5 Ways to Fast-Track Your E-Commerce Brand Before Black Friday
According to The National Retail Federation, the shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas accounts for 30% of annual retail sales. Thus, it's crucial to prep your e-commerce site before this busy season to hone in on your piece of the holiday shopping pie.
What does Black Friday have to do with any of this?
Well, the Friday following Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday in the United States. A police officer created the word in the early 1960s in response to Christmas shopping traffic bottlenecks. Businesses wanting to go back "into the black" in the 1980s turned it into a positive. This year, Black Friday falls on November 26.
Hence, with many retailers initiating bargains far before Friday, it's steadily turning into Black Monday and Tuesday, the season's most important holiday sales days. Today, thousands of companies and businesses participate in this critical shopping event, lowering their prices to lure people into buying before Christmas.
Further, due to the unprecedented recent rise of e-commerce, many companies and service providers are now extending or solely offering their promotions online.
What does this mean for your e-commerce site?
It presents a prime opportunity to increase sales and develop long-term relationships with your customers. You still have time to get ready before the mad rush. Fortunately, even slight adjustments may have a significant impact on your bottom line, so don't be afraid to try new things. Start planning for Black Friday e-commerce sales today since the competition is fierce. Hence, the objective of this post.
Continue reading to learn 5 ways to fast-track your e-commerce brand before Black Friday.
Examine your website's performance and speed
Expect an increase in traffic and revenue on your e-commerce site if your Black Friday email marketing strategy is successful. However, because slow-loading pages might drive customers away, keeping your site's loading time as fast as possible is vital. Based on a study from Unbounce, 70% of respondents agreed that loading speed enhances the likelihood of buying from an online store.
Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that a surge in your website traffic doesn't degrade the end-user experience. Depending on your hosting environment, this might mean making adjustments to your website or enlisting the services of a professional service provider to speed up your website.
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for Black Friday is to make sure your website is up and running without delay. Now, more than ever, you must feel the need for speed.
You may ask, “But Parrotfish, how do I test my site’s speed?”
I’m glad you asked. Below are basic metrics to use for testing website speed:
Time to first byte (TTFB) — The time it takes for a browser to get the initial data from a website.
First paint — The moment the screen isn't vacant anymore. A backdrop color change, for example, qualifies as first paint.
First contentful paint — Once the first piece of content is shown. It might be a component of the menu, a header picture, or anything else.
First meaningful paint — Users may view the main material here, which helps them understand what the website is about.
Time to interactive — The time it will take until the page becomes usable and you may interface with it.
Now, you want to know how to test your site’s speed, amirite? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Check out these tools:
Organize your featured products logically
An excellent offer is impossible to refuse. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become economic bonanzas due to the large number of consumers that go shopping for deals on these two days.
When practically every website is engaged, it isn't easy to stand out in a sea of discounts.
It's not only about saving money by taking advantage of deals. Additionally, customers are all about getting into the Christmas spirit, spreading the news about your brand (if they find it valuable), and selling your products effectively. When deciding on the best sales approach for your e-commerce site, you must incorporate your consumers' wants and expectations.
From a marketing viewpoint, take a look at your highlighted sales. You've got a captive audience; how can you encourage them to stick with you throughout the sales process? Part of your Black Friday strategy might include the sales of low-cost items to entice customers to your site and then showcase your bread and butter so that they will stick around for more.
Create targeted emails
The holidays are a terrific time to reconnect with your consumer base even if you've had a challenging year.
Email marketing for Black Friday may seem weird at first, but your consumers will certainly like them if you phrase them appropriately. Emails to clients, in my opinion, should be more personal than usual. In addition, some of your customers might be interested in how your company is doing and would be happy to hear from you if you responded to their questions promptly.
If applicable, you might consider notifying your customers that you have been adding more options to your checkout process, offering gift-wrapping, or free delivery.
How should you approach email marketing prior to the big Black Friday sale?
Consider sending one or two emails a few weeks before Black Friday informing them of the bargains you'll be offering or highlighting certain products and services.
For each Black Friday campaign, create and manage landing pages
Create a Black Friday landing page if you want to highlight specific products or deals while also displaying your Black Friday specials.
How?
Check out these quick and easy tips:
Keep content and visual design simple and straightforward.
You can use a banner graphic that states "Black Friday Sale."
Keep your writing concise and to the point.
Make sure the customer understands what they should do next.
Also, double-check that your calls to action (CTAs) are apparent. You'll need a landing page that not only goes right to the heart of your message but also tells visitors precisely what they need to do to take advantage of your limited-time only sales. If you’re struggling with penning your CTA, you’re in luck. I have another post all about CTAs here.
Finally, be sure to include anything unique you're doing this year, whether it's one of the tips above or something as basic as extending your sale for longer than expected.
Make use of keyword-optimized content
It's also an essential Black Friday marketing strategy to create material that is both relevant and search engine optimized. You may promote Black Friday bargains in several ways, including building a dedicated page on your website and posting pertinent information on social media.
A quick Google search will turn up some of the most popular terms and inquiries about Black Friday and your retail sector. Other tools for researching pertinent keywords, include:
Include the most strategic keywords in product descriptions and other content to improve your SEO efforts.
Final thought
Reconnect with your consumers during the holiday shopping season by reminding them that you value them as people, not just customers. Further, present them with Black Friday deals that they can't obtain any other time of year, you know, appeal to their FOMO.
Thank you anons for reading, and grab your Black Friday bags!