Black Friday is undoubtedly the biggest shopping event in America. Consumers have it marked on their calendar months in advance. Since many push their shopping needs in order to score that huge Black Friday deal, the expectation is that we businesses will extend unbeatable offers. How? Keep reading
How are we to know which offer is the right one to extend? How are we marketers to know which sale will win our customer’s heart? How do we do it right?
Below are a few email marketing strategies and ideas for Black Friday that can help you win over your customers on what is possibly the most competitive day of the year for retailers.
Think About Your Existing Customers First
While Black Friday is a great opportunity to bring in new business with flashy campaigns, it is imperative to treat your existing customers with deals that you know they won’t be able to resist. The customers that shop year-round, not just during peak season, are the customers you want to focus on retaining.
Extend VIP-Driven Promotions
Extend better deals to your customers on the upper tier of your VIP model. Companies that throw out offers like standard 25% off sitewide, “buy one get one”, or your typical first-timer discount code alone are missing the key tricks in the book.
Publish the VIP Promotions for All to See
Make sure to make your Black Friday deals/offers to all your existing customers. Let them see that loyalty pays and that the most loyal customers receive the greatest deals. FOMO is a great motivator. Your customers will want to stay engaged year-round and see what an exclusive, personalized experience is like. Make it an experience that they feel they can’t miss out on.
Brand Black Friday as a Premium Event
How do you measure the success of a campaign? If you have built an impressive community loyal to your brand, Black Friday should feel like an exclusive invitation to the best party of the year. Make it feel like a special once-a-year opportunity.
Personalize Your Messaging
Black Friday is an incredible opportunity to send personalized messages. Depending on the volume of your send, it could really pay off due to the volume of customers looking to bargain shop at this time. Build unique customer segments based on purchase history, activity days, amount spent over lifetime, etc. Show your VIP customers exactly what you know will prompt them to act.Build personalized journeys that invite your VIP customers to take part in your promotion.
Think of Black Friday as an Opportunity for Acquisition
Black Friday is not just any other day
Breaking news: new customers are not going to get excited to shop at your store if you offer the same promotion that you offered as their welcome bonus. Companies need to make things more exciting. Offer more on Black Friday or create special promotions in addition to what’s already on offer.
Be the Solution
On Black Friday, people want to buy. But they are not going for just anything that’s available. If you aren’t already, you should be strategizing the products and services according to the value they provide.
When? How much? Where?
To win on Black Friday you need to start at the beginning of October
Did you know that in 2021, 61% of consumers in the US started their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving? Publishing your Black Friday deals on Black Friday is simply too late. It is never to soon to start promoting or teasing what you have coming for your customers. The modern consumer is sophisticated, and they strategize their shopping early. Make your way on to that list! Let your customers in on your plans to offer them something irresistible to show that their wait is worthwhile.
Be Generous with Your Promotions
Let’s set the record straight- Nobody is going to flip over backwards for the same boring 10% off brands offer during the year. Add a little something spicy with a promotion you know they aren’t seeing anywhere else.
There are a ton of ways to spice up your campaigns for an event as typical as Black Friday, for example, matching customers purchases to a nonprofit donation on Giving Tuesday, offering a gift, doubling on loyalty points, promoting a discount on the next purchase, gifting free shipping, etc. The list goes on and on…
Tell Your Customer What They Need
This is a golden opportunity to take a chance and use your customers’ purchase history and data to predict exactly what they want next The amount of data available post-shopping season is mind-blowing. Create campaigns based on customer shopping trends, recent purchases, customer’s size, and more. Lift the lid on customer data and make an impression that will keep them waiting for next years’ Black Friday promo.
