We are heading towards the most exciting time for shoppers! You heard us right: Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is less than a month away. However, as the excitement builds up, retailers are scampering for the best Black Friday marketing strategies to outdo others.
At The Brihaspati Infotech, our eCommerce developers collaborate with retail merchants to build powerful online stores for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale.
As retailers gear up for the holiday shopping season, we share a blog, explaining 10 actionable Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategies, step-by-step process, expensive mistakes, and other valuable information.
Without further ado, let’s commence.
10 Actionable Black Friday Marketing Strategies, 2024
Hosting Black Friday sales can be exhausting. A lot goes into planning—from managing store inventory to heavy online promotions and delivery logistics. As the competition heats up, we’ve prepared a list of 10 actionable Black Friday marketing strategies for your business success:
1. Early Black Friday Cyber Monday Deals
Black Friday is still a month away, but most big retailers have announced meaty deals. Check out Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo, Dell, and Walmart. For instance, the early Black Friday Walmart TV deals will likely surpass Amazon. Also, consider rolling out exciting BFCM deals for your loyal (or privileged) customers and set off to a great start.
2. Create Irresistible Black Friday Discounts and Offers
No Black Friday marketing strategy is complete without offering attractive deals. With market competition intensifying, retailers must up their game by offering exclusive Black Friday Cyber Monday deals such as
- Extended Black Friday Discounts: Many big brands start sales in early November to extend the holiday shopping season.
- Bundle discounts for selling big: Bundle a few popular products at a discount to sell off big volume. For example, you could offer a bundle of a jacket, scarf, and gloves for 50% off.
- Special deals for loyal customers: Make your loyal customers feel valued by offering something extra — an additional discount or early access to special BFCM deals.
- Limited-Time Offers: Create a sense of urgency with hosting a flash sale, announcing new BFCM deals every hour, or something similar.
3. Use Gamification for Black Friday Discounts
Including gamification in your Black Friday marketing strategies can increase engagement and gather valuable insights. For example, a Black Friday Quiz could help customers find the perfect product match while allowing merchants to collect data on their preferences.
We created a product recommendation quiz for a hair care brand, helping our Shopify client generate potential sales leads. Henceforth, this Black Friday marketing strategy enhances the shopping experience and forges a deeper connection with your target market.
4. Manage Store Inventory
Demand surges for popular products during the holiday shopping season. Effective inventory management helps prevent stockouts and keep shoppers happy.
Thus, retailers can capitalize on increased traffic using advanced solutions like our Commcare Inventory management system. This helps anticipate stock shortages, suggests reorder quantities, and more.
5. Create Tailored Black Friday Email Marketing Strategy
As of April 18, 2024, nearly ten billion emails were sent in the United States. That’s the massive reach of emails in Black Friday marketing strategies. Henceforth, to grab the attention during the busy holiday shopping season, consider the following for a strong Black Friday email marketing strategy:
- Segment Your Target Audience
- Optimize Your Preview Text
- Craft Catchy Subject Lines
- Include a Clear Call To Action
Our SAAS development agency built an Amazon SES email marketing software to send bulk emails using Amazon SES. Additionally, personalize emails for marketing and promotion during— and even after the event— for sustainable business.
6. Optimize Your Website for Mobile and Conversion
In the second quarter of 2024, smartphones accounted for over three-quarters of retail site visits in the United States. It is thus important for retailers to build their websites for the maddening rush during the holiday shopping season:
- Prepare your website for traffic surges by increasing server capacity or using a content delivery network (CDN).
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, ensuring it functions across different devices.
- Optimize website images to improve load times without losing quality.
- Integrate our eCommerce one-page checkouts to reduce cart abandonment rates and increase conversions.
7. Create a Holiday Shipping Strategy
Shipping is integral to the success of retail sales. With the BFCM week approaching fast, retail merchants must have a clear shipping strategy.
- Offer multiple shipping options for customer convenience
- Keep your customers informed about unexpected shipping delays
- Offer shipping discounts on selected orders
- Expedite shipping where possible
8. Use SMS Marketing
Nearly 72% of people have purchased after receiving a text from a brand. That’s the power of SMS marketing. Here are some effective ways to SMS for your Black Friday marketing strategy:
- Special Offers: Send out flash sales, exclusive coupons, or promo codes.
- Event Invites: Invite customers to special events or sales.
- Order and Shipping Updates: Keep your customers informed about order status.
- Appointment Reminders: Keep your customers in the loop by sending appointment reminders.
9. Run Black Friday Promotional Ads
Studies confirm that nearly 75% of U.S. advertisers find Google more effective than social media platforms in delivering quality leads. Run paid ads on Facebook, Google, or Instagram and connect with customers with your Black Friday discounts.
