BFCM is almost here!  What does that mean for your eCommerce business?  The holiday season is a time for spending and shopping - it is the busiest weekend of the year for eCommerce. Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) presents an incredible opportunity for retailers to see their holiday sales soar. As a matter of fact, retailers generate of their annual sales during BFCM.

If you think it’s too soon to think about a BFCM advertising plan, your competitors have probably already started implementing one. indicates that 25% of consumers start shopping for holidays before the end of summer.

Moreover, of people in the United States start shopping before Thanks giving, while 43% before October ends. Therefore, if you don’t begin advertising and marketing your BFCM products now, it will be too late to generate any significant sales.

‍

Here's what you need to know to outshine your competitors this BFCM:

‍

1. Offer Progressive Discounts

Giving a BFCM discount will encourage customers to buy more items, which will increase your sales and profits. However, you need to take a strategic route. Instead of offering flat 30% - 40% discounts, in the beginning, try gradual or progressive discounts.

Let’s say you have planned a four-week promotion for BFCM.

Here’s how the progressive discount strategy works:

• Offer 5%-10% discounts in the first week

• During the second week, offer small gift cards to customers

• Give 20% discounts on your top products that need to go first

• When BFCM arrives, offer 30% - 40% discount

And, of course, you’ll need to run social media and email campaigns for promotions. When it comes to BFCM advertising, you want to double down in the first week of November. This way of offering progressive discounts helps nurture customers until BFCM arrives, and then you can go big.

‍

2. Leverage Social Proof

The importance of social proof is evident in people's tendency to follow the behaviour of others. Social proof is a powerful tool that can be used to persuade people to take action.

Without solid testimonials and user-generated content, it’s very difficult to make someone believe in your products. Use text and video testimonials in your BFCM campaigns to build credibility for your brand and boost your sales.

Research confirms that of customers trust testimonials and reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. The good thing about social proof is you can use them practically everywhere – email campaigns, social media ads, websites, landing pages, and more.

‍

3. Create a Loyalty Program

A successful BFCM advertising plan gets you customers for life. If you want to convert one-time shoppers into brand evangelists, you need a strong loyalty program. The most common type of loyalty program used by eCommerce businesses is a points system.

With a points system, customers earn points for every dollar they spend. They can then redeem those points for products or discounts. According to a report by , 78% of customers prefer doing business with a brand that has a loyalty program.

Therefore, your BFCM advertising plan should have a built-in loyalty program for customer retention. After the customer’s initial spending, you can continue to build loyalty through emails and social media channels.

Use a holiday-inspired incentive to encourage them to join the program and continue nurturing and engaging them after they become members.

‍

4. Design Stunning Creatives

Making eye-catching creatives is no easy feat. Your ads are the first impression of your brand for the customers. The copy needs to be concise and clear, and the graphics need to be captivating. Your ad creatives should also reflect the BFCM theme to garner attention.

During BFCM, your target customers are swamped with offers and discounts from other eCommerce brands too. This is why your ad creatives must stand out from the crowd.

Don’t forget to include social validation to create engaging ads. It’s best to hire outside experts like copywriters and graphic designers to make praiseworthy creatives.

‍

5. Run a Referral Program

Who doesn't love free stuff? Referrals are a low-cost, high-impact way of acquiring new customers. Word of mouth remains the best way to generate business, which is why it helps eCommerce brands increase their sales and boost their social proof.

According to , customers acquired through a referral program have a 37% greater retention rate. You can launch a limited-time referral program before and during BFCM to incentivize both the referent and the referrer for successful purchases.

Leverage social media platforms to announce your referral program.

‍

6. Optimize Ads for Mobile

The mobile market continues to grow at a staggering rate. In the early 2000s, mobile phones were not a necessity but rather a luxury. Businesses were not sure what to do with this new technology.  Fast forward to 2022, and mobile is now the dominant way to connect with customers, especially during BFCM. Now more than ever, people are using their smartphones and tablets to browse the web and social media.

It only makes sense that your ads are optimized for mobile devices as well. And not just ads, but your website and landing pages too!

‍

7. Engage in Retargeting

Retargeting is a great way to sell products to people who have already visited your website but have not yet made a purchase. This is a very popular marketing strategy because it targets people who have already interacted with a brand in some way.

A common example is an email campaign sent to visitors to remind them of the products they viewed recently. However, people are also retargeted through social media ads.

Moreover, you can place retargeting ads on search engine result pages (SERPs), websites, and apps with the goal of bringing people back to your eCommerce website. Retargeting can reduce your cart abandonment rate by nearly , making it a crucial strategy for this BFCM.

‍

Takeaway

If your eCommerce business is not ramping up for the big weekend, now is the time to start! The holiday season is approaching quickly, and it's time to start thinking about your BFCM advertising plan.

We've put together a list of helpful tips, such as creating a loyalty program and offering progressive discounts in order to get your eCommerce business ready for the busiest sales season of the year. Follow them and witness your revenue grow leaps and bounds!