Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Many are forecasting bad news for this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Revenue generated from the fourth weekend in November has increased just about every year, but is this the year we see the trend busted?
A recession, inflation and the complete reopening of retail have many in the ecommerce world predicting revenue numbers closer to 2018 than in years past. Still, the ecommerce industry must weather the storm. Q4 can make or break it for many brands. Let’s dive into a few ways brands can still win in Q4:
Related: How to Get the Word Out About Your Ecommerce Site in Time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Focus on pre-traffic
Advertising costs almost always spike the week of Black Friday. Rather than compete in a red ocean, your best bet is to drive as much quality traffic as you can to your funnel weeks before Black Friday is on people’s minds.
One way to do that is by leveraging influencers. How awesome would it be to have products already added to your customers’ carts before the sale even starts?
“You can do this by partnering with influencers to promote your holiday discount codes before the discount is live,” says Influencer Marketing Strategist, Sarah Grosz.
Leverage owned marketing channels
Black Friday/Cyber Monday isn’t just about acquiring new customers. It’s about retaining existing customers. It’s been said that retaining an existing customer costs five times less than acquiring a new customer because existing customers are already familiar with your brand and have an affinity towards your product (likely).
Brands can win with strong remarketing efforts via paid ads, email and SMS. It’s okay to send multiple emails in a day if they are valuable to your customer.
“You need to cut through the noise as there will be lots of emails over this period in people’s inboxes,” says Contrast Digital founder, Elliott Davidson.
Strong offers win
As you can imagine, the number one thing that influences a customer’s decision on Black Friday and Cyber Monday is discounts.
Discounting is a must on these two days, but you want to discount in a smart way that drives other key metrics. Brands can increase their average order value by discounting bundled products. This is a great way to deliver value to your customers and increase revenue.
“Instead of testing new ideas during BFCM, focus on what has previously worked. There is no best practice for offering bundles. In our case, we offer bundles on the PDP itself, which has proven to be most effective,” says Laumière Gourmet Fruits founder, Varun Sharma.
Dot your “i”s
You can get everything right, but if your site is not built to handle the avalanche of traffic, it will be a catastrophe for your brand. Take note of your site speed and hosting services the weeks before Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
“Confirm your hosting service is not a shared one, pulling from shared resources. You can increase load speed by compressing your images and reducing file sizes, ultimately reducing their ‘weight’ on your site,” says Jen Root, CRO at Alpha Omega Agency.
Be sure to also have a system for double-checking your discount codes, shipping parameters and CTAs. The little things can make a big difference when it comes to performance.
Related: 3 Predictions and Tips for Attracting Customers This Holiday Season
Line up your partners
Acquisition costs continue to rise. Rather than be subject to the algorithm of paid social, work with partners where you pay an acquisition cost post-purchase. “This alleviates any inherent risk involved, but still incentivizes partners to be aligned on the same metric for success — sales,” says Yoga Strong founder, Jason Deutchman.
These partners can include affiliates, influencers or publishers. If you don’t have any, you’re missing out on an effective and sustainable path to growth and sales.
No matter how this season of ecommerce plays out, there are always opportunities on huge shopping holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The operators who are diligent and creative will find ways to cut through the noise and make it their record year.
This article is from Entrepreneur.com
