Black Friday Sales? That's So 2019
If the rest of the year hasn't tipped you off yet, last year's holiday sales strategies probably aren't suitable for a "rinse and repeat" application this year. Black Friday sales are so 2019.
With the whole world turned upside down - from the dizzying drop in brick and mortar spending to the economic hardships faced by so many people - it's time to look at holiday sales with a fresh eye.
Here's what we recommend for the Q4 holiday push:
A quick caveat: we know OUR business, and we know marketing, but we don’t know YOUR business. You do. Take these suggestions as just that: suggestions. Use your gut (and your data) to make the right decision for your business. Okay, disclaimer over, let’s do this!
Skip the One-Day Flash Sales
(Black Friday, Small-Business Saturday, Cyber Monday… skip ALL of them)
Flash sales require advertising run-up time to get good traction on the actual single day of sale. That means dumping a significant amount of your ad spend budget into the learning phase to optimize ad performance in time for your sale. And don’t get us started on delayed ad approvals. Pick the platform, pour a stiff drink, fluff your pillows, and hope your approvals come back in less than a day…or three.
And if 2020 wasn’t already challenging enough…you’re going to be fighting against campaign spending (which will take about 2 weeks after elections close to ramp down) and EVERY OTHER MARKETER who’s realized that digital campaigns are their only hope for a profitable Q4. Long story short: ad inventory will be low and competition (and therefore costs) will be high.
If people aren't shopping the traditional way this year, why should you have to push to a sales tactic that’s rapidly becoming obsolete?
Don’t assume they’ll come back day-after-day to see what your newest special is… they’re getting blasted with a ton of noise from other marketers right now and fatigue sets in fast these days.
Set up a holiday sale that lasts for a week or more with all of the specials available at the same time. Focus on bringing customers into your store and giving them access to everything at once.
Selling for the season lets you really maximize the efficiency of your ad campaign. That’s why we recommend running 3-6 ads throughout the campaign. Running a single ad will lead to ad fatigue, which diminishes your results.
Here’s what our recommended strategy looks like:
2 Awareness Ads: Let people know about your holiday sales. Use a shop now call-to-action, but focus more on the high-level offerings and offer the chance to shop. Great images and/or videos are important here, especially if you’re offering physical products the audience won’t have a chance to experience in person before purchasing.
2 Direct Sales or Call-To-Action Ads: Simple and focused on the offer and a reason to act now.
2 Retargeting Ads: These are great for staying in front of people who engaged in your previous ads, but didn’t add-to-cart and people who added-to-cart but didn’t purchase.
Looking for a solid ad strategy for your holiday sales? Check out our holiday sale ads templates. You’ll get 6 pre-written ads with tips on how to use them. All you need to do is customize them to your business. It’s like mad-libs, but more profitable.
Leverage Your Email List
Email is STILL one of the most cost-effective marketing methods. Especially when you're reaching out to an audience who already knows, likes, and trusts you. Sending a series of emails to your subscribers, past customers, or otherwise warm audience is a great and cost-effective way to drive awareness, traffic, and conversions.
While Retail emails experienced lower open rates than the previous year (13.9% this year, down from 14.98% last year), the click-to-open rate of 15.2% remained higher than the 14.3% average. This means the people who open Retail emails are likely to visit their site.
Retail has some of the highest competition of all industries, which can lead to low open rates. Despite seeing lower open and click-through rates, 38% of US consumers report having been driven to action due to email. - Campaign Monitor’s Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2020: By Industry and Day.
One email just won’t cut it, with open rates and click-thru rates being what they are (see above). Emails should give customers a reason to act and a sense of urgency. We’ve put together a 7-email sequence that’s perfect for e-commerce businesses launching a holiday season sales campaign to their warm audience. Here’s what that looks like:
Launch Your Exclusive Holiday Pre-Sale: Let this audience know they can get ahead of general public orders for faster fulfillment and shipping. Give some special additional reason to act (exclusive discount, shipping speed upgrade, etc) since this is your most valuable audience.
Just X Days Left in Pre-Sale: Assuming they didn’t open the first email, give the highlights and offer(s) again.
Last Chance for Pre-Sale Access: Drive urgency, especially if you have items that are expected to sell out.
Holiday Discounts Are On Now: Let your list know that these offers are available to the general public now.
Low Inventory Sell Out Warning (if applicable): Have items that are at risk of selling out? Use this email at any point in your sequence to give your high-value audience a chance to get it (or them) before it’s gone.
Order Now to Get Delivery By…: For the procrastinators on your email list.
Last Call for Holiday Discounts: For the super-procrastinators.
Want templated emails to leverage this strategy? Check out our holiday sale email sequence. You’ll get 7 pre-written emails with tips on how to use them. All you need to do is customize them to your business. It’s (also) like mad-libs, but more profitable.
Don’t Undercut Prices Too Much
If you’ve offered loss-leader deals in the past to lure people into your business, this is NOT the year to assume those deals will come with the usual profitable upsells. Double-check your costs and margins and make sure every deal you offer is a deal you can AFFORD on its own. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain.
Make Sure You’re Ready for the Best-Case Scenario
As marketers, we’re all about pushing for the big sales day (or week, or season). But it’s CRUCIAL to the longer-term health of the company that the team is ready to fulfill orders and answer customer service tickets in your usual timeframe. Think of the customer experience YOU want to have with a company.
Nothing sets off a chain of refunds faster than unexpected and/or unexplained fulfillment or delivery delays. It’s something many of us have experienced as consumers throughout 2020, and it’s a really easy way to leave a bad taste in a consumer’s mouth and lose long-term customers. None of us can afford that.