6 min read
Tips for all e-merchants before, during and after Black Friday
Thinking ahead to Black Friday
Use and analyse data from last year
Analyse and evaluate previous years' data and look for trends. With simple analytics tools such as Google Trends you can gain a lot of knowledge and see which keywords/terms were popular during previous years' Black Friday. Keep these questions in mind:
- How did it go last year?
- What were your best products?
- Which day did you sell the most? The whole weekend or a specific day?
- Where did your visitors come from? Mobile or desktop?
- What percentage of sales came from new customers?
- How did your marketing perform for Black Friday - which strategies worked best?
Promote and inform your customers about offers
For Black Friday, it is important that your customers are informed about the offers that you have developed for that particular day. Make sure your webshop is updated with the right information so that customers can easily get ready to buy when the time comes. Many chains and e-tailers have hefty discounts during Black Friday, but here you can of course calculate your own pricing model based on your company's circumstances.
Let your customers know about your upcoming offers and give them an opportunity to get involved by sending out a newsletter, for example. That way, you'll make sure to get your customers' attention when the time comes.
Mobile, mobile and mobile (yes, it's still relevant)
It may be getting old, but mobile optimization is key. Mobile has been the focus for e-tailers for some time as customers continually become more tech-savvy and look for seamless experiences across multiple channels. So make sure your customers can easily navigate and make purchases via mobile without any hassle.
Bonus points!
- Consider your marketing and where to spend it. Remember to reach your customers where they are.
- Customize the look in your e-commerce so visitors can easily find your Black Friday deals. This could be through a banner on the homepage or highlighted product groups in the menu.
- Can you add product descriptions anything else? Can you add more or new images? The more you work on your product descriptions, the more you can reduce returns.
- Test the customer journey several times. Is it easy to find the products you want and get to the checkout?
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Things to consider during Black Friday
Be extra accessible to your customers
It should be easy for your customers (and potential customers) to get in touch with you during Black Friday. The last thing you want is to lose a customer because they don't get a quick enough response. So make sure it's easy for customers to get in touch with you throughout Black Friday. Perhaps you need to extend your support hours for a certain period?
Keep in touch with the customer all the way
Don't lose contact with the customer after a purchase has been completed. Keep in touch with the customer all the way through and let them know what's happening with the order. Have you packed and shipped the order? When can the customer expect their package? Keeping in touch with the customer avoids unnecessary questions and the customer knows what to expect.
Save useful information for the next sales period
To avoid losing customers after the sale, it can be a good idea to collect the data you get during Black Friday in a regular way. For example, you can use this information to send out newsletters in the run-up to the Christmas sales. Then you have a chance to attract back customers who have already shopped with you and been satisfied with their purchases.
Thinking after Black Friday
How did it really go?
With Black Friday over, you've also made an important rehearsal for the Christmas shopping season. That's why it's a good idea to gather the lessons you've learned and take them with you into the next sales period. Find out all the numbers and compare the results with previous years.
Here are five questions to help you evaluate Black Friday. Go through the questions to see what went well and what can be done better for the next sales period. Based on the answers, it might be a good idea to develop an action plan so you can start making changes now. This will give you plenty of time to adjust and fine-tune your procedures and thus create a good basis for achieving even better results next time.
Five questions to help you evaluate Black Friday
- What went well and what could have gone better?
- Did you achieve your set goals?
- Are you satisfied with the sales performance?
- Are you happy with the results?
- Did you have enough products in stock?
- Were you able to meet your promised delivery times?
During sales days like Black Friday, a lot of time is spent capturing customers' interest through offers in newsletters, ads and social media. The expectation of making a good purchase is the customer's top priority. But how can you maintain customer interest after Black Friday and into the holiday shopping season?
A recurring trend in e-commerce each Christmas is the advent calendar. Thousands of emails are sent out every day in December with unique offers where you have to be first in line to secure the deal. This is an effective way to capture and retain customer interest throughout the Christmas shopping season. In addition to your daily offers generating additional sales, you can strengthen your web shop's brand, establish long-term loyalty with your customers and highlight the best of your range.
We at Abicart hope you've got some really good ideas for making this year's Black Friday and Christmas sales a success. But above all, your main focus should be on what's best for you and your business. Best of luck with the sales!
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