Let’s be honest: if you’re starting Black Friday planning now, there’s not much saving to be done. Black Friday-Cyber Monday planning should begin as early as August to ensure that you fill the top of the funnel and move consumers from the awareness to the consideration stage.

BUT... If you are starting now, there are strategies you can focus on to maximize increased consumer purchase behavior.

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Choose timing wisely.

Consider targeting the week of Cyber Monday (or even a specific day that week). Although there are still a lot of e-commerce promotional activities, the week of Cyber Monday (Dec. 2-8) will have a lot less noise than leading up to Black Friday through Cyber Monday. 

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Work with what you’ve got.

If you have a customer or prospect email address, they already know about your brand and are ripe for holiday promotions. 

~ Ensure email list health is up to date (if subscribers haven’t been active or opened an email in more than six months, consider removal).

~ Create relevant list segments (purchaser, newsletter, pop-up subscribers, re-engagement, VIP, etc.).

~ Run relevant promotions to specific lists (for example, VIP promotion may be a deeper discount than pop-up subscribers). 

• Tiered or time-stamped promotions often get the most traction, as they provide a sense of scarcity.

~ Extend the lifespan of email campaigns with re-sends (different subject line, same content) to subscribers that didn't open your original campaign send.

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Only spend on retargeting.

Unless consumers have actually been to your site and have some familiarity with your brand, don’t waste your time (and money) marketing to them. The easiest way to go about it is to focus solely on retargeting (Facebook pixel) or remarketing (Google Display Network audience).

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Keep it simple.

Keep your promotion simple. The easier it is for the customer to understand, the more likely they will convert. Discounts should be automatically applied whenever possible.

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Change it up.

Don’t offer the same discounts/promotions that your customers have seen before. The more unique the offer, the more likely it is to catch the attention of customers who may be ready to make another purchase. 

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Create a gift guide.

If you haven’t put together a gift guide to make it easier for your customers to choose, do it now. Some great options are gift guides by price or by the type of person they’re shopping for. 

Looking for more strategies like this one? At Hawke Media, we do last-minute AND long-term strategies. For more information, fill out the free consultation form below. 

Now it’s almost Black Friday. Hop to it!

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