Black Friday and Cyber Monday is almost here. Get prepared for one of the busiest weeks in ecommerce with our top tips to help you make the most of BFCM. Find new customers and welcome back your loyal customer base,  don't miss out on this once a year opportunity.

Let your customers know you're doing Black Friday

Informing your customers about your Black Friday participation is vital for ecommerce businesses. It creates anticipation, builds excitement, and encourages loyal customers to plan their shopping with you in mind. By employing a variety of communication channels, such as email marketing, social media, and website announcements, you not only let your customers know about the upcoming deals but also reinforce your brand's credibility and transparency. Effective communication ensures that your customers are well-informed, increasing the likelihood of their engagement and boosting your Black Friday success.

Optimise your store for mobile-first viewing

Optimising your e-commerce website for mobile-first viewing is no longer an option; it's a necessity. With a significant portion of online shopping occurring on mobile devices, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly mobile experience is paramount. A mobile-optimised site not only enhances customer satisfaction but also positively impacts your search engine ranking, as Google prioritises mobile-friendly websites. By focusing on responsive design, fast loading times, and intuitive navigation for mobile users, you're not only meeting customer expectations but also setting the stage for increased sales and conversions. Mobile optimisation is a strategic move that caters to the changing digital landscape and ensures your e-commerce business remains competitive and accessible to a wide audience.

Use social media to build anticipation for Black Friday

Leveraging social media to build anticipation for Black Friday is a smart strategy for e-commerce businesses. It allows you to engage with your audience, create excitement, and generate a buzz surrounding your upcoming deals. Posting teaser content, countdowns, and sneak peeks of what's to come can captivate your followers and keep your brand top of mind as the big day approaches. By utilising popular hashtags and encouraging user participation, you can extend your reach and increase visibility, ultimately driving more traffic to your online store on Black Friday. Social media serves as a powerful tool to pique interest, foster loyalty, and ensure that your customers are eager to take advantage of the fantastic offers you have in store.

Boost SEO of your website

With the increased online competition during this shopping season, a well-optimised website can help your business stand out. Focus on keyword research and optimisation to ensure your products and deals are discoverable by search engines. Create SEO-friendly content, such as blog posts, product descriptions, and meta tags, that highlight your Black Friday offerings. This not only improves your search engine rankings but also ensures that potential customers can easily find your website amidst the digital noise. By strengthening your SEO strategy, you can maximise your visibility, attract organic traffic, and drive more sales during this critical shopping period.

Focus on Email Marketing

Your Black Friday campaigns are important but your automated emails that are triggered by a customers interaction are as important. By using automated platforms such as Klayvio who can help make sure at any touch point you have the right comms in place for your brand.  Setting up key flows to automate a personalised customer journey such as abandoned cart series are a great tip to implement.

Customer trust

When it comes to helping customers pick your brand over another, having the trust of your customers is a must. This can include using tools such as trustpilot which will give customers peace of mind that they're buying from a legitimate company. Trustpilot is an independent reviews site which collects feedback from real customer and create a non bias 5 star rating system.

Promote post-Black Friday loyalty

Once you have new customers, give them a reason to return to our store. Using a loyalty program is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate clear value for repeat purchases. Using great tech partners such as Loyalty Lion can really help to increase customer retention for your business offering services such as exclusive access to sales, free shipping, VIP offers etc.  

Improve Site Speed

The increased traffic and online shopping activity during this time can strain your website's performance. Ensuring that your site loads quickly and efficiently is not only critical for user experience but also for search engine rankings. A fast-loading website keeps visitors engaged, reduces bounce rates, and significantly increases the likelihood of completing transactions. It also prevents potential customers from abandoning your site due to slow load times, ultimately helping you capitalize on the surge in Black Friday sales.

Don't ignore SMS

Drive sales in just a few clicks with personalized messages that convert. We spoke with Yotpo who said that last year (2022) 73% of Shopify sales came from mobile which is up from the year before. What will this years percentage be?