Additionally, here are some Black Friday marketing ideas to ensure your paid ad campaigns get results:
- Prepare Ad Campaigns in Advance
- Use high-intent keywords to capture holiday-specific searches
- Ensure your ads are targeted to the right geographical area
10. Extended Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals
Many customers wait until the last minute to order products. That’s where extended Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals come into the picture. It thus gives shoppers one more opportunity to take advantage of the extended sale.
Here are some Black Friday marketing ideas to try:
- Send a follow-up email the day after Black Friday to inform customers about the running offers.
- Extend the offers through the weekend, Cyber Monday, or the entire week.
- Announce new deals every day to maintain excitement for repeat customers.
Our eCommerce specialists can help tailor the best Black Friday strategy that benefits your retail business.
How To Build Black Friday Marketing Strategy in 2024?
The Black Friday sale is one crazy shopping event. We work with retail clients to create tailored Black Friday marketing strategies for their businesses to grow. From initial planning to implementation and ongoing monitoring, our eCommerce experts can help.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
Step 1: Define Campaign Goals
Be clear and specific about your expectations from BFCM 2024.
Begin by setting clear, measurable goals for the Black Friday marketing campaign. Whether to increase business sales by 30% or to drive 20% traffic to the newly launched website.
You must know where you wish to go.
Step 2: Create a Targeted Offer Strategy
Create Black Friday offers that will stand out and resonate with your target audience. Choose discounts or bundles that appeal to customers’ needs and dissolve purchase barriers.
Step 3: Build Anticipation for BFCM2024
Build momentum before the shopping weekend arrives. As a common part of most Black Friday marketing strategies, launch teasers or countdowns on your website or social media accounts to grab market attention.
Step 4: Optimize Your Retail Store for Mobile
As retailers, you should invest in fast-loading pages and mobile-optimized layouts. Henceforth, this helps keep shoppers engaged, reduces bounce rates, and helps retain potential customers.
Step 5: Plan Social Media & Email Marketing Campaigns
Create engaging and unified messages to promote Black Friday offers on social media, website, and other marketing platforms. Use segmented email campaigns to reach different audiences—loyal customers, new subscribers, and past shoppers.
On social media, create engaging posts with countdowns and exclusive previews to build excitement. Encourage followers to share their views and tag friends, expanding your reach.
Step 6: Prepare Website for High-Traffic
Prepare your website for high Black Friday traffic by stress-testing its load capacity and optimizing server response times.
- Implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to speed up content delivery globally.
- Enable caching to reduce server load and reduce page load time for faster checkouts and processing.
Step 7: Implement Post-Purchase BFCM Marketing Strategies
Many eCommerce brands start with retargeting ads and abandoned cart emails to re-engage shoppers and maximize revenue from each shopper.
Step 8: Prepare for Post-Black Friday Retention
Don’t let customer engagement drop after Black Friday. Plan customer retention strategies such as follow-up emails for exclusive offers to maintain the interest of new customers.
10 Costly Black Friday Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Sometimes, even the best of Black Friday marketing strategies fail. Mistakes happen, but some mistakes can cost you big. From losing potential sales opportunities to generating long-lasting financial loss. Any marketing blunder can turn out to be a nightmare for retail merchants.
Here, we have created a list of Black Friday marketing mistakes that retailers must avoid at every cost.
1. Ignoring Website Optimization
People abandon slow-loading websites without much thought. With shoppers bombarding retail websites on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, even the slightest delay can result in missed sales.
Optimizing page speed and load handling ensures a hassle-free online shopping experience. Additionally, content delivery networks (CDNs) and compressed media files can help improve website performance.
2. Delay in Starting BFCM Marketing
Black Friday is a huge shopping event. Lack or delay in preparing for brand marketing can cost you big bucks. Effective Black Friday marketing strategies should emphasize limited-time offers or exclusive deals to encourage immediate buying. Use phrases like “only today” or “stock running out” to drive quick purchases.
3. Not Considering Mobile Shopping
Mobile phones contribute to the largest share of online orders. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday a month away, retail merchants should focus on website optimization for mobile users. A mobile-first approach, with responsive design and streamlined checkout, enhances the mobile shopping experience.
4. Neglecting Personalized BFCM Marketing Strategies
Generic Black Friday marketing strategies are no longer serving. On the other hand, personalized marketing experiences —such as product recommendations based on shopping history — improve user engagement and conversion rates. Using customer data effectively is essential for creating meaningful, targeted experiences.
5. Poor Inventory Planning
Running out of stock during peak shopping periods can damage your brand reputation. Proper inventory planning ensures popular items are sufficiently stocked to keep customers happy. Also, make adequate arrangements to replenish the stock in case of emergency.
6. Ignoring Cart Abandonment Strategies
Abandoned carts are common with 7 out of 10 shoppers leaving the website without completing their purchase. Without follow-up Black Friday marketing strategies, you’re likely to lose potential business revenue.
Automated cart reminders through emails or targeted ads can bring customers back to complete their purchases.
