The Acceler8 Labs
BFCM Playbook
Dive into our 2024 playbook and ignite the biggest BFCM your brand has ever seen.
Table of Contents
Is your brand ready to take Black Friday / Cyber Monday to new heights?
Welcome to Acceler8’s ultimate Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) playbook — your guide to not just surviving, but thriving, during the busiest shopping season of the year.
This isn’t just about discounts: We’re talking about targeted marketing campaigns, optimizing customer journeys, insightful data analysis, and more. In this playbook we drill down into the nitty-gritty, providing insider knowledge to empower your brand to score big in BFCM.
These steps will cover everything from the initial inventory planning and site optimization, to crafting personalized deals and mastering the art of post-BFCM customer retention. Each step is a crucial building block, contributing to a comprehensive and robust BFCM strategy.
Mobile Optimization and Site Performance.
No two ways about it: this is the #1 most important step to help not just survive BFCM, but to thrive on BFCM.
It is crucial to ensure that your website is not only mobile-friendly and responsive but also capable of handling increased traffic effectively.
By optimizing your website for mobile devices, you can provide a seamless user experience across different screen sizes and improve accessibility for a wider audience.
Additionally, having a website that can handle increased traffic without crashing ensures that your visitors can access your content even during peak times, maximizing engagement and potential conversions.
Avoid relying on too many 3rd party plugins, analytics or pop-overs: these can all dramatically affect your site’s performance. For BFCM keep your site lean, clean and customer friendly.
🔍 INSIDER INFO:
It’s not just E-commerce that benefits from a mobile friendly site: According to MarTech.org 77 Percent Of Smartphone-Driven Retail Purchases Happen In Physical Stores. The report states: “Mobile shoppers are in fact using their devices for comparison-shopping before and after an in-store visit. “
Don’t miss your opportunity to convert retail customers with a bad site experience!
Landing Pages and Product Page Perfection
Establishing a strong brand identity is crucial when it comes to landing and product pages.
Sure, mobile friendly is a must: but also ensure that these pages not only load quickly but also reflect your brand’s unique identity. Forget giving your customers an “out of the box” experience: Make sure your tone, colours and visual identity are front and centre throughout.
Don’t go overboard with product copy: By keeping your pages clear, concise, and on-brand you can provide a satisfying user experience while effectively communicating your brand’s message.
For maximum impact, also create Shopify collection pages that highlight your BFCM deals, best sellers, starter bundles and other options that help boost your AOV.
💬 INSIDER INFO:
According to Shopify, 91% of shoppers read at least one review before making a purchase. By incorporating reviews, video testimonials or press reviews into your product pages with a tool like Shogun, you’ll be able to give customers the assurance they need and help complete their journey.
Leverage Meta Ads & Google Campaigns using the power of AI
Everybody will tell you “Creative is the new targeting”, but they don’t ever tell you WHY.
That’s because the secret is out: AI ad-tech has arrived and it’s delivering incredible results for brands that understand.
Utilize the cutting-edge AI capabilities of META ASC+, Google Demand Gen and Google PMAX Campaigns to precisely target potential customers. By leveraging advanced algorithms and data-driven insights, these campaigns optimize ad spend efficiency and ensure that your carefully crafted message reaches the right audience at the most opportune moments.
No more wasted dollars on the wrong audiences that have your message fall flat, now you can create offers for your perfect customer and let machine learning do the rest.
Not having great shipping & delivery can cost you sales
According to Shopify, “free shipping” is the number one driver for sales on DTC sites. To ensure a seamless shipping experience, DTC merchants should partner with reliable carriers and provide clear shipping options. By implementing real-time tracking, customers can easily monitor the progress of their orders. Offering free shipping not only enhances the overall customer experience but has also been proven to be the most effective option.
📦 INSIDER INFO:
The best prepared brands know that partnerships are crucial to BFCM success. Leveraging the expertise of a 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) expert like OrderGrid can not only save your sanity when dealing with multiple warehouses, shipping rates and border-crossings, but boost your bottom line by delivering a great customer experience to your shoppers.
Optimize your inventory and upgrade your logistics
We know, this sounds like a “good problem to have”, but far too many DTC and E-Commerce brands are caught off-guard by their own success and let their customers down with ‘Out Of Stock’ as their first impression.
