In our previous post, we discussed the Cyber 5, what the busiest shopping week of the year looked like in 2021, and what trends to expect this year. Today, we want to discuss strategies to maximize 2022’s Black Friday weekend for your brand.
Having a strategy for the Cyber 5 is essential in ensuring that your brand increases revenue by the year’s end. Many consumers began their holiday shopping in September and October, and are continually looking for the best deals heading into Black Friday weekend. To be competitive, you need to prioritize your advertising efforts, your email marketing campaigns, and your customer service.
How to optimize your Google campaigns
Using Google’s New Customer Acquisition Goal
The Cyber 5 is when you’re likely to see the highest amount of unique traffic, which means that new customer acquisition should be a high priority for your brand. Luckily, Google has made this even easier if you utilize Performance Max. With this new goal, you can more effectively acquire new customers through your Google Ads campaigns.
Brands have two options when it comes to using this new customer acquisition goal. You can bid higher for new customers than returning customers, or you can only bid for new customers. Google recommends the first option because it enables you to maximize your revenue across all customers. The second option limits ads to customers who are new to your business and is still valuable if you also run “non-purchase conversion-focused campaigns” elsewhere.
The benefits of using this goal are that it’s easy to set up, you get a higher share of new customer conversions, you get reporting on new and returning customers, and it lowers the cost of acquisition over time.
Using Google’s Sales Price Annotations
If you’re running Google Ads this season and you aren’t utilizing sales price annotations, it’s something that’s certainly worth implementing. Sales price annotations allow you to showcase sales that your brand is running and allows customers to see how much they’ll save.
To utilize sales price annotations, you submit the original price for your product and then submit the sale price using the sale price attribute. If the original price and the sale price meet certain conditions, both prices will show. According to Google, “The sale price will show as the current price alongside the original price, which will show with a strikethrough. Your product will also show with a badge that highlights your sale.”
Cashing in on the post-Black Friday rush
Black Friday is no longer a one or even five-day shopping period. Studies have shown there to be 10% more online shopping traffic the week after Cyber Monday than the week before. Consumers are shopping longer this holiday season, so it’s essential that you keep deals running and promote them.
Deploy abandonment emails
You’ve likely heard of cart abandonment emails when it comes to eCommerce and browse abandonment emails are similar. Browse abandonment occurs when shoppers view product and category pages on a website without adding items to their carts. A browse abandonment email is an automated message that a consumer receives containing links to products or pages that they’ve viewed on your site. A consumer has to have subscribed to your brand’s email list or be a returner customer in order to receive an automated browse abandonment email from your brand.
According to SaleCycle, browse abandonment emails have an 81% higher open rate and a 51% higher CTR than traditional emails. Cart abandonment emails have an open rate of 45% and a CTR of 21%. Suffice it to say, if you haven’t deployed abandonment emails yet in your eCommerce business, now is the time to start.
Utilize eCommerce countdown timers
Countdown timers are the perfect tool for creating a sense of urgency around your holiday deals and increasing FOMO (fear of missing out) for shoppers. A countdown timer is exactly what it sounds like, and can be used to countdown to the beginning of a sale, the launch of a new product or collection, or the amount of time left before a deal expires.
Countdown timers can increase CTR by 30% when used strategically in marketing email campaigns. The key to using countdown timers is to make sure that they are useful to customers. Ideally, timers should create a sense of urgency within the consumer and persuade them to take action by purchasing.
The importance of customer service for repeat purchases
52% of online shoppers were first-time buyers during the 2021 Cyber 5. That number is only likely to grow this year, as online shopping continues to increase, so Black Friday weekend will be many of your customers’ first purchasing impression from your brand. With that in mind, it’s essential to prepare for the Cyber 5 by ensuring that your customers have a seamless shopping experience.
There are many ways to increase customer satisfaction this season. Be communicative. Give shoppers realistic expectations around processing and shipping. Send post-purchase confirmation emails thanking customers for their business. Let customers know when their items have shipped and been delivered. If there’s a delay, be upfront about it and let your customers know when the issue will be resolved. Send satisfaction surveys to collect feedback and product reviews. Proactive customer service can drive repeat purchases during the holiday shopping period and beyond. The retention of these customers will more than justify the lower margins achieved during Cyber Week.
The Cyber 5 can feel like a marathon and a sprint all in one when you work in eCommerce, but the payoff is almost always worth the participation. If you find that you’re needing help navigating Cyber Week or you have questions about how to maximize your holiday marketing strategy, the team at Blue Wheel is here to help!
Simply fill out the form below and we’ll get in touch to discuss your marketing and advertising goals.
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