As we gear up for the holiday season, there’s lots to consider and prepare for to ensure Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is a success for your business. While customers can certainly look forward to a much less crowded and harried experience in storefronts, that puts an enormous pressure on brands to deliver online. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to do it alone. We’re pulling together industry leaders and eCommerce experts to give you the gift of insider tips, tricks and best practices in our on-demand webinar series, Holidays, Unwrapped. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be unpacking everything from scaling your operations, to optimizing your site, nailing your marketing strategy and so much more.
Holiday Planning 101: Establishing a new BFCM baseline
First thing’s first — after what’s proven to be a whirlwind year in the wake of the pandemic, retailers can expect a continuation of the current eCommerce trends through the holiday shopping season. In our first session of the series, we went back to basics to take a look at lessons learned from previous years, what lies ahead, and how to own the customer relationship in an increasingly noisy digital landscape.
Here are 4 key takeaways from the session:
- Happy...Halloween?
We know this BFCM will look different than the rest, but what you may not have anticipated is that it’s likely coming a lot earlier than expected. When? Some major retailers plan to kick off their sales as early as October (including Amazon’s Prime Day on 10/13) which can have varying impacts on your business. Piggybacking on these sales means brands can take advantage of the halo effect but the longer sales season may also offset BFCM projections as customers spread their spend over a broader period of time.
- Communicate and Level Set with Your Customers.
Shakespeare said, “expectation is the root of all heartache” and that’s most definitely the case for the miffed online shopper. How to avoid this Shakespearean SNAFU? Communicate — early on, and often. Our panelists unequivocally called out the importance of clearly setting expectations with your customers to avoid churn and dissatisfaction overall. During BFCM when volumes are high and shipping delays are almost guaranteed, providing clear communications throughout the customer journey is key — especially for foreseen risks.
- Stand Out from the Crowd.
In an almost entirely online shopping landscape, one major challenge eCommerce brands face is finding their voice in a cacophony of digital noise. Our D2C experts all cited some of the inventive ways they’ve managed to cut through the chorus to tune in on the 1:1 customer experience. From data-driven campaigns that strategically integrate cross sell and upsell opportunities, to ‘gamifying’ the purchase and post-purchase experience, there was no shortage of great examples on how to set yourself apart this BFCM.
- Metrics matter.
Last, but most certainly not least, your BFCM strategic linchpin: data. Playing guessing games with your sales and marketing strategy is about as fun as it sounds, and with the added stress of a high-stakes high-volume shopping environment, the last thing you’ll want to do is take any chances. That’s where taking a data-driven approach can take you off the playing field and into the big leagues. By taking a close look at your data you can help determine which products are your best sellers, overall conversion rates, return on ad spend, and so much more. Armed with critical information about your site, products, and customers, you can make informed and strategic decisions about how to best approach the holiday shopping season — and most importantly, how to make the most of it.
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