We’re officially in the home stretch before the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Are you sure your e-commerce business is ready? Here are six last-minute things you can do right now to push your Black Friday and Cyber Monday preparations past the finish line.
Encourage people to subscribe before your sales
Now is the time to boost your email list subscribers with potential customers before you launch your BFCM sales. Studies have shown that people aremore likely to make a purchase from an email compared to other marketing. So, put the call out on social media for your followers to sign up and maybe even set up some targeted ads aimed at your ideal customer (or past visitors) promising juicy BFCM deals delivered right to their inbox.
You might even want to send out a teaser email or two to your existing subscribers to whet their appetite for your upcoming sales. When the time comes to send that first sale email, you’ll have an interested audience waiting.
Go a little further with your marketing
Is your marketing creative enough? Top ecommerce brands this year are switching up their conversion-focused marketing in favour of authentic storytelling. If your social ads and email campaigns are full of traditional sales, consider shifting the narrative a bit and include a donation to a charity with each purchase or share a behind-the-brand story to humanize your business and connect with customers.
Triple check your sales logistics
Few things put a bad taste in customers’ mouths faster than a faulty promo code or a broken hyperlink. Check, check, then check again all the logistics involved in your BFCM sales. Run through each link in every email you plan to send, make sure your promo codes are spelled correctly wherever they’re advertised, ensure every product on sale has been priced correctly, and make sure any free shipping offers are properly set up.
Don’t forget to include in your marketing the details of your sale, like what day and time it ends, according to which timezone. Make sure your customers have all the information they need to make a purchase right in front of them. This will help keep your conversions up and your customer service requests down.
Make sure your customer service is ready
With more traffic coming into your online store, you will likely see an uptick in customer service needs. You might plan everything perfectly, but there are shoppers who will still inevitably need a helping hand to convert. The pressure of BFCM can be high for merchants and shoppers alike, so make sure your team is prepared to be friendly and helpful no matter what happens.
If you have the bandwidth, consider adding a live chat function to your online store to make it quick and easy for customers to ask questions, while keeping them in your store and shopping.
Set up contingency plans
What are you going to do if you suddenly sell out of inventory? What if the shipping company you use becomes overwhelmed? Asking yourself the uncomfortable questions and planning for the worst might be unpleasant, but it also might be what saves your BFCM if something goes awry. This year has seen more than its fair share of shipping delays and supplier shortages, so protect your business by preparing for all possible worst-case scenarios.
