10 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Marketing Lessons That Apply Every Year
(Last Updated: November 2, 2019)
It’s that time of year again. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner.
Are you prepared?
As an ecommerce brand, these dates are incredibly important, especially when it comes to new customer acquisition. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, customers are more apt to buy from you. They are looking for great deals and are open to purchasing from new brands… so make sure you are taking part in the game.
In our opinion, the goal of your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals should be to get your product in as many hands as possible during that time. You may or may not turn a profit, but it is a great opportunity to increase your customer base dramatically during this season. Profit can come later over the lifetime of these newly acquired customers.
Here are some lessons that you should take note of for Black Friday and Cyber Monday each and every year.
1) Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not one day events.
These mark the start of the gifting season. They are not one-day events when you throw up a blanket discount. Getting Black Friday and Cyber Monday right means building up awareness around your special offers for these days in advance and continuing to promote your brand through the holiday season.
Involving your company in this season is a great way to lower the barrier to your brand. It makes it really easy for your customers, old and new, to buy from you. While you may not turn a profit on every sale item, you are giving back as a brand to your customers, and this builds your brand up for the future. If customers feel like they are getting a great deal from you, they are much more likely to come back again and again.
2) Email is the most powerful marketing channel.
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there is a lot of noise. Most brands are promoting special offers and fighting for customer attention. So, the best way to start promoting your social offers is with your existing customers through email where you have direct communication.
3) PPC marketing is essential, but it sure isn’t cheap.
Email marketing won’t get you to new customers, which is key to a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So PPC marketing, especially on social media, is key. Social media channels will be crowded with advertisements so rates skyrocket, but unlike other times of year, these channels also become much more effective in converting to purchases.
We usually use social media primarily for awareness, rather than direct offers. But that all changes during the holiday season.
4) You can compete with the giants.
During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, big businesses and small businesses alike are competing much more evenly than usual. Get creative. Come up with a truly compelling offer that customers can’t refuse and spend the money to get it in front of them alongside the giants.
5) Make everything mobile.
Purchases from mobile are growing year over year. So if you want your Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions to go well, you need to be optimized for mobile.
This applies not only to your ecommerce store itself but to your paid advertising and email marketing as well. Make sure you are optimized for mobile across all channels in order to make the most of this holiday season.
6) Build anticipation with a pre-sale launch list.
One of the best strategies for creating an effective sale is building anticipation with a core group of highly-engaged customers. Segment your list and find your most engaged customers and get them signed up to a pre-launch list where you give them early access to your sale.
The best way to accomplish this is using an ecommerce email platform like Klaviyo that is synced with your ecommerce store.
7) Be prepared for strain on your website.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday mean huge spikes in traffic to your website. If you are on a cloud-hosted platform like Shopify Plus, you don’t have to worry about scale or security on days like this. But if you are on a self-hosted platform, make sure you prepare in advance to take on this extra traffic and strain on your website.
8) Be prepared for strain on your wallet.
Like we mentioned above, advertising rates skyrocket during the holiday season, especially on these crucial days. Be prepared to spend 5-10 times your normal monthly ad spend during November and December.
9) Skip gimmicks and tricks.
Instead, focus on providing value. If you have a truly great offer for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can propel your business forward, setting yourself up for a great following year. But the opposite is also true. If you have a bad offer, the negative reviews and feedback can be detrimental, causing you to lose a lot of momentum and customer trust which will hurt you far past the holiday season.
10) Don’t be afraid to opt out.
If this Black Friday and Cyber Monday craziness and discounts don’t fit your brand, don’t do it. It does not make sense to just throw up a blanket discount on these days because you feel you have to. You are just giving money away. Either develop a strategy and special promotions around these days and advertise them aggressively or just opt out. You’re going to see a spike around the holiday season either way.
How can Metacake help?
Metacake is an ecommerce growth team. We help tons of brands grow their ecommerce revenue and prepare for a successful holiday season.
The main goal of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to increase your customer base. We help brands with their promotion strategy to achieve this goal as well as help them to create a great follow up plan to turn these newly acquired holiday purchasers into lifelong customers and fans.