To ensure you have enough stock to meet the demand during BFCM, it is crucial to carefully assess your inventory needs. Consider analyzing historical sales data, monitoring market trends, and collaborating with suppliers to determine the optimal stock levels.
Striking the right balance between meeting customer demand and avoiding overstocking will not only help you avoid stockouts but also provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers.
Book A Call and upgrade your BFCM Strategy
Starting early can be the make or break decision for your BFCM success. To make sure you’re ready to launch, contact us and book a call, we’d love to help you.
Craft personalized offers and build trust with UGC
In the BFCM frenzy, standing out isn’t just about discounts—it’s about creating authentic connections. Personalization and user-generated content (UGC) are your secret weapons for cutting through the noise.
Don’t settle for generic messaging: Use data-driven insights to tailor your BFCM offers to each customer’s preferences and browsing history. Create dynamic product recommendations that evolve as customers shop, and segment your email campaigns to speak directly to different customer groups.
UGC is your trust-building superpower. Showcase real customer photos, videos, and reviews prominently across your site and social media. Create a BFCM-specific hashtag to encourage customers to share their hauls and experiences, turning your biggest fans into your best marketers.
For maximum impact, combine personalization with UGC. Display user-generated content that features products similar to what each customer has viewed or purchased.
This powerful combo not only boosts authenticity but also increases the relevance of your BFCM messaging.
INSIDER INFO:
INSIDER INFO:According to an Epsilon study, 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences. By integrating tools like Nosto or Yotpo into your Shopify store, you can easily implement personalized recommendations and UGC displays, significantly boosting your BFCM conversion rates.
Optimize conversions and "always be testing" with 3D Measurement
As one of Canada’s leading conversion optimization agencies, we know that Continuously testing elements like headlines, images, and CTA buttons on your website to identify and implement incremental improvements can massively impact your conversion rates.
Even small improvements in conversion rates can have a significant impact on your revenue growth when BFCM hits. By optimizing your website through CRO techniques, you can make data-driven decisions that lead to better customer experiences and higher conversions.
For example: using Acceler8’s INSIGHT dashboard can allow you to see the links between your testing, marketing efforts and referrals to get immediate results and make better decisions. Did that TikTok live shopping session help spur sales or just site visits? Was “10% off” more effective than “Free Shipping” for 1st time buyers? These data points are all part of your 3D measurement landscape and can be tested and improved.
The key here is employ trustworthy, accurate data and surface it in an actionable way, not to leave it in rows and columns locked in 3rd party analytics.
Start practicing Email marketing excellence
Email marketing remains a powerful tool for driving sales and building customer loyalty. By delivering targeted and relevant content to your subscribers, you can effectively nurture leads, recover lost sales, and generate excitement for your BFCM offers.
Craft personalized and segmented email campaigns aimed at nurturing leads, recovering abandoned carts, and announcing promotions. Implement strategic email flows to engage customers at the right time.
📧 INSIDER INFO:
Email marketing doesn’t just stop at your list. With trusted partners like Klavyio you can use your Email contacts to integrate seamlessly with our other partners Shopify and Meta for seamless and instant audience sharing. This “1-to-1” targeting can be unrivaled in it’s value to your campaigns.
Stay Up To Date For BFCM Success
To truly succeed this BFCM, you’ll need to stay up to date with the latest news and strategy. Check out these articles below for more information.
The latest Meta Ad Updates – 4 top takeaways for DTC brands
Meta just dropped some major Meta ad updates to their ad system, and it’s a whole new ballgame for #DTC brands. We break it down
Building Better Buyer Personas in the Age of AI.
In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, one question keeps popping up: Are traditional buyer personas still relevant in our AI-driven landscape? At Acceler8 Labs,
Build and expand your affiliate partnerships
Leverage the capabilities of Shopify to manage affiliate products, inventory, and sales channels. Collaborate with complementary brands for cross-promotions and joint BFCM sales initiatives.
Strategic partnerships can help streamline your affiliate operations, minimize risk, expand your reach, and potentially lead to future mutually beneficial collaborations. By teaming up with like-minded brands, you can tap into new customer bases and create a win-win situation for both parties.
