Black Friday/Cyber Monday Recap
While it was technically last year (New Year’s joke), Black Friday/Cyber Monday feels like forever ago and just yesterday all at the same time. After the barrage of emails you found in your inbox, we know you, just like us, are wondering, was it worth it?
With Cyber Monday sales hitting an all time record of $9 billion in sales and up nearly 19% from last years earnings and Black Friday showing signs of year over year improvement as well, despite your friends ‘if one more business sends me another email’ social media posts, the numbers would point to yes, yes it is worth it.
So, we've rounded up some tips we've picked up from helping our clients through the weekend that will hopefully help your email campaigns, next year..... er, I mean this year.
It’s okay to go bigger.
‘It always manages to get me. I always think I’m not going to participate and then I end up buying things even if it’s just stocking up on household goods’ - Lindsey Wilson
More people are interested in your sale than you may think. While we all share a collective annoyance when it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we’re all still just as likely to make a purchase during that time frame. Have you ever been to a sporting event when they start to throw out free t-shirts? It’s mania. People love scoring a good deal as much as they like a free XXXL t-shirt.
Make your pricing right
‘We tend to buy on those sales. Often for Christmas presents. I’m really looking to see deeper discounts, though. If it’s less than 20% off, I’m not interested’ - Sarah Beville
While we may be more interested than we portray, the difference between an interest and a conversion will likely come down to price or even the way you present your sale price. If you’re going to be aggressive with your email marketing tactics, make sure it’s worth the consumers time. You can get creative with how you highlight your sale price - remember obscure numbers get noticed. Don't try to pull one over on your audience, they're smart. If you run your normal sale price and try to claim it as a special Cyber Monday-only sale, they'll notice. If they do notice, they may wait to purchase your product until you drop the price further, or they'll decide that you're not being transparent and lose trust. Both are bad.
3. Optimize for mobile
“Mobile accounted for almost half of all e-commerce on Thanksgiving Day itself, and on Black Friday mobile surpassed the 50% mark” - Forbes
With mobile accounting for a significant portion of holiday sales, your mobile UX needs to be superior ... start planning accordingly now! A good mobile UX isn’t just is my page responsive (!!!) It's time to graduate from "my page is responsive" and start making sure that your page is set up for mobile friendly payments or integrated with popular payment apps like Apple Pay. We’ve all seen a crappy mobile check out page that either leaves us frustrated and we give up, or leaves us sketched out and we don’t feel comfortable entering our credit card information. Letterfolk is a great example of a mobile-friendly checkout process done right.
4. The secret is in the multi-send
For most of our clients, Cyber Monday offers out performed Black Friday sales when comparing sales from just one day to another. However, when combining Black Friday preview (an email we sent a few days Black Friday that gave the audience an option to snag the deal then) emails with Black Friday, those sales combined outsold Cyber Monday by nearly 75%. So, while Cyber Monday has the stand alone power, Black Friday can be just as valuable to a brand if spread out over multiple days. I know what you’re thinking, “but TFD always tells me to be strict with my sending practices and to not over inundate the audience!” While this is true the other 51 weeks of the year, the saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” rings true here. Your audience is already getting inundated with emails, so while you may be adding to the noise, you won’t be isolated for creating it. Plus, you can target slightly different audiences for both sends if you are worried about unsubscribes.
And don’t forget about Thanksgiving. The data would indicate that while we again we may be aghast at shopping that day, we’re still making purchases then too.
So with a few minor improvements, we’re certain you can continue to maximize your results for 2020. Want to talk about Cyber Monday/Black Friday sales? Email ashley@twentyfirstdigital.com.