7. Failing to Use UGC
Customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content add brand credibility. Leveraging these elements in Black Friday marketing strategies can influence shoppers and convert them faster. However, many brands fail to recognize its power.
8. Unskilled Customer Support
Black Friday shopping can result in high customer inquiries. Without adequate support from the back office, customer wait times increase, leaving shoppers frustrated.
Also, prepare for such critical situations by making proper plans. For instance, you can use chatbots or increase support hours to ensure smooth customer service.
9. Limited Payment Options
Limited payment options can prevent shoppers from completing the purchase. Integrate multiple payment methods, like “buy now, pay later”, with your eCommerce store.
Also, you can streamline the payment process with our custom payment gateway integration solutions. Shoppers enjoy freedom and convenience, opening easier and faster sales opportunities.
10. Spamming Customers with Emails
Marketing emails can drive engagement, but excessive emails can put off recipients, increasing un-subscriptions or spam complaints. Also, implement a balanced approach—using personalized marketing emails— to keep customers engaged without overwhelming them.
Tread carefully. Avoid committing such mistakes to drive favorable returns from Black Friday marketing strategies. Partner with a seasoned eCommerce development company like The Brihaspati Infotech to make the most out of the shopping extravaganza.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start your Black Friday marketing at least 3-4 weeks before the event. Early planning gives you time to prepare the ground— to create a buzz, build email lists, and engage your audience.
Building anticipation before the shopping event can be achieved through several Black Friday marketing ideas, such as
1. Teaser campaigns
2. Early-bird discounts
3. Limited time offers
4. Exclusive deals
High-traffic days like Black Friday require robust hosting and backend performance. At TBI, we help eCommerce clients with server testing, optimizing databases, and using CDN to distribute traffic and reduce strain on your servers. Additionally, we use caching tools to remove excess data and keep your website responsive during peak times.
Optimizing product listings is critical to drive BFCM sales. Some popular eCommerce solutions include
1. Update product descriptions
2. Use AI-enhanced images
3. Optimize for mobile devices
4. Add customer reviews and social proof
5. Add videos like 360-degree product views
6. Special BFCM discounts
Contact us and get things started for your online store.
There are multiple ways to drive organic traffic during Black Friday, including
1. Start email marketing campaigns
2. Leverage Black Friday social media campaigns
3. Run paid ads campaigns on Facebook, etc.
4. Request user-generated product content such as product reviews
5. Optimizing the website for conversion
Looking for more help with your website? Contact us today.
Most retail websites witness high traffic during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As a result, websites often crash, leaving shoppers frustrated.
Herein, we recommend some proactive measures such as
1. Upgrading website hosting plan
2. Temporarily removing non-essential plugins and apps
3. Optimizing the website for speed and conversion
If you are short of time, consult seasoned eCommerce developers from TBI. We dedicatedly work on every project, driving 100% customer satisfaction.
Shopping events as big as BFCM generate more than usual customer queries. Thus, retail merchants should be prepared to handle it well to drive favorable business results.
At TBI, we suggest various tried and tested eCommerce customer support solutions such as
1. Deploy AI-powered chatbots
2. Create or update your FAQ section
3. Enable multi-channel support via email, live chat, phone, and social media
4. Help desk software solutions
Let’s build a resilient customer support ecosystem for your retail store. Contact us and get started
Yes, absolutely. We have helped many retail clients with conversion-driven digital marketing solutions during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other shopping events. Our team will work with you at every step, ensuring an amazing shopping experience on your retail website.
Building customer loyalty is a long-term business goal. There are effective ways to win the trust of new customers for long-term association:
1. Follow up with new customers by sending personalized emails
2. Offer first-time purchase discounts
3. Provide access to loyalty programs
4. Show appreciation for their purchase
5. Provide product recommendations
Email marketing is one of the best Black Friday marketing ideas. It helps businesses connect with a large, targeted audience with personalized deals and offers.
Here’s why it is considered a powerful marketing solution:
1. High ROI: Email marketing delivers consistent return on investment.
2. Effective Customer Engagement: Emails build direct communication with the recipients for promoting exclusive offers, countdowns, and reminders.
3. Personalization: Emails can be tailored to meet unique market needs via personalized product recommendations and deals.
4. Customer Retention: Email marketing promotes repeat purchases by offering early access to sales or loyalty rewards.
5. Cross-Channel Synergy: Email campaigns work great in addition to social media, website, and SMS marketing.
Don’t think, rethink and seek Black Friday email marketing strategy from experts.
Looking for Winning Black Friday Marketing Strategies 2024?
You don’t go to war without arms, right? With Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching fast, the best time to prepare is now.
If you are looking for a professional team to support your digital marketing goals. Our eCommerce developers can help build and optimize professional eStores on Shopify, Magento, and other platforms for your business success.
From eCommerce solutions to advanced software solutions, you can count on us for top-tier business solutions and services. Speak with one of our eCommerce experts and start your journey to enjoy an incredible holiday shopping season.
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