BFCM 2023: marketing strategy guide for eCommerce

Discover the key marketing strategies to maximize your eCommerce sales on Black Friday 2023 and Cyber Monday. Take advantage of the biggest sales season of the year!

If you're an eCommerce marketer, you're probably counting down the days on the calendar for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023. These days mark the biggest sales season of the year, when companies offer discounts and special offers on a wide variety of products. The data verifies it for us: last year's Black Friday eCommerce reached a record $9.12 million.

BFCM stands for "Black Friday and Cyber Monday" and refers to one of the most important dates for all eCommerce sellers because of its high sales volume, increased traffic and the opportunity to attract new customers and open new business opportunities.

It is undoubtedly the ideal time to develop effective marketing strategies to attract new customers. That's why in this article we detail Black Friday marketing strategies to help you boost your sales and build strong relationships with your customers.

BFCM 2023: when is it

Black Friday is officially celebrated every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving and this year it falls on November 24. In recent years, the trend for many stores and brands has been to stretch the deals over the entire weekend and even throughout the week to maximize their sales. It is the so-called Black Week 2023, which runs from Monday, November 20 through Sunday, November 26.

In addition, the Monday after Thanksgiving Day is Cyber Monday, a day dedicated to online shopping, which this year will fall on Monday, November 27.

Although it seems a distant date, everything from inventory monitoring to marketing strategy must be ready before the end of November if you want to boost your business. So don't wait any longer and start your preparations now.

Below, we have created a guide with the different marketing strategies we recommend you implement for BFCM 2023, divided according to when you should carry them out: Pre-Black Friday, during Black-Friday, or post-Black Friday.

Optimize your website for shoppers

In the eCommerce world, BFCM marks the official start of holiday shopping. Consumers are interested in looking for gifts and taking advantage of the discounts and deals offered by this event. That's why it's not only necessary to prepare your offers, but also to optimize your website so that shoppers find what they are looking for quickly and effectively.

That's why we recommend that your website be intuitive and easy to navigate. Create specific and highlighted categories for BFCM offers.

Also, research the keywords that shoppers tend to use during the BFCM dates. To do this, use tools like Semrush to identify relevant terms and include them in product descriptions, titles and content. Remember that as the dates approach, search behavior may change, so adjust your keyword strategy accordingly.

Design a landing page for BFCM

Designing an effective BFCM landing page involves not only presenting your offers, but also creating a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate experience.

An effective landing page should have a clear and attractive structure. Organize offers logically and include well-defined sections, such as "Black Friday Exclusive Offers" or "Cyber Monday Special" to facilitate navigation, decision making and the buying process.

Landing page calls to action (CTAs) should be clear and persuasive, urging visitors to explore more, add products to cart or make a purchase. On the other hand, customize the landing page, including colors that evoke the energy of Black Friday, incorporate high-quality images of the products on offer, and in short, make sure that each element contributes to the overall understanding and appeal of the page.

The inclusion of a special banner will further enhance the visual impact and urgency of your offers. Place this banner at the top of your landing page to grab attention immediately. It is recommended to be visually appealing, choosing a clever use of colors, and include a clear call to action, such as "Buy Now" or "Explore the Offers".

Plan your Email Marketing Campaign

Preparing your email marketing campaign for BFCM requires smart segmentation of your mailing list, personalization and care of your subject lines to convert emails into successful conversions.

Segmenting your mailing list is essential to send relevant and personalized messages, thus leading to increase the probability of interaction. Aggregate your subscribers into categories based on behaviors, buying preferences, or interaction history, among other criteria.

Segmentation facilitates the personalization of content, promotions and calls to action tailored to the preferences and behaviors of each group. Use information about previous purchases, website clicks, or products viewed to create personalized and specific messages for each segment of your mailing list.

On the other hand, it is advisable to take care and create attractive subject lines that arouse the recipient's curiosity. To do this, use terms that convey urgency, such as "Limited Offer"; include persuasive questions, such as "Ready for the best deals of the year?"; clearly express the benefits, such as "Save 50%"; and use strategic and relevant emojis, in moderation.

