The Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year for retail businesses across the world, and for business owners, it can also be one of the most terrifying. As the clock turns over and 12:00 a.m. arrives, retailers are expected to put all of their efforts into delivering the best shopping experience possible for their customers.
Regardless of what this looks like for each business owner, the truth is that this Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness looks very different for everyone. However, the keys to surviving this chaotic weekend are similar across the board:
The Build-Up…
Build Suspense
Start communicating your sales, specials and discounts a few weeks before the BFCM weekend. Build suspense by releasing a few details about the products on special, but tempt the customer to come back on the day for even better discounts; hopefully leading to a sale!
Treat your VIPs
A loyal customer base is the backbone of any successful online store. Treat your most loyal customers with an extra sweet deal over the BFCM weekend to keep them coming back long after the sales end.
Missed your shot? Retarget!
Put retargeting strategies in place long before the BFCM weekend, so that customers who leave your site without a purchase are reminded of your brilliant products and specials. Set up these remarketing strategies in place in a Facebook or Instagram campaign, as well as on Google Ads. If you don’t know how to, be sure to get in touch with one of our Suggested Partners.
Personalise It All
Add a touch of personalization throughout the silly season. Send personalised, tailored messages to your customers to boost your sales and increase your conversion rate. “Nearly 89% of marketers reported that using personalization resulted in increased revenue, while 63% of shoppers expect their purchase history to direct personalized encounters from brands” (www.bigcommerce.com).
What is your Plan B?
On a weekend as busy as BFCM, some things are bound to go wrong. So, what is your backup plan? If your stock sells out earlier than expected, how will you communicate it to customers? What will you do to ensure that you still make the sale? What will you do if your customers have checkout issues?
Ask yourself these questions and make contingency plans well ahead of time. Consider everything that could possibly go wrong and have a back-up plan in place… maybe even a back-back-up plan. Establish general messages and mailers to cover a number of issues, and communicate it to staff to ensure consistency. Set up gift cards or discount codes to send to disappointed customers. Chances are, situations may still pop up that you cannot control, but your stress levels will be greatly reduced knowing that you are well-prepared for the worst of it.
Energy: high, Stress: low.
Keep your energy sky high and your stress as low as possible over the BFCM weekend. Reduce stressful situations by having back-up plans and alternative solutions in place should things go wrong and be as prepared as possible going into the weekend. Make time for regular breaks during the day, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, have a hearty breakfast, hydrate, exercise and get as much sleep as possible. Do anything and everything to keep your energy up. Unfortunately for store owners, the work doesn’t stop once the clock rolls over on the next day. Preparing your mindset for this increased workload will do wonders for your business, your customers and your team morale.
Become a uAfrica Wizard:
Familiarise yourself with our best practices for using uAfrica this silly season. This is our helpful guide on how to best use uAfrica’s feature to streamline your order fulfillment and shipping processes:
