Planning and preparation are key to a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday email marketing strategy.
Our approach is to split BCFM into 3 phases - before, during and after.
Before
Do early research on your target audience while doing your best to gain a deeper understanding of your brand's areas for improvement. Study your inventory, identify your top-selling products, and analyse which items have been the highest performers this year. Armed with this information, plan your offers and discounts accordingly and get geared up to market them heavily.
Start your BFCM email campaigns well in advance, building anticipation with teaser emails, sneak peeks, and early-bird offers. Don’t be afraid to ‘go ham’. Everyone else is doing the same. You can mail everyone on your list beforehand, directing them to sign up for a separate ‘special’ BFCM email list, that will get even better exclusive offers and discounts. Klaviyo pop-ups are an ideal way for announcing your upcoming deals leading up to the main event.
Whether you do this or not, segmenting your email lists before BFCM starts is a wise idea. Segment your lists based on demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels. This way you can send targeted offers to different customer groups, ensuring maximum profitability from your subscribers.
Now might also be a good time to shift any old stock you’ve had lying around for a while with larger discounts, or offering it for free as an incentive when the customer spends $X.XX on your store. BFCM is all about customer AOV - and the higher it is, the better for you.
Ensure that your abandoned cart flow is properly set up and make necessary adjustments to the copy to specifically cater to the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) season. Mention the larger discounts you are providing, and don’t forget to convey urgency (only for the next 4 days! etc). You should be doing this already, but customer reviews and testimonials in abandon cart emails really help build trust and credibility.
In order to ensure a flawless launch, it is crucial to meticulously test all offers and discount codes, as well as send out test Klaviyo emails. This process will guarantee that all links are functioning properly and that they correctly direct users to the relevant store pages. Do not skip this step!
Support tickets may increase over the BFCM weekend, so make sure you can answer all customer enquiries promptly and efficiently.
Start building hype on all your social media platforms, and start early. Have custom graphics made, start implying which offers you plan to do, and also think about countdown posts, customer polls, teaser posts, user-generated content, and influencer collabs.
During
The eye of the storm. All the preparation is dedicated to this extended weekend. Adspend should be higher to bring in customers but bear in mind you are competing with a lot of other marketers, so traffic can get expensive. Make sure you have store numbers worked out so you can see if ROAS / ROI is in the right place to push forwards.
Spreading your ad traffic over multiple networks is highly advised. Never just go with one platform. Ad platforms are renowned for ‘breaking’ during BFCM weekend due to the upsurge in traffic. Do NOT put all your eggs in one basket. You can buy ads from Facebook, Instagram, Google, Etsy, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube… and the list goes on. Prepare to spend, and spend big over the Black Friday weekend!
Don’t rely on it ‘just being BFCM’. People are being bombarded with emails all weekend like never before. Make sure yours are right in there too, along with compelling subject lines that will stand out, create a sense of urgency and provide great offers.
This is when your store’s traffic is at its peak. Make the most of it by creating a sense of urgency and boosting higher value purchases through effective marketing. Provide unique, time-limited deals and discounts that are only available over the BFCM weekend. 2 for 1 offers, the use of upsell apps, or ‘spend X to get free shipping’ (or similar) offers can work gangbusters at this time of year, especially if you haven’t been using them on your store previously. Now is the time to push hard, do volume, and as much of it as you can.
Create a special BFCM landing page to feature your top deals and offers. Make sure it’s mobile optimised and again, test all copy, links and graphics prior to launch. Social proof and customer testimonials on this page as well as the offers will instil trust and confidence in any potential buyers.
BFCM presents an ideal opportunity to launch exclusive products and unveil special offers that are only available during the BFCM period. Creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity can drive customer excitement, boost sales, and increase AOV.
After
Just because BFCM is over doesn’t mean you can’t continue making sales. Many brands slow down and miss out on this phase as it falls after the enormous weekend. By staying active and extending your offerings longer, you can keep on bringing in profits.
Stay active and engaged with your audience even after the shopping frenzy subsides. Klaviyo emails are an ideal platform for this. Send post-purchase follow-up emails expressing gratitude for their purchases, offering incentives for future purchases, asking for social proof and unboxing videos where appropriate, and of course continuing to sell products related to their original purchases. This is where our customised product ascension flows really start to shine 🙂
Highlight any remaining deals or extended promotions that customers might have missed during the Black Friday event. Continue engaging on social media platforms by sharing user-generated content, showcasing products, and providing helpful tips or information.
Consider running a “Cyber Monday Week” or “Extended Black Friday” promotion to maintain the shopping momentum. Keep your email list updated, segmented, and use it to share relevant content, updates, and promotions throughout the holiday season. By maintaining a strong post-BFCM presence, you can drive additional sales and cultivate long-term customer relationships.
Continuously test different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, CTAs, and visuals, to optimize performance. Once you’ve got the customer through the door, Klaviyo flows can keep them coming back for more.
Use Klaviyo’s tracking and analytics tools to monitor email open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated from your campaigns. Don’t be afraid of tweaking and changing up your flows and campaign structure. A lot of people (and agencies!) ‘set and forget’ when emailing - at EcomniSuite we strongly advise against this. What with A/B testing and stats analysis, we always strive to improve numbers.
We’ve taken multiple ecommerce stores to 6 and 7 figure revenues via emailing alone. Please do get in touch.