Promote Black Friday offers on your social networks

Social networks are the strategic ally to maximize visibility and attract new customers on BFCM. Therefore, we recommend you to exploit social networks as sales channels with the social media shopping strategy, and incorporate trending hashtags for Black Friday to reach new audiences.

Social media shopping, which consists of selling products through social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, has become the perfect alliance between the shopping experience and social interaction.

If you want to transform scrollers into buyers, you should tag your products directly in your publications, so that users can see the details and prices without leaving the social network; upload stories to show the products and their features; and integrate direct purchase buttons, which facilitate the purchase process and direct users directly to your website.

In addition, adding trending Black Friday hashtags to your posts will attract the attention of audiences who are looking for irresistible deals. Research which ones are the most popular in the midst of BFCM and in your industry with tools like Hashtagify or simply by exploring the trends on social media itself. Create a custom hashtag for your brand and promote it.

Implement an Influencer Marketing Campaign

If you want to implement an Influencer Marketing campaign for BFCM, it is essential that you look for relevant influencers in tune with your industry, products and most importantly, the interests of your target audience. By collaborating with influencers who already have followers interested in your industry, you increase your chances of conversion.

To find relevant influencers in your niche, we advise you to use Influencer Marketing platforms, such as Traackr or AspirelQ, or explore social media and search for profiles relevant to your niche with engaged followers. Also, research influencers' past collaborations to see if they have worked with similar brands and how it resonated with the audience.

Once you have found a relevant influencer for your BFCM campaign it is essential that you communicate what the expectations and objectives of the campaign are, i.e. specifying the type of content you expect, key dates and any specific messages you wish to highlight. It also allows influencers to incorporate Black Friday deals in an authentic way into their content, and distribute it across the different channels where they have an audience (Instagram, You Tube or TikTok).

Prepare a contest for the BFCM

A BFCM contest can drive traffic to your website, generate leads and increase your brand relevance. The first step is to establish clear and measurable contest objectives, i.e. Are you looking to increase the visibility of your offerings, boost social media engagement or capture leads?

Secondly, offer an attractive and relevant prize for your target audience that will encourage them to participate in the contest and share it with their friends and followers. It can be a popular product in your store, a gift card or a bundle of products. Tell how users can participate, how long the contest will last and how the winners will be selected and announced.

It is recommended that you include contest-specific hashtags to expand your social media reach and encourage participation. Another tip is to collaborate with influencers to promote the contest, as their credibility can give it a decisive boost.

Create an SMS Marketing campaign

SMS Marketing is an effective tool for getting your offers to customers immediately. If you want to create a strategic SMS Marketing campaign, you need the right personalization, exclusive offers and clear calls to action.

The first step in launching an SMS Marketing campaign is to build a list of subscribers. To do this, encourage your customers to opt-in to receive text messages by offering exclusive discounts and content, or access to VIP offers for those who subscribe.

It is imperative that you use the recipient's name in the message, and personalize the content to their preferences, sending offers that align with their purchase history. Personalization not only increases the open rate, but also strengthens a stronger bond with the customer.

Due to the immediate nature of SMS, take advantage of this campaign to send exclusive offers that generate urgency with messages such as "limited offer" or "today only". Also, include clear and direct calls to action. And finally, don't forget to follow up afterwards to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, analyzing open, click-through and conversion rates to improve future campaigns.

Prepare your exclusive offers and promotions

Before Black Friday arrives, it is advisable to meticulously prepare your offers and promotions, highlighting the importance of offering exclusive access, limited-time discounts and free shipping and implementing rewards programs.

Offer your subscribers exclusive early access to Black Friday deals as it gives them a sense of exclusivity and drives them to immediate action. Also, add a touch of urgency with special limited-time discounts or exclusive flash deals.

Another strategy we recommend you carry out during Black Friday is to set up free shipping when a certain purchase threshold is exceeded. Not only does this incentivize larger purchases, but it also improves customer satisfaction by eliminating shipping costs.

