This guide will quickly cover what you need to know for holiday marketing, and to make the read more streamlined, we have split this guide into the following three parts:
For e-commerce businesses, Black Friday and Cyber Week (BFCW) can be one of the highest revenue-generating times of the year.On this festive occasion, shoppers come prepared to buy. Your customers will be especially receptive to your offers because they expect BFCW deals wherever they shop.
Offering a discount during BFCW can be an effective way to attract first-time customers to try your products, but itβs also an opportunity to increase customer lifetime value by encouraging repeat purchases from existing customers.
Hereβs how to create a campaign that rewards your most loyal customers with an exclusive offer.
Done-for-you example email: Reward your top customers
The following example email uses two important tactics to help drive sales among existing customers:
Hereβs an email template you can use to help drive loyalty (and sales) this Black Friday and Cyber Week:
Subject: A little something to say thanks
Hi Jane,
Tomorrow our Black Friday sale will go live, offering some of the biggest discounts of the year.
But as one of our best customers, you get early access to our Black Friday deals before we open the doors to everyone else.
We expect many items to sell out, so we want to give you first dibs on [TOP-SELLING ITEM], so that you can get your holiday shopping done early.
Weβll open the doors to everyone in 18 hours. Until then, take advantage of the first picks on the colours and sizes of our best-selling items.
This is our biggest sales event of the year, so be sure to find something nice for yourself, too.
[PRODUCT REC. 1] [PRODUCT REC. 2]
Youβll also get: A $25 gift card when you spend $100 or more 20% off storewide including [BEST SELLING ITEM]
[GET FIRST DIBS NOW]
Exclusive reward email marketing campaign tip:Β
This email example makes use of merge tags, a method for using your subscribers names in your email. This makes the email more personalised than a generic greeting.
How to set up your Black Friday campaign for loyal customers
Before you create your email campaign, youβll need the following:
β’ An e-commerce store thatβs integrated with Mailchimp. This will allow you to sell your products directly from your emails. Youβll also need products listed in your store, so you can provide personalised recommendations based on your customersβ previous purchase history.
β’ Active promo codes in your e-commerce store. Ensure thereβs a 20% off promo code in your store, so you can incentivise purchases this BFCW.
β’ Hereβs how to put it all together to create your Black Friday email campaign:
How rewarding loyal customers can help boost profits
Increasing customer lifetime value by encouraging repeat purchases is one of the highest leverage activities an e-commerce store can do.
If your initial cost of acquiring a customer is more than their lifetime value, then your store likely wonβt be profitable. Rewarding your most loyal customers with exclusive, early access to deals should help boost both customer lifetime value and profits because the initial cost of acquiring customers remains the same.
Now that youβve got your first BFCW email ready to go, itβs time to add a second email to this campaign to open your sale up to everyone.
Many retailers (both online and off) rely on heavy discounts to stand out during Black Friday and Cyber Week.
Discounts can lead to increased sales, but if theyβre not offered strategically, they can also cut into your profits and leave you with less capital to invest in your marketing once BFCW ends. Relying on deals also trains your customers to expect those kinds of discounts from you regularly. To ensure your e-commerce store is fiscally healthy, you want to find alternative ways to incentivise purchases.
The key to an effective discounting strategy is to create a compelling reason for your customers to buy, while also ensuring that your offer is profitable.You want to give a discount to your customers that also increases your revenue now and in the future. Giving a gift card to your customers in exchange for a purchase of a certain value can be the way to accomplish exactly that.
Hereβs how to do it in Mailchimp.Β
Done-for-you example email: Offer a gift card in exchange for a purchase
The following example email uses two tactics to help boost your revenue:
Hereβs an example email you can replicate to help increase sales and drive loyalty with a gift card this Black Friday and Cyber Week:
Subject: A gift card with your name on it
Hi Jane,
Our Black Friday sale is on now -featuring some of the absolute lowest prices of the year: 20% off storewide.
But it gets even better:
When you make a purchase of $100 or more, youβll receive a $25 gift card to be used any time of the year.
