March 29, 2024
Strategies for a Successful BFCM 2023
Navigating BFCM 2023: Your Strategic Guide
Navigating BFCM 2023: Your Strategic Guide
BFCM is one of the busiest shopping events of the year. This event has always been the perfect opportunity for brands to expand their customer base and strengthen relationships with existing customers. Brands need to set up offers that meets shoppers’ expectations and create a strategy that prepares them for it. This includes ways to initiate repeat purchases and customer retention long after the BFCM event is over.
Before we delve into the strategies of success for BFCM 2023, let us understand what BFCM stands for. BCFM is short for ‘Black Friday Cyber Monday’ and refers to the four-day weekend over Thanksgiving that witnesses some of the biggest revenue earnings of the year. BFCM consists two major shopping days: Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and the weekend in between where sales sky rocket.
In the weeks leading up to the holiday season, BFCM is a powerful promotional tool for customers to start making their dream purchases. BFCM promotions are a big push for customers to snap up the best deals for the most sought-after products.
This year, Thanksgiving falls on November 23rd, which means that Black Friday is November 24th and Cyber Monday is November 27th. Following are the key statistics that ecommerce brands need to know to prepare for BFCM this year:
· Close to 2.64 billion people will make at least one online purchase in 2023.
· 56.6% of American shoppers prefer shopping online.
· Mobile commerce transactions will account for around 8.7% of all retail transactions by 2026.
· 81% of shoppers perform online research before making any purchase.
· Ad spend has tripled since 2019, from $12.5B in 2019 to an estimated $38.4B by 2024.
· Social commerce is expected to reach a total value of $1.3 trillion by the end of 2023.
· The Return on Investment (ROI) for email marketing is approximately 4,500%.
If you are looking for Black Friday Cyber Monday digital marketing tips, then you are at the right place. Our #1 tip for marketers is to plan early, but if you are reading this blog, then you are already doing that. Following are the key strategies to have a successful BFCM sale this year.
Being able to segment customers at the onset of their shopping journey is key to directing shoppers to items that fulfil their needs. For example, if a shopper is looking for a gift for their husband, segmentation directs them to the appropriate gift guide, rather than leaving them searching for what they want on an e-commerce website until they give up and leave. Live chat, SMS, and email are just some of the channels that e-commerce brands can leverage during the BFCM season to segment shoppers based on their requirements and interests.
It’s not only your online store that needs to be prepped to manage an increased traffic for BFCM 2023. A successful holiday shopping season depends on multiple teams working together seamlessly to attract potential buyers with exciting deals. For example, the customer support, marketing, and product teams - these teams not being in sync can damage your BFCM campaign. Incorrect discounts may be applied, orders may be shipped late, or sale items might not be flagged as ‘sold out’ quickly enough to avoid stock levels being depleted. So, do ensure that your internal teams are prepared in advance for the BFCM season.
BFCM deals are exciting, but discounts aren’t the only thing that shoppers are paying close attention to. Consumers need to feel confident about their choice of brands. So, you must set the right expectations with regards to shipping and delivery. While most BFCM orders are fulfilled without issues, it is the 1% that retailers need to be concerned about. During peak season, delays and errors which are outside the brands control may occur. Thus, your business needs to have a plan on how to communicate with customers – both before and after orders are placed.
Marketing and order fulfilment activities need to be in sync for a BFCM weekend to run smoothly. For example, if a certain product is going to be on promotion during BFCM, your operations team must be prepared to take steps to reduce errors and prepare for higher order volumes. Further, leveraging influencer marketing can amplify your promotional efforts, driving increased traffic and demand, therefore, it's essential to coordinate these influencer campaigns with your supply chain to ensure product availability aligns with expected spikes in consumer interest. Correct peak forecasting and understanding the products that are in demand helps to avoid bottlenecks in order fulfilment and ensure that customers get their orders on time.
The retail holiday season does not begin with the onset of Black Friday, but begins when shoppers decide that they want to start shopping for the holiday. According to data available on Salesforce, promotional events rise sharply by early October as brands leverage the Amazon’s fall Prime Day, with global discount rates predicted to rise to 19% during October and peak at 29% during Cyber Week. Thus, early access to the seasonal inventory only helps spike up your sales volume. Incorporating eye-catching visuals and compelling messaging into your marketing strategy can further amplify its impact, making it essential to create a poster that captures the essence of your brand and promotions.
Payment methods has emerged as a key factor to gain customer loyalty. By providing customers their preferred payment options, you get a chance to increase your share of repeat customers. Reduced consumer spending and concerns about inflation are factors that drive customers to shop earlier for holiday gifts. As holiday spending becomes more spread out, brands need to target early shoppers and encourage holiday purchases.
Return volumes rise sharply during the holiday season as gifts are exchanged and returned, which increases the chances of bottlenecks in the return process. In 2022, retailers saw 17.9% of holiday sales returned, equating to nearly $171 billion worth of merchandise. Without a streamlined return process in place, returned merchandise begins to pile up in fulfilment centers, which then leads to delayed refunds and reduced resale opportunities. Using a third-party returns management solution is an excellent way to manage returns effectively during BFCM.
It does feel like the BFCM weekend is all about who can give shoppers the biggest discount. However, there are still a variety of tools available to online sellers who aren’t really in a position to slash prices on all of their inventory. BFCM sales come at a time when online merchants need to free up storage space for seasonal inventory. This makes it a great opportunity to offload excess inventory and dead stock that costs you more in storage fees than it can make in sales. Thus, you can still put-up great deals while keeping a decent profit margin. There are other methods that allow brands to boost the perceived value of their products – without offering discounts. For example, bundling together merchandise that complements each other creates a unique product offering that is not available anywhere else. Likewise, a BFCM offer like a gift with purchase or free holiday gift wrapping gives online retailers an edge over competitors.
BFCM can be stressful for brands of all types, but it doesn’t have to be. By making a few quick, yet intentional decisions, brands can connect with new customers and solidify relationships with existing ones. This means having a unique BFCM offer, an omnichannel marketing campaign, and a comprehensive contingency plan ready to go.
