BFCM stands for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is the biggest holiday shopping season of the year.
This four-day shopping window is not only the busiest time of the season but also brings along a wonderful opportunity for businesses to build new customers, drive more sales, and boost their bottom line.
The sales boost during BFCM is massive, often breaking all-time records for both offline and online stores.
Customers find it exciting to get the best deals, whereas stores plan to earn the most money. It is not only about discounts; it is also about how well a brand connects with its audience.
This article covers detailed facts about Black Friday and Cyber Monday that may amaze you. Let’s check out ten data-driven marketing strategies that can help you make the most of this holiday season and take your online business to a new height.
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What is BFCM?
Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is a day just after Thanksgiving and is the most lucrative sales day in the United States and across the world.
Hence, stores try their best to earn as much as possible during this holiday weekend to keep their profit margin up.
The story of the BFCM craze goes back to the 1960s when Black Friday was a popular way to start the Christmas in-store shopping season.
After the advent of online shopping in 2005, Cyber Monday was celebrated to popularize e-commerce businesses among Black Friday shoppers.
No doubt, the intense competition during BFCM will make it quite challenging for the retailers to mark their stand. Recent years have seen record-breaking sales levels.
According to Adobe Analytics reports, in 2023, Black Friday sales reached a whopping $9.8 billion in the United States, and Cyber Monday sales hit a high-time record of $12.4 billion.
Also see: 21 Cyber Monday Marketing Ideas to Skyrocket Sales
How to Prepare Your Store or Website for BFCM Marketing
Preparation is the key to a winning BFCM campaign. Given are a few steps to ensure your offline and online store is ready:
Optimize the Website Speed: Make sure your website can handle the increased traffic and loads faster.
Design Eye-Catching Graphics: Create attractive and appealing ads, banners, and promotional images/graphics to grab your customer’s attention.
Stock Up the Inventory: Anticipate high demand and surge, so ensure you have sufficient stock that meets your customer’s needs and expectations.
Set Up Analysis: Use applications that will help you track down your performance and collect insights to optimize your marketing campaigns in real-time.
Simplify the Checkout Process: Review and simplify the checkout process to avoid cart abandonment and make it an easy and smooth customer experience to complete their purchases.
10 Proven BFCM Marketing and Conversion Ideas with Examples
1. Build a Pre-BFCM Buzz
To maximize sales during the BFCM rush, building a pre-BFCM buzz creates a sense of urgency and helps to increase sales.
Most of the BFCM sales are impulsive and driven by promotions, massive discounts, limited-time deals, and offers that build a sense of priority among the consumer.
Launching a buzz-building countdown incorporates urgency and attracts potential customers.
Actionable Steps
Share teasers on BFCM via email or social media.
Fine-tune your pop-up to make customers sign up for your newsletter to catch early bird discounts, and they will register!
Tips to Apply:
- Start your soft marketing campaign by the end of September and early October.
- For an aggressive campaign, start by the end of October and November
Example:
Reo-Co-op uses a countdown timer on their website and social media to bring urgency and anticipation among the users.
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2. Use Social Proof (and Wisernotify!)
Social proof is an amazing way to make consumers do something when they see others are doing it, too.
The same goes for your BFCM campaign; social proof will encourage users to make repeat purchases by seeing reviews or testimonials on your platform.
Instagram and TikTok are highly popular for reaching your shoppers. Using these platforms lets you tap into the vast audience keen to engage with your BFMC holiday-themed discounts.
Wisernotify is the best tool to display various social proof notifications. Check out different ways you can use social channels effectively for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns.
Actionable Steps
Display real-time notifications that indicate when consumers have made their purchases.
Show positive reviews or testimonials from your loyal customers.
Point out the number of times your post/product has been shared on social media.
Tips to Apply
- Use high-quality images of customers using or reviewing your product.
- Highlight product popularity by social proof metrics like “Most Popular” or “Bestseller.”
Example:
Here’s how WiserNotify displays testimonials from satisfied customers on their website homepage, building trust and credibility to help visitors make informed purchasing decisions.
Also See : 14 Thanksgiving Marketing Ideas to Skyrocket Sales
3. Use Personalization in the Customer Journey
As you get ready for the upcoming BFCM holiday event, personalize your cornerstone of marketing strategies.
Personalized messages and emails will drive higher engagement and conversions. So, analyse the past purchases or browsing history of your customers and suggest similar products that may interest them.
Actionable Steps:
Use data to create segments based on the customer’s preference and history.
Consider sending personalized emails or messages to your repeat customers based on their past purchases.
Tips to Apply
- Ensure the search function is well-equipped to take voice queries.
- Address customers by their names when sending emails or messages.
Example:
Ilia Beauty sends out personalized product suggestions according to their customer’s past purchases and browsing history.
Netflix recommends shows based on your watching history. Hence, customers expect personalized recommendations from the retailers.
Spotify is a king of personalization. The site uses your listening history and curates similar playlists and songs only for you. Giving such a personalized touch keeps your users engaged and listening more. Try applying similar growth hacking tactics to your BFMC sales, too.
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Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
4. Master the Art of Scarcity and Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency will exponentially increase your BFCM holiday sales. Make sure you highlight limited-time deals, exclusive offers, or falling inventory, which will encourage your loyal customers to take immediate action and make the purchase.
Actionable Steps
When you display a countdown timer on your promotional ads or emails or on a sticky bar, it creates a sense of immediate purchase.
