All businesses are racing to offer the best deals and discounts.
But here’s the thing: just having a great discount isn’t enough. You need a smart plan to make sure people know about it. Without good Black Friday marketing strategies, your amazing deals might go unnoticed among all the other promotions.
So, the problem is not just about offering great discounts; it’s about getting the word out there in a way that really works. It’s like baking the best apple pie in town, but nobody knows it’s available at your bakery.
But don’t worry, because we’ve got the solution. We’ll show you all the Black Friday marketing strategies to make sure your deals get the attention they deserve. With the right marketing strategies, you can stand out from the crowd, connect with the people who want your products, and make your Black Friday a huge success.
So, let’s dive in and discover how to make your Black Friday marketing work with these strategies.
Table of Contents
1. Lead Nurturing Campaigns
A lead nurturing campaign is a way to stay in touch with people who have shown interest in your product or service. It involves sending them helpful information and keeping the conversation going until they are ready to make a purchase.
By doing so, you remind them of your offerings and why they were interested in the first place. This ongoing communication can help you stand out during the entire Black Friday season.
Steps to get started
- Create a targeted Black Friday email list: Begin by gathering email addresses of potential customers who have shown interest in your product. This could be through sign-ups on your website. You can use web forms, pop-up forms, or landing pages in EngageBay to do this. Choose from different designs and customize them according to your brand.
- Send a teaser email: A week or so before Black Friday, send out a teaser email to this list. Mention that you have exciting Black Friday offers coming up and encourage them to stay tuned for exclusive deals. This is like giving them a heads-up about your upcoming sale.
- Black Friday countdown: As Black Friday approaches, send a series of emails with countdowns, sharing sneak peeks of the deals they can expect. Highlight different products or offers in each email to pique their interest. This is similar to building anticipation.
- Black Friday early access: Offer this email list early access to your Black Friday sale. A day or a few hours before the official start, send them a special link or code to access the deals. This makes them feel like VIPs.
- Reminders and highlights: On Black Friday itself, send reminder emails about the ongoing sale and highlight some of the best deals. Make sure to include clear CTAs in these emails to direct them to your website.
- Follow-Up Post-Black Friday: Even after Black Friday, keep the conversation going. Send a ‘thank you’ email to those who made a purchase and follow up with those who didn’t. You can offer extended Cyber Monday deals or other incentives to encourage further sales.
Here’s a snapshot of how this automation looks like in EngageBay:
You can create this but remember to always provide an unsubscribe option in each email to avoid customer frustration and maintain a high email deliverability rate.
2. Winback Automations
These are automated emails to customers who haven’t bought a product from you for a while. These reminders can offer special deals or incentives to encourage those customers to come back and shop again.
It’s often more cost-effective to re-engage previous customers than to acquire new ones. This automation targets an audience that already knows your brand, making it easier to convert them into buyers during the Black Friday season.
Steps to get started
- Identify inactive customers: Start by identifying customers who haven’t made a purchase for an extended period, say, six months or more. Use your customer data to create a list of these inactive customers.
- Segment your audience: Divide your list of inactive customers into segments based on their past purchase history or preferences. For example, create segments for those who used to buy camera bags, tripods, or studio lights.
- Offer exclusive deals: To entice these inactive customers, offer exclusive Black Friday deals that are even better than your standard offers. Emphasize the limited-time nature of these deals and how they’re specially curated for them.
- Send a series of emails: Schedule a series of win-back emails to be sent in the lead-up to Black Friday. Start a few weeks in advance, gently reminding them of your brand’s presence and the upcoming Black Friday sale. Gradually increase the urgency and excitement as Black Friday approaches.
One thing to keep in mind when using win-back automations is that not all inactive customers will convert, even with special Black Friday offers. Some customers may have disengaged for reasons that go beyond discounts or deals.
It’s important to set realistic expectations and not solely rely on win-back automations for Black Friday success.
Read also: Thanksgiving Landing Pages: Design Tips, Free Templates
3. Personalized Product Recommendations
Black Friday is hectic with countless deals and choices. Shoppers can easily feel overwhelmed. Personalized product recommendations narrow down choices, reducing decision stress and showing customers the deals that match their interests and past buying history.
Steps to get started
- Recommendations in marketing emails: Send personalized marketing emails to each segment in the weeks leading up to Black Friday. Include recommended products that align with their preferences and past purchases. For example, showcase discounted athletic apparel and accessories to customers who often buy sportswear.
- On your website: Feature a “Recommended for You” section on your website’s Black Friday page. As customers browse, this section displays products tailored to their interests and past behavior.
- During checkout: When customers add items to their cart, show related or complementary products. For instance, if they add a winter coat, recommend gloves, scarves, or boots. This can increase the average order value.
- Post-purchase recommendations: After a customer completes a Black Friday purchase, recommend additional items that complement their order. For example, if they bought a dress, suggest matching accessories or shoes
Personalization relies on customer data, and if that data is outdated or incorrect, the recommendations may not be relevant. EngageBay can help you with that. It integrates with your store to manage all your customer data in its CRM and run email automations according to your preferences.
Read also: 35 Black Friday Memes Sure to Get You ROTFL!
Don’t have the time to read? Watch Daan Kieft explaining some cool marketing ideas for Black Friday promotions:
4. Exclusive Previews
It’s a strategy where you show certain customers the Black Friday deals a little early, before everyone else. This can make these customers feel special and encourage them to shop with you on Black Friday.
