Caleb Shepard, media director at leading e-commerce agency TDMC, shares 10 insider wisdoms on how to maximise your efficiency and brand position in the run up to the biggest sales day(s) of the year:
Black Friday has evolved from a big discount day or weekend to a month-long event with smaller discounts offered across more categories. Of course, you will still get your deep discounts which are useful for getting people into your shop, but it’s a good time to leverage off the fact that people are hungry for deals.
Banner Blindness is real and one key visual for a variety of offerings is dangerous – you need to ensure you have enough creative options in your marketing suite so that the right audiences see the right messaging at the right time.
We believe this can hurt a brand. If you are a brand that rarely discounts, brand loyal customers will flock to a generous seasonal sale (and remember to reward subscribers with insider deals). Consumers are increasingly savvy, so if you are offering something someone else is, know that consumers are price checking.
Introduce the brand, tell your story, showcase product with price, and incentivise the customer to buy.
Be wary of alienating potentially loyal customers with comparatively insignificant savings.
This is your chance to impress your customer with excellent communication that keeps them informed every step of the journey from picking and packing to shipping and delivery. Once delivered, keep the relationship going with post purchase survey requests. If you begin the new customer welcome journey properly now, you’re in a good position to further the relationship.
We recommend that our clients allocate 25-30% more spend to their digital media advertising during this time due to rising cost per clicks (CPC’s).
We work with brands who shut shop on Black Friday and take their staff into the outdoors, while another of our clients has opted for Green Friday, where they help their customers make conscious decisions that are good for both their wallets and the planet. Black Friday is not for everybody and while many brands will opt to discount stock, you may prefer not to.