to convert the customers during BFCM.
5 strategies to stand out during BFCM
Emails with gamification events typically result in 74% more engagement (Styles.ai)
Some brands which used this gamification strategy in their marketing campaign saw huge results in a very short period.
Forever 21 came up with this BFCM campaign called “Scratch and Reveal”, where shoppers usually play to get a coupon.
Walmart utilized social media in the game. Its a unique strategy in which Walmart asked customers to use a filter on Tik Tok to unwrap their present and that gave them the coupon code.
Just a 3-day campaign of “Unwrap the Deal” by Walmart produced 5.5 million views and this is one of the first gamification filters that was introduced on a social media platform and users had to use the in-video stickers as shoppable content.
2. Employ a Purpose driven marketing strategy
According to your Yotpo, 80% of global consumers and 75% of Gen z state that they choose to shop with brands which align with their own values.
As part of their anti-Black Friday campaign, Patagonia did a campaign called “Buy less, Demand more”. In this particular marketing campaign, they asked the consumers to be aware of the climate crisis and reiterated the effect mass consumption has on the environment, which aligns with their brand purpose. This campaign got so much response from the Patagonia fans and the supporters of sustainability and it was a huge success.
Here are some other brands which did something different on BFCM:
3. Incorporate personalization into your approach.
According to Mckinsey, 78% of customers are willing to repeat purchases with the brands that offer customisation
- Some tips for personalisation during BFCM
- Create personalized landing pages
- Make sure that the product recommendations are personalized
- Being personalisation fo your email and sms campaign
- Don’t forget to personalize the 404 page
- Give personalize conditional offers
- Make sure you take care of your VIP customers by personalizing for them
That’s how dollar shave club personalized BFCM by offering a special grooming service to their customers. And now you can sell products in combination bundles with Shopify bundles.
4. Stage Leaked emails
Brands always go extra with their marketing efforts and one such tacky movie was made by Costco. It was tacky but it was a very successful tactic which whirled out well for them.
Costco’s use of a staged “leaked” email as part of their marketing strategy. By creating a sense of excitement and anticipation among their email subscribers, they effectively generated enthusiasm and interest in their Black Friday deals. This approach not only engages customers but also sets Costco apart from the crowd by adding an element of surprise and exclusivity to their promotions. It’s a great example of how creative marketing techniques can enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.
5. Adapt a multi-channel marketing strategy
Be where your customers are. Marketing campaigns often delivered to the right people at the right time through the right channel have the most effect. Integrate all channels of communication and approach your customers to provide the best customer experience.
Each audience group might prefer a different channel of communication. As a brand, its important to know the type of the audience segment’s usage of a a particular channel to target them with specific campaigns.
74% of businesses increased sales with a multichannel strategy — 64% increased consumer loyalty/acquisition — 57% reported better customer experience. — SAP
Some multi-channel marketing strategies include
- Email promotions: Emails tend to have a higher ROI. Brands often send out targeted email campaigns in the lead-up to BFCM, offering sneak peeks of deals, exclusive discounts, and early access to subscribers. They may also send reminder emails as the event approaches.
- Social media integrations: Some brands like Warby parker have started using twitter for customer support. They often address the concern of the customers using social media. Especially with the raise of social commerce, social media plays an important role in the overall marketing scenario.
- SMS campaigns: SMS campaigns have the highest quality conversion rates. And brands use SMS to communicate order status with the customers owing to its convenience of use.
Convert one time BFCM shoppers to lifetime customers
BFCM is one of the events when e-commerce businesses usually experience a lot of digital traffic. People often tend to buy from new brands if they like the offers and promotions and the values the brands stand for. While it’s difficult to acquire customers, it is equally difficult to retain them but there are a number of ways you can retain these customers effectively. Utilize this one of a kind opportunity (which strikes every year of course!) to create a strong brand recall through the following steps:
- Keep a post purchase on top of your mind
- Offer customer support after purchase
- Bring a strong social media presence
- Encourage customers to participate in loyalty programs
- Introduce a subscription model to increase repeat purchase
First Impression is certainly the best impression. Leave a long-lasting impression on your customers with these techniques.
