How to Prepare your Ecommerce Brand for Black Friday Cyber Monday 2023
For consumers, Black Friday is the time of year to score ridiculous deals.
For e-commerce brands, it's the annual hall pass for you to go on sale and inject some welcome cash into your bank account.
It’s not all glitz and glamour, Black Friday comes with uncharted levels of traffic to your website, spiked order numbers on a single day and a LOT more tickets for your customer support team.
If you want to smash it this Black Friday, you’d better prepare! We’ve put together a list of things to do that best.
Begin Planning at least 1 Month in Advance
Remember the saying "the early bird catches the worm"? Well, it's true for businesses too. Start planning for Black Friday well in advance. Create a clear plan, set a budget, and make a timeline to ensure everything's set up and ready to roll when the big day arrives.
Keep your Inventory in Check
Keeping your inventory in check is like walking a tightrope on Black Friday. You want to make sure your hottest items are in stock, and sometimes that means stocking up big.
Be warned, with extremely high order numbers being processed at the same time, Shopify can oversell certain products, so you may run into some refunded orders with your customers.
The Price is Right
Discounts are a must but don't forget to crunch the numbers and ensure your profit margins can handle the markdowns. Consider bundling items, Buy-One-Get-One’s, exclusive offers or gift cards to sweeten the pot.
Minimum discounting for BFCM starts at 20% and can go as high as 90%. Avoid using a blanket discount across the website if you want to generate a higher net profit. Some items should and can be discounted at a higher rate while maintaining a decent profit. Other products might need to have a more controlled discount applied.
Shout, Don’t Whisper!
It's not just enough to have great deals; you've got to let people know about them.
Launch an integrated marketing campaign that covers multiple channels: Email, Influencer, Instagram, Facebook, FB Groups and Events and Broadcast Channels.
There’s so much noise coming into Black Friday you want to ensure that you stand out from the crowd - starting your promotion early is an easy way to level up and get ahead.
Influencer Marketing: Influencers are a great way to cut through the noise. Ask them to film a short video talking about your offer, what sort of deals people can expect and what products will be on sale. Including their top picks or their ‘Wishlist’ is also a great way to highlight key products.
Email Campaigns: Announce your sales a month out from Live then increase the frequency of emails as you approach the big day. Double-check that all your links and codes are correct and working.
Pick, Pack and Deliver
Hopefully you’ve got more orders than you could ever imagine, prepare your staff and if you need to hire some casuals, ensure they’re trained up well beforehand. You want to make sure you can handle the heat 🌶️
Be the Customer's BFF
Black Friday can stress out even the chillest of shoppers. Having top-notch customer support is a lifesaver. Train your staff to handle the extra enquiries and think about using chatbots and automated responses to streamline the process.
Learn and Grow
After the Black Friday madness, look back and see what worked and what didn't. Use that info to fine-tune your game plan for next year. Customer feedback is your secret weapon for making improvements.
Black Friday is more than just a BIG SALE. It's an opportunity to build brand loyalty, attract new customers, and set the tone heading into the festive season. Get ready, stay organised, and most importantly, enjoy the journey.