Highlight products that are limited to create a sense of scarcity and result in purchase.
Design short-lived BFCM campaigns or events with special deals or discounts.
Tips to Apply
- Ensure to use catchy phrases like “Don’t Miss the Chance” or “Last Chance to Win.”
- Use automated push notifications to remind shoppers about their abandoned carts.
Examples:
Bed Threads has a completely diverse BFCM deal, which is applied only to their top-selling g items. The image has a countdown timer that creates a sense of urgency among the shoppers.
5. Offer Irresistible Promotions
Promotions are the heart of Black Friday and Cyber Monday success. Making offers and deals that your customers just can’t refuse will not only improve sales but also develop brand loyalty.
Actionable Steps
Provide specialized deals designed only for BFCM customers.
Create a BFCM bundle deal that offers great discounts when purchasing items in bulk.
Tips to Apply
- Make sure the BFCM promotions are easily communicated.
- Experiment with the different types of promotions to check which works best for your targeted customers.
Example:
Boot Barn is a leading Western wear retailer with a focused Cyber Monday sale frequency. The brand sent this promotion more than two times on BFCM weekends.
6. Craft Compelling Landing Pages
When the customers click on your BFCM emails or ads, where does the link take them? If it is the homepage or product listing, then you are losing a potential shopper.
Instead, design dedicated landing pages focused on converting the shoppers.
Actionable Steps
Convey to your customers what makes the offer so special and what value it brings. You can use phrases like “50% Off + Free Shipping Only For Today!”
Ensure you use persuasive language to make your customer take the desired action.
The search bar has to be simple, smooth, and clean to the eyes. Nobody wants a cluttered search bar.
Tips to Apply
- Keep search algorithms lightning-fast.
- Emphasize the BFCM theme by writing in large and bold text
Example:
If we check the Glossier landing page, it is quite attractive and features a clear deal. Glossier’s 2023 BFCM landing page featured a clear offer, highlighted customer benefits, and user-generated text.
Etsy search results are accurate and fast. The use of high-quality graphics and clean descriptions makes the user’s search experience quite enjoyable.
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Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
7. Streamline the Checkout Process
The BFCM promotions are driving plenty of traffic and purchases, but if the checkout process is confusing or slow, you may lose out on sales in its final step.
Besides, 22% of the shoppers online have abandoned their cart completely because of a “very long or complicated checkout procedure.
Actionable Steps
Extra fields to fill out create chances of friction that may result in cart abandonment.
Consider applying a visual progress bar that will show shoppers several steps remaining in their final checkout.
Avoid the compulsion to create an account to complete the purchase.
Tips to Apply
- Use auto-fill to streamline the field entry.
- Provide multiple payment options that give users complete flexibility to pay.
8. Use Gamification
Gamification is a robust tool to shift your BFCM deals into an interactive game or quiz form. It makes your users’ online shopping experience interactive and enjoyable.
Besides, games will incentivize shoppers to spend more and unlock massive BFCM discounts and rewards.
Actionable Steps
When users spin the wheel, they may win enticing prizes such as 50% discounts, exclusive products free, or offer free shipping.
Design product quizzes and put in rewards like tiered discounts or badges for active participation.
Play a scavenger hunt and hide products or clues on your website. The customer who completes the hunt successfully wins a reward.
Tips to Apply
- Make a leaderboard to promote competition that encourages multiple purchases.
- Influencers can be the best way to develop trust and bring direct sales.
Example:
Forever 21 generally uses gamification as one of their successful BFCM marketing campaign ideas. Consider using such gamification ideas to reduce cart abandonment.
9. Provide Outstanding Customer Service
Excellent customer service will not just set you apart from your competitors but will also foster customer’s trust and loyalty.
Offering real-time customer support during the peak BFCM period will significantly improve your customer experience and decrease cart abandonment.
Actionable Steps
Provide live chat support. Ensure your customer support team is ready to handle the flow of inquiries at this time. Provide immediate solutions for any questions or issues.
AI-powered chatbots can help customers even outside of business hours and during peak online shopping times.
Chatbots will answer the most common questions, help customers navigate easily through their shopping process, and offer product recommendations.
Tips to Apply
- Enable live chat for the entire cyber weekend.
- Offer multiple channels of support through phone, email, or chat.
Example
A simple thank you note will go a long way. Send emails with no catchy graphics, like Allbirds sent a “thank you” note to each one who participated in their BFCM holiday shopping season.
Believe it, your customers will truly appreciate this gesture and will always remember your service when other discounts are live.
10. Capture Data for Future Marketing
During BFCM, gathering data will provide valuable insights for your future marketing strategy. Make sure you utilize the data to refine your strategies, enhance your campaigns, and improve your customer base.
Actionable Steps
You can use analytical tools to track your customer preferences and behavior.
Use email capture forms to build your mailing list.
Tips to Apply
- Consider sending post-BFMC follow-up emails.
- Capture online shoppers’ emails using pop-ups
For example, YouTube captures data by taking surveys from users after watching certain videos. The site uses this information to tailor future ads and content.
Wrap up
Success during the upcoming holiday season depends on pre-planning, handling possible issues, and early access launch. The given BFCM marketing strategies cover the essentials for the 2024 sales event, curated to maximize sales and break all-time records.
Not to forget: Black Friday and Cyber Monday optimization isn’t a set-once-and-forget-later kind of affair. But it needs constant testing, implementation, and enhancement just to be at the top of the list and keep the conversion rates soaring high and high.
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