Making data driven decisions to improve your customer funnel
At Acceler8 Labs, no campaign launches come without trusted data to back it up. Sure, there’s always a gut feeling about what we think could work, or industry knowledge to give us a starting point, but that’s nothing without comparing it to the data we’ve already collected for our clients.
Analyze data from previous BFCM events to gain insights and make informed decisions on pricing, inventory management, and marketing strategies. Optimize every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to purchase, to create a seamless and personalized experience for shoppers.
By leveraging data-driven insights, you can identify trends, understand customer behavior, and tailor your BFCM strategies accordingly. Optimizing the customer funnel ensures that you are effectively guiding shoppers through their purchasing journey, rather than bombarding them with generic messages.
Data-driven strategies might feel mechanical, but they maximize ROI, refine the customer funnel, and minimize costly mistakes.
🤿 Deep Dive: What are the data points we look at
to help us determine what to do for BFCM?
Deep Dive: What are the data points we look at to help us determine what to do for BFCM?
Data Points: What To Analyze
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
|
Top Selling Product(s) on First Order |
Which product(s) are most frequently purchased by first-time customers? |
|
Top Selling Product(s) on Subsequent Orders
|
Which product(s) are most frequently purchased by customers after their initial purchase?
|
|
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) / Average Number of Orders |
What is the average Lifetime Value (LTV) or the average number of orders placed by a customer during their tenure with the client? |
|
Average Order Value (AOV) |
What is the average value of orders during a single checkout? |
|
Highest Margin Product(s) |
Which products yield the highest profit margin? |
|
Best Performing Ad Audience |
Which audience target generates the best Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) per advertising channel? |
|
Best Performing Ad Creative |
Which copy, creative elements, promises, products, and value propositions are yielding the best results? Which imagery or video is most effective and why? |
|
Most Viewed Website Page |
Which pages do site visitors spend the most time on? (Segmented by non-purchasers, first-time purchasers, and repeat purchasers.) |
|
Most Engaging Organic Social Content |
Which products used in organic social content drive the highest engagement? |
|
Top Performing Discount(s) |
Top Performing Discount(s) |
|
Best Performing Messaging |
Which messaging has led to the highest conversion rates? |
How do we use this data?
It varies, depending on your brand and your product offering/niche. That said, these data points still inform what product(s) could be put on sale or bundled, which discounts to offer, and what customer target to go after.
Example: DTC Wellness brand
At Acceler8 Labs, we have a wellness client who sells a Starter SKU that is a great entry product into the rest of their product line.
The data tells us that there’s a huge return-purchase rate from Starter SKU purchasers, who then come back and buy other products from this brand.
With such a high return purchase rate, it makes sense to offer a discount on that SKU, knowing that a lot of the customers will then come back for more (and spend more.)
We also know that a store-wide 40% discount for this brand is rare, so when they offer it, they get a huge influx of orders, especially from new customers (who bought the starter SKU.)
Knowing that 40% is a very rare discount (and that it really drives sales) and that people who buy the Starter SKU usually purchase again, the data tells us that it’s worth the cost of giving a big discount for BFCM, as customers will come back and purchase again.
In action: a winning formula
For a single product on sale:
First, take the product price [Product], then minus cost of the product (Cost of Goods Sold) [COGS] and the product discount amount [Discount] to get your product profit:
[Product] – [COGS] – [Discount] = [BFCM Unit Profit]
$40 – $5 – (10%[$4]) = $31
For a site-wide sale:
First, take the Average Order value of your store [AOV], then minus the Average Cost per Order (ACO) [ACO] and the sale discount amount [Discount]
to get your average BFCM order profit:
[AOV] – [ACO] – [Discount] = [BFCM Unit Profit]
$150 – $40 – (40% [$60]) = $50
Explore emerging platforms: TikTok, Pinterest & Snapchat
Building brand awareness is key to energizing your top-funnel and priming your ad campaigns for their important learning phase, where audiences that engaged with your content are used as fuel to power subsequent decisions. Don’t discount platforms like TikTok, Snapchat or Pinterest as a great way to get an edge on your competition for attention.
TikTok Shop: Break into the US Market for BFCM
TikTok isn’t just for dance challenges anymore—it’s becoming a BFCM powerhouse. With TikTok Shop, you’re not just reaching audiences; you’re converting them on the spot.
