“I see a red door and I want it painted black No colors anymore I want them to turn black” As I write this blog, a sense of anxiety kicks in thinking about a mass of people swarming stores like the apocalypse is about to begin. Some may say preparing for the biggest ecommerce day is like doomsday prepping… but in a good way. While it is only October, it’s important to have a strategy (or survival guide) in place by November. Shockingly, over one hundred million people brave Black Friday, and those who are too scared (or still in a turkey-induced coma) take to the internet where $7.9 billion in online shopping was recorded in 2017. In comparison, Mark Cuban is only worth $3.7 billion. Yeah, woah, that’s a lot of money. Dooms(Black Fri)day Prep Guide
- Get ahead and start early
Make a schedule and plan everything out from campaigns to landing pages. You need to be prepared and organized before the chaotic event. Check out our Zmags’ tips for holiday planning here.
- You need backup
Just like the brick-and-mortar stores need to batter down the hatches, you need to make sure that your website, promo codes, and email servers are backed up in case of a site crash.
- Retargeting strategies
Among the mayhem, there are people who fill and subsequently abandon their online carts during Black Friday. It’s important to remind your prospective customers that their cart still awaits them. Consider offering time-sensitive discounts and coupons. This will give them the motivation to complete the buyer's journey.
- Gear up analytics
It’s the best time to collect data. With your site being swarmed with customers, you can generate quite a lot of data for your blog or for internal use too. Websites, emails, and social are all important areas to analyze once the shopping rush has plateaued.
- Personalize the shopping experience
Adding personalized shopping can push customers closer to the checkout button. This technique also humanizes online shopping. Being able to create Black Friday Content around a variety of your prospective buyers is a great way to tend to all customers. Need more on personalization? Check out here on our part 1 and part 2 blog series.
