How to Prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Sales performance over the weekend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is essential to the health of retailers. These annual sales, Black Friday (November 24th) and Cyber Monday (November 27th), are real opportunities for Amazon and e-commerce sellers to boost revenue and drive a lot of traffic. In the following guide, we’ll get into ten essential strategies to help you prepare effectively and get the most out of these landmark shopping days.
1. Analyze Previous Sales History
Using historical data is a necessity and our Market Intelligence tool can provide invaluable insights. Full stop. By going over the previous sales data, sellers can mine this crucial data by:
- Discovering which products performed as heroes
- Calculating the quantities of inventory sold
- Pinpointing the peak sales times
Understanding consumer behavior is also essential. Here’s what to keep an eye on:
- When did customers prefer to shop?
- What’s the average customer cart size?
- What are their preferred payment methods?
Let me share an example:
In 2021, we noticed a specific trend in shopping patterns. It revealed that during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, there was a significant increase in shopping during the evening, with a peak between 7 PM and 10 PM. Shoppers seemed to prefer browsing and making purchases after dinner.
Taking advantage of this trend, we scheduled our email marketing campaigns to reach customers during these hours to promote exclusive evening-time deals. This approach resulted in a substantial boost in sales during the time frame, and our customers appreciated having tailor-made offers at their convenience.
That example demonstrates how a thorough analysis of sales history can help identify unique trends to then capitalize on them with specific strategies.
2. Inventory Management
The backbone of a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale is effective inventory management. It’s crucial that your hottest products remain in stock, ready to meet surging demand. You can leverage sales forecasts to accomplish this, as they can tell you which products are expected to be in high demand. This forecasting allows you to plan your inventory effectively, ensuring that popular items are readily available.
Furthermore, work closely with suppliers to guarantee the seamless restocking of inventory. Remain in sync with your suppliers and have a plan for replenishing any of the stock as it runs low.
And do not underestimate the value of real-time inventory tracking. With up to the minute refreshes, the tools enable you to react quickly to any sudden changes in demand. By integrating these tools into your inventory management strategy, it becomes easy to avoid overstocking or understocking issues.
3. Optimize Product Listings for SEO
You want the listing to have prime visibility which easily translates to more traffic and higher conversions. Utilize high-quality images, write enticing product titles with relevant keywords, and provide concise descriptions using bullet points. These kinds of modifications are precisely what our suite of optimization tools were designed for. Listing Analyzer and Listing Builder, in particular, are great for making sure that your product page is set up for success.
4. Create Engaging Product Descriptions
Think about ways to enhance the product descriptions. Do not fixate on the features. Consider calling out the benefits as well. Use persuasive copy to address possible customer pain points and then offer solutions that will resonate with your customers.
In a previous Black Friday sale, for instance, one seller decided to go beyond listing the technical specs of a smartphone and instead emphasized how the device would make their customers’ lives more convenient. This shift in their approach led to an increase in clicks and conversions.
5. Pricing Strategy
Staying competitive is the name of the game. Use competitor price analysis tools like our Competitor Intelligence tool or manually check rival prices directly on the platform. For dynamic pricing, utilize tools that adjust prices based on demand. Lastly, don’t forget about the allure of bundle deals and limited-time discounts to captivate shoppers.
- Competitor Price Analysis: Understanding how your rivals price their products can guide you in making competitive pricing decisions.
- Dynamic Pricing: These tools automatically adjust your prices based on market demand, competitor pricing changes, and other factors. This ensures your prices are always competitive and appealing to shoppers.
- Bundle Deals and Limited-Time Discounts: You can bundle closely-related products together at a discounted price or offer flash sales with limited-time discounts. These tactics create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to make quick purchasing decisions.
There was one Amazon seller that ran a limited-time discount on a popular electronic gadget. The dropped the price from $199 to $149 for a few hours. This discount attracted more customers while leading to an increase in sales volume, which in turn helped them secure the best seller badge for their subcategory. Once they had the best seller badge, they rode an additional wave of sales throughout the rest of the day.
6. Leverage Amazon PPC Ads Effectively
When done correctly, PPC ads on Amazon can be a game-changer. Understand the distinctions between Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Product Display Ads. Set a realistic budget and meticulously monitor the ROI. It’s important to continually refine your strategy based on data-driven insights. Our PPC automation tool, Kinetic, can significantly assist in this process, ensuring your decisions are both informed and effective.