Don’t miss out on this goldmine: TikTok’s algorithm is unmatched in its ability to put your products in front of the right eyes at the right time. Create shoppable live streams, partner with influencers for real-time demos, and leverage TikTok’s “For You” page to showcase your BFCM deals to a highly engaged audience.
For Canadian brands, this is your chance to break into the US market. TikTok Shop’s seamless in-app purchasing turns impulse views into instant sales, perfect for capturing those BFCM shoppers looking for the next big thing.
Remember, TikTok Shop isn’t just another sales channel—it’s a brand-building machine. Use it to showcase your brand personality, tell your story, and create a community around your products. This engagement translates to loyalty long after BFCM ends.
Start early: pre-BFCM sales, discounts and loyalty
Build anticipation with teasers and exclusive offers before Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). By providing sneak peeks and limited-time promotions, you can generate excitement among your customers, enticing them to start shopping early. Additionally, implementing post-purchase strategies such as personalized recommendations, loyalty programs, and referral incentives can help foster customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
INSIDER INFO:
INSIDER INFO:Did you know that 25% of holiday shoppers finish in October to get the best deals? Don’t wait until your competitors begin to overtake you, start early andbuild the runway you’ll need to succeed.
Scaling your Infrastructure and past BFCM analysis
Analyzing your website’s performance post-BFCM can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your strategies and identify areas for improvement in future sales events.
If you’ve survived another BFCM by the skin of your teeth, a paid media audit might be the key to ensuring your future success.
A Media Audit dives deep into your paid media accounts with insider’s expertise and ignites your potential for new growth, while exposing gaps in your sales strategy, inefficiencies in your account management and technical issues with APIs and attribution tracking that might be holding you back.
Your BFCM Checklist
Ensure you’re fully prepared for shopping’s biggest sales day by following this playbook. From inventory preparation to strategic advertising, each step above was designed to optimize your sales and enhance your brand’s presence on Black Friday / Cyber Monday.
There’s no shortcuts, but if you lay the groundwork early your BFCM sales will flourish.
- Conduct a mobile-friendly audit of your website
- Optimize page load times (aim for under 3 seconds)
- Stress test your site to handle increased traffic
- Minimize use of 3rd party plugins and pop-overs
- Create BFCM-specific landing pages
- Update product pages with clear, concise copy
- Incorporate customer reviews and testimonials
- Design Shopify collection pages for BFCM deals and bundles
- Set up META ASC+ campaigns
- Implement Google Demand Gen and PMAX campaigns
- Create tailored ad creative for your target audience
- Establish a testing schedule for ad variations
- Partner with reliable carriers
- Set up real-time order tracking
- Consider offering free shipping options
- Explore 3PL partnerships for improved efficiency
- Analyze historical sales data for inventory forecasting
- Collaborate with suppliers to ensure stock availability
- Set up alerts for low stock items
- Create a contingency plan for unexpected demand spikes
- Implement personalized product recommendations
- Create a BFCM-specific UGC hashtag campaign
- Integrate UGC displays on product pages and social media
- Segment email lists for targeted BFCM campaigns
- Set up A/B tests for key landing pages
- Optimize checkout process for speed and simplicity
- Implement exit-intent popups with BFCM offers
- Use heatmaps to identify and improve user friction points
- Design BFCM-specific email templates
- Set up abandoned cart recovery emails
- Create a pre-BFCM teaser campaign
- Plan post-BFCM follow-up emails for new customers
- Reach out to potential affiliate partners
- Set up tracking for affiliate sales
- Create BFCM-specific affiliate offers
- Plan cross-promotions with complementary brands
- Review previous BFCM data for insights
- Set up tracking for key BFCM metrics (AOV, conversion rate, etc.)
- Create customer journey maps for different segments
- Establish real-time reporting dashboards for BFCM performance
- Set up a TikTok Shop (if applicable for US market entry)
- Plan BFCM-specific content for TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat
- Collaborate with influencers for platform-specific BFCM promotions
- Implement shoppable features on social platforms
- Design a pre-BFCM sale for loyal customers
- Create teaser content for upcoming BFCM deals
- Set up a BFCM-specific loyalty program or point multiplier
- Plan post-BFCM loyalty initiatives to retain new customers
- Schedule a comprehensive performance review
- Analyze customer feedback and support tickets
- Identify top-performing products and promotions
- Document lessons learned for future sales events