Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2019: 6 Marketing Tips for Ecommerce
According to a report from ChannelSight, Black Friday generated $6.2 billion in online sales, and on Cyber Monday, the online sales amounted to $7.9 billion in 2018.
Known colloquially as BFCM, this capitalist extravaganza opens doors for brands to engage new customers and hit peak-season sales. For marketers, this also means stress, sweat, and countless promotion strategies. If you haven't started, this is why Traktion has brought you some of the best BFCM marketing ideas so that you can skyrocket your sales and stand out from the cut-throat competition.
1. Offering a free gift
One of the biggest worries for brands during BFCM is that huge discounts would cut into their profit margins, and also position the brand poorly and cheaply. To avoid drastic discounting and to still be able to entice customers during the shopping spree season, offering a free gift could be a solution. Brands can for example:
- Offer a low-cost item, or
- Offer a limited high-valued item
The main reason to adopt the second approach is to create a sense of scarcity. It allows customers to consider the item more valuable than it really is, and thus customers are more willing to take action.
2. Retargeting people who abandoned the shopping cart
According to a study, 90% of people won’t buy when first encountering a product, and this is why re-targeting is powerful. There are many ways to retarget, and one of the easiest ways is email retargeting. There are three kinds of content that you can put down in the email:
- Reminding customers that there are still items in the shopping cart,
- Offering special offers to incentivize customers to complete the purchase,
- Recommendation on similar items in the shopping cart.
This type of email usually requires more personalization, and if it’s done right, it’s also a great chance for you to promote your brand.
3. Creating a gift guide
According to Think with Google, the number of searches for gift guides have been rising year-on-year. Gift guides provide a unique chance for you to promote your products and generate leads, and you can categorize the gift guides based on your target customers’ profiles.
4. Supporting a social cause
Consumers are becoming more socially conscious in modern times, and align themselves with brands that echo their values. Everlane for example, does a great job of this, donating all of their BFCM profits to help, empower, and educate workers in their high ethical-standard factories.
5. Partnering with micro-influencers
Micro-influencers are social influencers that have an audience of between 10,000 to 100,000 followers. Partnering with micro-influencers is an effective way to present your products to a broader audience.
The key to a successful BFCM influencer campaign is to make sure whether your product is relevant to the influencers’ audience. To further personalize the campaign, you can create an exclusive coupon code and offer the followers special offers. Through the power of influencer marketing and word of mouth for the special offer, you can raise brand awareness and also prompt more sales.
6. Gamifying the offer
According to the study, by offering rewards to customers within your game, you will encourage engagement and generate high conversion rates. By checking the apps or plug-ins for your website, you can easily set it up and engage customers with your BFCM offers. For example, you can turn your offers into a spinning wheel. Customers would have to spin the wheel and claim the discount in 30 minutes if they get the prize. In this sense, you create a sense of urgency and make your offer more memorable.
The world of e-commerce is ever-changing and competitive. To stand out and see a smarter difference during holiday season, remember to experiment and test out the tips we provided.
Alternatively, if you'd like a digital marketing specialist to help run, execute and plan for your E-commerce during holiday seasons, Traktion.ai is here to help with our exclusive network of pre-vetted digital marketing experts. Find your marketer here.