From now until midnight AEST on 29 November, all orders include: A $25 gift card when you spend $100 or more 20% off storewide, including [BEST SELLING ITEM]
Here are a few items to unlock the $25 gift card (and make you the best gift giver this holiday season):
[REC. PRODUCT 1] [REC. PRODUCT 2] [REC. PRODUCT 3]
This deal closes at midnight AEST on 29 November.
And donβt forget: The gift card can be used on full-priced items throughout the year.
Top gift card email marketing campaign tips:Β Β
Tip 1: Suggesting your best-selling products in your email helps curb decision fatigue.Β
Rather than force your customers to browse your whole store, suggest an item that others love. This generates social proof, and it saves them the effort of choosing what to buy.
Tip 2: Donβt be afraid to repeat yourself in sales emails.Β
In the example email above, youβll notice how the incentive was introduced and then restated in the following sentence. Not everyone processes content the same way. Thatβs why you should emphasise each distinct benefit of your offer to ensure that your readers really get it. Say it again, but differently.
Tip 3: Avoid using words like βfreeβ and βsaleβ in your email subject lines.
These words might get picked up by your recipientsβ email providers as Spam and filter your emails away from the main inbox.
How to set up your Black Friday gift card campaign
Before you create your email campaign, you need the following:
Hereβs how to put it all together to create your Black Friday email campaign:
Pro tip: Send your Black Friday email on either Thursday night or Friday morning. This will likely increase the odds that your email gets read and acted upon by your audience.
Next steps
Offering a gift card can incentivise your customers to take action. It can also lead to repeat purchases in the future -and often, it encourages your shoppers to splurge on more expensive products.
Now that youβve got the first two BFCW emails created, itβs time to add the third and final email to this campaign.
If youβve sent the first and second email in this series, then you may have driven additional traffic to your store.
Itβs likely that you saw some sales right away, but they might have begun to taper off throughout the weekend.
This is fairly common, as an average of about 70% of e-commerce shopping carts get abandoned. Why? Because itβs just like window shopping at a brick-and-mortar retailer - looking doesnβt mean someone intends to buy.
Mailchimp offers a powerful marketing tool to bring shoppers back to the items they left behind: retargeting.
Turning passive interest into revenue is one of the best ways to close out BFCW. Hereβs how to create an email campaign that encourages shoppers who browsed your items to return and make a purchase.
Done-for-you example email: Turn attention into sales
The following email example uses two conversion tactics:
Hereβs a holiday email example you can use this Cyber Week:
Subject: Did you see something you liked?
See something you liked?
Finish checking out here:
[DYNAMIC RETARGETING ITEM]
Hereβs our promise to you:
Free shipping on all orders over $100.
Hand-picked products that weβre proud to sell and use everyday.
30-day free return policy.
And if you order $100 or more in the next 24 hours, youβll also automatically receive a $25 gift card that can be used any time.
Before you create your email campaign, you need the following:
Hereβs how to put it all together to create your Cyber Week retargeting campaign:
A lot has happened in your customersβ lives since getting your first email, checking out your site, and receiving this final reminder. Thatβs why retargeting works best if you remind your customer exactly what youβre offering. The most effective way to do this is using short sentences and bulleted lists, which will make reading your email quick and the offer clear.
Although things like free shipping and a return policy have become standard expectations, theyβre worth mentioning because they reduce the risk of the purchase. By showing customers exactly what they can expect (shipping times, return policy, discounts, and product benefits) and then presenting them with a link to finish their existing order, youβll be removing barriers to purchase.
The tactics and examples featured in this series can be applied to campaigns any time of year, not just Black Friday and Cyber Week. Simply modify the copy in the emails and be sure to generate urgency by limiting discounts to apply for only a few days.
As the holiday sale season approaches, empower yourself with a great tool for financial success. Take advantage of QuickBooks Accounting Software to gain precise control over your business accounting, save time on administrative tasks, and make informed decisions to boost your holiday sales.
Make this holiday season your most profitable yet with QuickBooks by your side. Try it free for 30 days now!Β
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