An omnichannel retail marketing strategy is essential for retailers and brands alike — particularly on Black Friday (happening this year on November 29, 2019).
According to the Retail Council of Canada, Black Friday is more popular than Boxing Day among Canadian consumers. In 2018, 40% of Canadians planned to shop Black Friday sales vs. 25% who planned to shop Boxing Day deals.
What’s more, consumers are shopping omnichannel more than ever. Statistics show several surprising consumer trends, such as browsing eCommerce sites before going into store and even watching videos from brands on social media while in-store.
With that in mind, a Black Friday retail marketing strategy shouldn’t prioritize either in-store or eCommerce sales — it should take into account all channels and build an aligned message across them.
These CPG marketing tips can help make this year your most lucrative Black Friday yet.
- Offer Your Best Promotions
Shoppers expect deep discounts on Black Friday— more so than any other time of year. Make sure your Black Friday weekend campaigns feature the biggest promotions you’re offering during the holiday season. By creating a sale that is truly special you’ll create more buzz and awareness.
You might also create special Black Friday bundles or curate a gift guide. If you know your customers are searching for that perfect gift, help them make the decision easier by having the perfect gift ready to go.
Don’t have a promotion to offer? Even if you aren’t a traditional product-based business, you can still take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. What about running a special services promotion?
- Keep Digital Going All Weekend Long – Not Just Cyber Monday
While Black Friday has traditionally been the bricks-and-mortar shopping day and Cyber Monday has been for eCommerce marketers, that’s changing. Black Friday sales are now lasting all weekend long.
And even if you find your audience comes into the store more frequently than shopping online, you can still use digital marketing strategies to drive traffic into your store.
According to Retail Dive, eCommerce marketers sent more campaigns around Black Friday than any other day of the year in 2018. Despite having a lower open and click-through rate, however, Black Friday counted nearly double the number of orders that Cyber Monday had in 2018.
Also…
- Start Your Retail Marketing Campaign Early
Don’t wait until Black Friday, or the Thursday night before, to start your marketing. Statistics show that shoppers begin looking for deals well before Black Friday — some even start researching in October.
Make sure your sales are clearly communicated at least a week before the big day.
You can even start earlier by dropping hints of what’s come… Consider putting together a “Sneak Peek†campaign teasing the big promotions and sales coming up or release a curated gift guide and blog content — then be sure to follow through!
- Create Cohesion Across Presences
A mistake that many retailers and brands can make is thinking of eCommerce presences as separate from in-store and treating the marketing as such.
The reality is that in a consumer’s eyes, they are the same — and they want to know what is happening on both.
If you have a sale happening in-store, make sure that is reflected on your social media. If you have an online-exclusive sale, you might have signs about it in-store or have cashiers hand customers a promotional card at checkout.
If you offer shopping via social media, like shoppable Instagram ads, make sure those ads reflect your whole campaign.
While the channels may be separate, just as you have consistent branding you should also have consistent messaging.
- Be Responsive – Both Online and In Person!
Big Commerce found that in 2018, mobile devices account for 68% of all Black Friday digital traffic. Statistics show that many shoppers actually browse on their mobile devices, find the product they want to buy, and then go into store.
This means retailers and CPG brands need to be responsive.
Digitally speaking, websites need to be mobile-responsive. However, you also need resources on hand to respond to customer inquiries – like emails, comments, reviews, direct messages, and so on.
In-store your customer service needs to be aligned, too. If a customer has a question for a cashier about an online sale, they should be able to answer it.
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
While Black Friday isn’t until November 29, planning your retail marketing strategy and campaign can take more time.
If you haven’t begun already now is the time to do so.
In-store get your signage together and make certain sales and promotions are clearly communicated to staff, even if they’re online exclusive. Be certain your products are stocked and on shelves – you can’t sell what you don’t have.
Digitally make sure that your website is optimized, your product pages are up to date, your online checkout process is bug-free, your social media campaign and content calendar are planned out and pre-created, and beyond.
The last thing you want is for your website to crash on Black Friday because you’ve experienced a spike in traffic. Make sure your site is prepared.
- Seek Support
You don’t have to go it alone! Pulsion Marketing can help you create a retail marketing strategy for Black Friday and beyond. Expand both your eCommerce and in-store presences, along with any other channels, with expert insight and solutions.
Learn more today by calling 1-888-701-4441 or visiting www.digiforcemarketing.ca.