Like seeing Christmas decorations during Halloween in Walmart its the time of year that marketers love to talk about Black Friday. It’s become a staple in online shopping and ecommerce companies like you know that you need to do something – but is there a way to compete without trimming your margins beyond belief? We know there is and wanted to share some of our thoughts on the subject.

Start promoting it now

Black Friday is November 25, 2022 and as we get into November you’re going to see even more promotional-centric messaging in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Chances are, you’ve already seen some messaging hitting your inbox already. While you don’t need to offer 50% off your products for the entire month of November, you can tell your fans exactly what they’re getting when you open the flood gates. Spreading the message earlier gives customers the change to plan ahead for your product.

New releases instead of discounts

Not every brand can afford to offer steep discounts on their products for Black Friday & Cyber Monday. If you’re in a position to discount, then by all means, go for it. If you aren’t, another great strategy is to focus on the release of a new product or service. New releases are an exciting moment for every company – leveraging that buzz can help your new product release cut through the noise that comes with this holiday. Organic interactions on social media are oftentimes more effective than paid ones because you’re engaging with a captive audience. And people that are already following your story could be even more interested in a new product release even if it’s not discounted.

Ads are crowded, focus on email

Most online advertisers like Google, Meta, TikTok, etc run their ads on an auction. There are only so many eyeballs to go around so as more and more businesses put dollars into these platforms it increases the price each impression can be sold for. That means your ad dollars might not go as far during a crowded holiday like BFCM.

If we could offer an alternative, which we’ve done for our partners already, we’d tell you to maximize your email list. In early November, try implementing strategies to get more people onto your email list. Social Media giveaways to collect emails can be an effective strategy where you can leverage your products as the prize for potential customers. Once you’re fortified your list, you can send engaged subscribers special offers instead of trying to blast that message using Google or Facebook. Subscribers’ familiarity with your company gives you a better chance to offer messaging that suits their desires.

Looking for even more tips on how to manage your email marketing effectively? Check out our blog post on How to Get the Best ROI From Your Email Marketing Campaign.

Use Segmented Messaging

You may have some customers that only interact with your business when you have a sale and others that wholeheartedly support your message and products. Understanding who those customers are and how to talk to them is a great way to take your Cyber Monday strategy to the next level. To segment your messaging, you’ll need to understand which customer is which. Klaviyo, one of our preferred tools for email marketing, makes it easy to understand how people interact with your emails. You have the option to set up customer segments but what’s even better is that this software automatically sets up segments of “potential customers” and “churn risks”. You can further segment your list by engaged (opened email or clicked email in the last 90 days) or unengaged (received at least 5 emails, hasn’t opened or clicked in 90 days).

Once you know who is who, you have the opportunity to talk to them differently. One option this Black Friday is to send your best offer to your most engaged subscribers. You know that they’re receptive to your messaging, and it’ll take less convincing to get them to make a purchase. Then, if you don’t want to offer a discount to everyone, try sending a smaller discount to the unengaged list. Depending on how they interact with it, you may be able to consider them an engaged user in the future or someone who’s no longer interested in what you have to offer. That isn’t a bad thing, either. If you’ve determined that a portion of your list isn’t interested in you offers anymore, you can focus on talking to the ones who want to listen.

Strengthen your website with Product Reviews

Ecommerce brands have a special weapon up their sleeve that other websites don’t – Product Reviews. On the technical side, product reviews are a way to keep your website updated with new content. In July, Google rolled out an algorithm update that emphasized the importance of in-depth product reviews. As Google’s ultimate goal is to provide people with the best answer to their search query, oftentimes, a review is going to have highly relevant information. This is great for your brand because it gives you another way to boost your SEO and to try and capitalize on additional organic search traffic.

From a UX perspective, new customers that aren’t familiar with your brand can use your reviews as a tiebreaker when considering one of your competitors. If you’re a t-shirt company that’s similarly priced to other retailers online, a review that talks about how soft the material is what would easily sway a purchase decision away from someone without that review. For our partner, Tahoe Trail Bar, happy customers love to share which flavor they like the best. A customer in the road cycling niche boasts that the chocolate chunk flavor is, “The best-tasting energy I’ve ever eaten.” For Tahoe Trail Bar, cyclists are one of their target audiences who would thrive from eating their product. Not only will this review persuade customers to choose them over a competitor, it also helps them choose from their wide product line.

Black Friday Marketing Strategy

A successful holiday strategy is one that takes planning and creativity. Shoppers may expect discounts this Black Friday and Cyber Monday but if you aren’t in a position to do that, use the above strategies to leverage your messaging, your email list, and think outside the box.

Digital Marketing Help

Want to knock your holiday sales out of the park? We’d love to help! First, check out our digital marketing services and then contact us to schedule a consultation to see how we can help.