When optimizing Amazon PPC ad campaigns, bear in mind that targeted keywords and ad copy quality are integral to how they will perform. Imagine a seller advertising their latest product line of headphones. By intentionally selecting specific keywords related to high-quality audio and noise-cancellation features, the ads became visible to the most relevant audience. Beyond that, the seller invested time in crafting persuasive and concise ad copy that highlighted the unique selling points of their headphones. As a result, they achieved a higher CTR and improved ROI.
7. Mobile Optimization
With the rising dominance of mobile shopping, it’s vital to optimize product listings for various devices. Be sure to run tests, check rapid loading times, and streamline the checkout process for mobile users.
- Mobile-Responsive Listings: Ensure that your product listings are mobile-responsive. Mobile users should have a seamless and visually appealing experience when viewing products. Test listings on various devices to identify any issues related to formatting, images, and text, so that you can resolve them.
- Fast Loading Times: Mobile users have less patience for slow-loading pages. Speed up your site’s loading times by optimizing images, reducing unnecessary scripts, and employing caching techniques. This will all diminish bounce rates.
- Simplified Mobile Checkout: Implement one-click purchasing options and straightforward payment methods. The fewer steps and data entry touchpoints required for mobile transactions, the more likely users are to complete their purchases.
8. Prepare Customer Service
Customer service teams play a critical role in making the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales experience run smoothly for customers. Coordinate with your staff to prepare them for a possible flood of customer queries.
Consider creating templates to streamline the process of responding to frequently asked questions. While the templates offer a structured foundation, they can be personalized as needed, saving time and ensuring professionalism in every interaction with customers.
Maintaining a quick response time to customer inquiries is also crucial. Timely responses demonstrate your team’s dedication to customer satisfaction and can help prevent potential cart abandonment due to unanswered questions or concerns. An efficient and responsive customer service team can be a game-changer during these high-stakes shopping days.
9. Leverage Social Media & Email Campaigns
The power of email campaigns and social media should never be underestimated. Craft truly compelling subject lines for emails to achieve higher open rates. Segment your email list to offer tailored offers. Utilize retargeting ads on social media to “win back” customers who abandoned their carts.
- Compelling Email Subject Lines: Craft email subject lines that evoke a sense of FOMO. Use intriguing phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Exclusive Black Friday Deals” to encourage higher open and click-through rates.
- Segmented Email Lists: Segment your email list for customized offers to different groups. Consider creating segments based on past purchase behavior, customer preferences, or even demographics. Tailored have proven to boost conversion rates.
- Retargeting Ads on Social Media: Implement retargeting ads on social media platforms to re-engage users who abandoned their shopping carts. Use dynamic ads that display the products users viewed but didn’t purchase. These reminders can bring hesitant buyers back to complete the transactions.
10. Post Sale Strategy
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are finally over, your work is done. Wrong! That was a test. I hope you didn’t fail it, because once the sales comes to an end, it is essential to gather and analyze performance data, examine key metrics, and all of the results from advertising campaigns.
This data will supply insights that can help you refine your strategies for the next year. Additionally, maintaining customer engagement involves following up with buyers through post-sale surveys and review requests. Not only will this information make your business run stronger but using them as testimonials can enhance any brand’s credibility with social proof.
Your customer team should also be prepared for any possible returns. In the days leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you will want to have a clear and hassle-free return policy in place, and to make sure that it is communicated succinctly to your customers. A seamless return process can leave a positive impression on buyers, even after the sale is long over.
Conclusion
It is no secret that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a huge source of profits for retailers, brick and mortar or ecommerce ones alike. Sellers put up huge numbers on those days more than any others throughout the year. These shopping events continue to grow more lucrative year over year, with sources showing that global spending hit a high of $281B over the monumental weekend in 2022.
It is important for retailers to be prepared. Online listings should be optimized for success. Customer teams should be ready to answer questions and solve problems.
Remember that Viral Launch’s suite of Amazon seller tools can streamline most of the work and help your profits really soar. And by implementing the ten tips discussed above, you will be fully prepared to flourish during the holiday sales rush.
If you have any questions or if we can be of any help, please know that the customer service team at Viral Launch is always available and eager to support you whenever you need it.
