Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are on 23 and 26 November 2018. What does that mean for marketers outside of the US? You’ll be surprised. In the last few years, the shopping frenzy has made its way to local shores, and businesses are seeing an impact.
For example, in the month leading up to BFCM last year, Everlytic sent 25.3 million emails with ‘Black Friday’ or ‘Cyber Monday’ in the subject line. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday specifically, the company sent out 35.3 million; some of which had a click-through rate of 24.5% (compared to our local average of 3.46%). It’s big.
Want to optimise your BFCM campaign this year? Some tips to remember:
- Prepare for mayhem
The first step to getting BFCM ready is to make sure your infrastructure is prepared for it. Because if that fails on the day, it won’t matter what you decide to do with your marketing campaign.
- Track your results
Before you compile your campaigns, plan how you’ll track their success. This will inform future campaigns and determine your ROI.
- Know the basics
When you get started on your BFCM campaign, make sure you have a strong grasp of the basics of email and inbound marketing.
- Offer great deals
Your clients will be bombarded with multiple sales and big BFCM deals. Make sure yours stand out by offering something that your clients can’t resist.
- Tailor your offer
Not every retailer has the margin to offer the kind of BFCM discounts you’ll see at giant retail organisations. But that doesn’t mean you should stay out of the game.
- Create urgency
One of the biggest conversion tactics employed during BFCM sales is the sense of urgency – they’ll never get products like this at these prices again.
- Use hot subject lines
One of your audience’s first interactions with your sale will be through an email subject line – the make-or-break first impression of your campaign.
- Make it look good
The best campaigns don’t just say things well – they look great too.
- Communicate terms
Explain your deals clearly and make the terms obvious.
- Automate your campaign
If all goes well, you’ll be inundated with sales on BFCM. Automate everything, so you have as much mental capacity and physical agility available to deal with any issues that come up.
- Embrace social media
Social media should be a solid part of any marketing campaign. Burn the Book suggests tying your graphics to your website, email, and other sale material.
- Extend past sale day
No one says you only have to offer deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Many companies surprise their clients with extended sales beyond these days too.
- Engage beyond BFCM
The BFCM craze is more than just an opportunity to push sales – according to Inc.com, it’s a great time to acquire new leads too.
If you haven’t started your BFCM campaign planning yet, read the full article on the Everlytic blog and get cracking. There’s lots to do.