In turn, you can introduce rewards programs during Black Friday that consist of accumulating bonus points or temporary memberships with exclusive benefits. These programs incentivize loyalty and offer ongoing incentives that improve customer satisfaction.

Reduce abandoned carts

Reducing abandoned carts not only means recovering lost sales, but also improving the user experience. That's why we recommend implementing strategies such as automated emails, simplifying the checkout process and cost transparency.

Automated emails for abandoned carts are a very effective tool as they usually include an image of the products in the cart, a clear call to action to complete the purchase, or offer exclusive discounts or free shipping. Therefore, set up your platform to automatically send reminders to users who have left products in their cart.

In addition, it is advisable to simplify the checkout process by implementing quick checkout options, which allow users to save payment information and eliminate unnecessary steps. Make sure to be transparent and visible with shipping costs and taxes from the very beginning to avoid that they reach the end of the checkout process and are surprised with unexpected charges.

Offer last-minute Black Friday promotions

Last minute promotions are a very effective strategy to close Black Friday by maximizing your sales, as by creating exclusive offers and communicating the urgency across all your platforms, you are capturing the attention of last minute shoppers.

Create a special set of exclusive discounts that are only available during the last hours of Black Friday, as it incentivizes shoppers to make quick decisions and makes them feel like they are getting access to unique deals. Also advertise lightning deals with significant discounts for short periods, such as an hour or even 30 minutes.

Another key strategy is to offer free express shipping during the last hours of Black Friday as it generates a sense of urgency. In addition, it is advisable to incentivize consumers with discount coupons that they can apply in the last hours of Black Friday. This will motivate them to make quick decisions.

Implement Upselling and Cross-Selling Strategies

As long as upselling and cross-selling strategies are subtly integrated into the buying process, without being intrusive, and contribute to improving the customer experience, you can increase the value of each transaction.

Upselling consists of offering customers upgraded versions of the products they have added to their cart and are about to buy. For Black Friday, there are different upselling strategies you can implement.

The first one is to suggest upgraded products that improve the functionality of the product. You can also offer a premium package of products with additional features or provide an extended warranty for a slightly higher price.

Cross-selling involves offering complementary products that expand the variety of the purchase. In the context of Black Friday, you can offer accessories that complement the main product that the customer has added to the cart; create bundles that include related products and offer them at a special price; or offer additional discounts when customers buy related products at the same time.

Implement a loyalty program

An effective loyalty program can turn occasional customers into loyal customers for your brand. This can consist of referral rewards, gift cards and minimum spend rewards during and after Black Friday.

Incentivize your customers to recommend your brand by offering rewards for each successful referral, as it will not only attract new customers, but also strengthen customer loyalty to your brand. To do this, you can assign each customer a referral code that they can share with family and friends or offer special discounts or free shipping for both the customer and the new customer.

On the other hand, you can offer gift cards as a reward for reaching a minimum spend to those who have become new customers as a result of Black Friday. It's an effective way to thank your customers and satisfy them because you give them a chance to choose the products they want.

Another strategy you can include in your loyalty program is to offer prizes or rewards, such as special discounts, when certain spending thresholds are reached. This is a way to incentivize more spending and reward the loyalty of customers who have a relationship with your brand.

Send follow-up emails and ask for feedback

Once Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 are over, sending follow-up emails and asking for feedback becomes an essential strategy to build a longer-lasting relationship with your customers and improve your offer.

When composing the email, it is advisable that you start by expressing your appreciation for customers' participation in Black Friday, for having chosen your brand over the other options that exist during this great season of offers. Continue the email by offering information about the products they have purchased, the total price and relevant shipping information.

Invite your customers to share their shopping experience by including a direct link to a short survey or feedback form. This will help you spot opportunities for improvement. In fact, you can offer incentives for those customers who provide feedback that motivates them to participate. Finally, we recommend that you end the email by emphasizing your commitment to customer satisfaction and your willingness to serve them in the future. Encourage them to keep up to date with all the news and offers you publish.