Steps to get started
A week or so before Black Friday, send an email to the selected segments. In this email, provide an exclusive preview of the Black Friday deals. This could include images and descriptions of the products that will be on sale, along with the discounted prices.
Alongside the exclusive preview, offer early access to these customers. Provide a unique code or link that allows them to start shopping the Black Friday deals a day or a few hours before everyone else.
Here’s an example from Withings:
Subject line: One BIG Black Friday early offer just for you
5. Abandoned Cart Email Series
During Black Friday, this can help capture sales from people who were interested but didn’t complete their order, giving them another chance to buy what they wanted.
Let’s face it: Black Friday is a highly competitive and fast-paced shopping day. Shoppers often browse multiple websites and abandon their carts for various reasons, such as price comparisons or distractions. An abandoned cart email series gives you a chance to recapture them.
Steps to get started
- Send a timely reminder: Send the first reminder email within a few hours of cart abandonment. During Black Friday, shoppers are looking for quick decisions, so timely reminders are essential.
- Offer a special incentive: In the first email, consider offering an extra incentive, like a Black Friday discount or free shipping. This can motivate customers to return and complete their purchases.
- Create a series: Plan a series of three to four follow-up emails. The second and third emails can gently remind customers of their abandoned carts and the exclusive Black Friday deals. Gradually increase the urgency in these emails.
- Showcase customer reviews: In one of the emails, you can feature positive customer reviews related to the abandoned product. Social proof can boost confidence in their purchase decision.
Here’s an example of an abandoned cart email from Pulp and Press. It displays customer reviews and offers an incentive that is hard to ignore:
Subject line: Hey, Smiles Davis! Get 30% off if you check out now!
You can also create an automated email series to nudge customers to complete their purchases. Here’s an example of this automation done in EngageBay:
6. Dedicated Black Friday Landing Page
A dedicated landing page showcases your Black Friday offers in one place, making it much easier for customers to find and buy what they want. This helps keep visitors focused on Black Friday deals.
It also reduces the chances of them getting distracted by other website content and leaving without making a purchase. This can lower bounce rates and increase conversions.
Steps to get started
- Clear navigation: Ensure that your landing page has a simple and clear navigation menu. This menu should make it easy for customers to explore different product categories, find deals, and access important information like shipping details.
- Highlight top deals: Place your most attractive Black Friday deals at the top of the landing page. Use beautiful graphics, clear pricing, and compelling descriptions to entice visitors.
- Run tests: It is always better to use A/B testing for landing pages to find what works best. Most tools that help you create landing pages also offer this feature, so make the most of it.
You can choose from different designs or create your own landing page from scratch and test them for all their elements in EngageBay.
7. Thank You Pages
After a customer completes a purchase and is directed to the thank you page, it’s an ideal moment to present additional offers.
You can recommend products that complement what the customer has just bought. For example, if a customer purchased a camera, the thank you page could promote camera accessories like tripods, lenses, or camera bags. Upselling to existing customers is often more cost-effective, unlike acquiring new customers.
Steps to get started
- Bundle deals: Offer bundle deals or discounts on related products. This can be more enticing for customers as it provides added value.
- Limited-time offers: Create a sense of urgency by highlighting that these upsell offers are time-sensitive or exclusive to recent buyers. Mention that they are part of a special Black Friday promotion.
- One-click upsells: Make it easy for customers to add the recommended products to their order with a single click. Provide a clear and prominent “Add to Cart” button for each upsell item.
Using thank you pages for upselling during Black Friday poses the risk of overwhelming or annoying customers. So, use clear navigation for customers to continue shopping without feeling pressured.
Read also: Thanksgiving Email Marketing Templates To Feast On!
8. Push Notifications
Push notifications are short messages sent directly to a user’s device, like a phone or computer.
And since Black Friday deals often have limited availability, customers might forget about them without reminders. So, push notifications serve as timely reminders, encouraging customers to take action before the deals expire. They often include direct links to the relevant product pages or the checkout, making the buying process smooth and efficient.
Steps to get started
- Craft compelling messages: Create concise and attention-grabbing messages. Clearly state the Black Friday deal, discount, or promotion and use action-oriented language. For example, “50% Off All Electronics – Shop Now!”
- Leverage urgency: Black Friday is time-sensitive, so emphasize urgency in your push notifications. Use phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Hurry, Ends Soon!” to encourage immediate action.
- Schedule push notifications strategically: Consider sending them during peak shopping times when customers are likely to be online or when a specific deal is about to go live.
The good thing is you can create these push notifications in EngageBay. Here’s an example I created:
Read also: Black Friday Marketing Emails: 9 Unique Examples
9. Use Social Media
Social media provides an immediate and direct way to communicate with your audience. You can instantly share updates, respond to inquiries, and provide real-time information about deals.
Apart from announcing deals, one impactful way you can use social media is by partnering with influencers. You can choose influencers whose followers match your target audience. This ensures that your Black Friday deals are promoted to the people most likely to be interested.
And one thing they are great at is creating engaging content. They can showcase your products in ways that resonate with their audience, making your Black Friday offers more appealing.
However, managing all your social profiles at the same time can be tedious. That’s why we created the social suite in EngageBay. You can manage your Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts all in one dashboard.
Read also: November Marketing Ideas: Grow Your Business This Fall
Conclusion
Remember, it’s not just about deals but the value, convenience, and engagement you bring to your customers during this shopping season. The Black Friday marketing strategies we’ve looked at will help you get noticed as you face competition from other businesses seeking your customers’ attention.
