Webinar Recap: Why you should be thinking about Black Friday

Online Black Friday sales for 2021 are set to be bigger than ever, in part due to many physical stores still facing restrictions under local or national COVID-19 regulations. To make the most of the online boom, start planning and engaging now.

Last year’s statistics speak for themselves; During the holiday season, email click-through rates increased by 4%, there was a 968.5% increase in total engagements on Black Friday messages, and Black Friday- related social media posts had a a 1301.7% increase in comments from November 1st to the 23rd.

If you missed our webinar last week, don’t worry! Here are our tips and tricks on how to get the most out of Black Friday for your business.

Marketing in a post-pandemic world

Digital markets have experienced unprecedented growth as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic; in the UK alone, there was 5 years’ worth of growth in just 12 months, and online shopping increased by 13%, compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

Even before the pandemic, online shopping was on the rise, and 96% of the UK population is now connected to the Internet, with similar numbers worldwide.

This trend is not temporary, and is estimated to continue even once the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns are a distant memory. But what does this mean for you?

Using data to pre-empt customer needs

With more and more sales being delivered online, there is a wealth of data available. However, it isn’t enough to simply have the data, businesses need to optimise their use of this data too.

With Black Friday in mind, begin gathering insights in the run-up to the date. Start now! Using social listening tools is a good start in understanding what your customers want, and how they want it. 63% of online traffic now comes from mobiles, not desktop. Consider creating a user-friendly app for a shopping experience. It is also important to note that more customers research products via their mobiles and then use both mobiles and desktops in equal measure to actually make the transactions

Google’s recently released Core Web Vitals to ensure the best performing websites rise up the search ranking. Google can measure your online presence and how pages perform in terms of user experience, focusing on three key components; content loading speed, interactivity and visual stability.

Start now. Every time your app or site crashes, this costs time, potential ROI and gives bad press and customer feedback. By getting involved with your datasets now, and using this time in the run up to Black Friday, any issues or malfunctions can be ironed out, to provide better CX when November arrives.

CX – Customer experience

Black Friday has been the busiest day for shopping, online and in store, for years now, and 2021 is set to be no different. Your customer experience is essential to attracting and retaining consumers; the smoother and less complex your online CX, the more likely consumers will be to follow through to purchase products or services.

The key thing to remember here is to develop an omnichannel strategy. Cover every channel your consumers are likely to use; The average person spends half their time online using social media. 53% of all website traffic comes from organic online search. These are general figures that impress the importance of online and social advertising, but don’t forget elements like below the line channels, and direct email campaigns.

Focus on sending the right message, at the right time, in the right channels. The lead up to Black Friday, the week before, the day before – these are all excellent times to engage with your audience, but the message may change. You also need to be flexible to vary the offers on the day itself.

Our top tips!

1. Start planning now! We can’t emphasize this enough, preparation is the key.
2. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Go through the shopping process, end to end, and live the CX yourself as a customer.
3. Trust the tools you have. Be it Google Adwords, Google Core Web Vitals, Adobe Analytics or any number of other options, trust and use them as fully as possible.
4. Have contingency plans for products that may run out. Be it an emergency stock, or an alternative, be ready for anything.
5. Budget. Don’t overspend in the hope of earning it all back, it’s a gamble. Also be prepared to hold some budget back for the day itself as the costs skyrocket based on the retail competition on the day.
6. Don’t forget about Cyber Monday. Black Friday may be bigger for overall sales, but remember to include Cyber Monday in your planning, to really capitalize on the full experience.

Online Black Friday sales for 2021 are set to be bigger than ever, in part due to many physical stores still facing restrictions under local or national COVID-19 regulations. To make the most of the online boom, start planning and engaging now.

Last year’s statistics speak for themselves; During the holiday season, email click-through rates increased by 4%, there was a 968.5% increase in total engagements on Black Friday messages, and Black Friday- related social media posts had a a 1301.7% increase in comments from November 1st to the 23rd.

If you missed our webinar last week, don’t worry! Here are our tips and tricks on how to get the most out of Black Friday for your business.

Marketing in a post-pandemic world

Digital markets have experienced unprecedented growth as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic; in the UK alone, there was 5 years’ worth of growth in just 12 months, and online shopping increased by 13%, compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

Even before the pandemic, online shopping was on the rise, and 96% of the UK population is now connected to the Internet, with similar numbers worldwide.

This trend is not temporary, and is estimated to continue even once the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns are a distant memory. But what does this mean for you?

Using data to pre-empt customer needs

With more and more sales being delivered online, there is a wealth of data available. However, it isn’t enough to simply have the data, businesses need to optimise their use of this data too.

With Black Friday in mind, begin gathering insights in the run-up to the date. Start now! Using social listening tools is a good start in understanding what your customers want, and how they want it. 63% of online traffic now comes from mobiles, not desktop. Consider creating a user-friendly app for a shopping experience. It is also important to note that more customers research products via their mobiles and then use both mobiles and desktops in equal measure to actually make the transactions

Google’s recently released Core Web Vitals to ensure the best performing websites rise up the search ranking. Google can measure your online presence and how pages perform in terms of user experience, focusing on three key components; content loading speed, interactivity and visual stability.

Start now. Every time your app or site crashes, this costs time, potential ROI and gives bad press and customer feedback. By getting involved with your datasets now, and using this time in the run up to Black Friday, any issues or malfunctions can be ironed out, to provide better CX when November arrives.

CX – Customer experience

Black Friday has been the busiest day for shopping, online and in store, for years now, and 2021 is set to be no different. Your customer experience is essential to attracting and retaining consumers; the smoother and less complex your online CX, the more likely consumers will be to follow through to purchase products or services.

The key thing to remember here is to develop an omnichannel strategy. Cover every channel your consumers are likely to use; The average person spends half their time online using social media. 53% of all website traffic comes from organic online search. These are general figures that impress the importance of online and social advertising, but don’t forget elements like below the line channels, and direct email campaigns.

Focus on sending the right message, at the right time, in the right channels. The lead up to Black Friday, the week before, the day before – these are all excellent times to engage with your audience, but the message may change. You also need to be flexible to vary the offers on the day itself.

Our top tips!

1. Start planning now! We can’t emphasize this enough, preparation is the key.
2. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Go through the shopping process, end to end, and live the CX yourself as a customer.
3. Trust the tools you have. Be it Google Adwords, Google Core Web Vitals, Adobe Analytics or any number of other options, trust and use them as fully as possible.
4. Have contingency plans for products that may run out. Be it an emergency stock, or an alternative, be ready for anything.
5. Budget. Don’t overspend in the hope of earning it all back, it’s a gamble. Also be prepared to hold some budget back for the day itself as the costs skyrocket based on the retail competition on the day.
6. Don’t forget about Cyber Monday. Black Friday may be bigger for overall sales, but remember to include Cyber Monday in your planning, to really capitalize on the full experience.