Black Friday is considered a crucial time for companies to make big sales, as well as an opportunity to promote their brand. And for customers, it is one of the most anticipated times of the year.
For online business, it’s necessary to be ready for this moment, with good planning, strategies, and platforms capable of responding to these days’ traffic volume.
In this article, we’re going to talk about some mistakes you need to avoid when it comes to your ecommerce, and strategies during Black Friday.
Focusing only on promotions without planning can have a damaging effect on your ecommerce. Maintaining transparency, clear communication, well-structured logistics, and good customer service are some of the points to look out for. But what are the mistakes to avoid on Black Friday?
Mistakes you need to avoid on Black Friday:
- Low website stability: the server or platform used may not be able to support the volume of traffic during this period, thus compromising the quality of browsing, and conversions. Choose a provider or partner, that has a robust platform, capable of processing high demand, without going offline, so that you don’t lose sales;
- A limited number of payment methods: each customer has their preferred payment method, which may vary according to cultural or consumption habits. Make sure you offer multiple payment methods to increase the likelihood of a purchase;
- Not enough stock: after searching for a product, it is frustrating for the customer to come across the message “Product Unavailable”. Regularly monitor your stock (through integration with an ERP, and an Order Management System) to ensure you have enough to meet the orders that may arise during this period. You can also indicate the number of articles available;
- Technical problems on Websites, and Applications: very slow navigation, slow loading of content and images, errors in the shopping cart, inconsistencies between what you have in stock and what is available for sale, are just some of the problems that can arise. In point n.º 1, you have a possible solution;
- Omit the nuances of offers: offering lots of benefits at this time of year is a natural move to get more customers and consequently more sales. Keeping to what was promised and being clear in your communication will ensure that, as well as finalizing the purchase, the customer visits your ecommerce store again at the next opportunity;
- Insufficient logistics capacity (resources and processes): from confirming the order until the purchase, everything involves logistical processes. Having good planning and providing quality service is a way of encouraging future purchases and customer satisfaction;
- Poor customer service: with the increase in traffic, it is important to ensure a monitoring strategy throughout the customer journey: before, during and after the purchase, so that the customer feels trust and support from the brand. Answering questions and maintaining good communication on the brand’s ecommerce and social networks, as well as investing in a support team, is important for customers;
- Not investing in promotion: advertising is the lifeblood of the business, so having your ecommerce promoted on social media, with planning and the promotion of content, is an excellent way of positioning the brand.
Although Black Friday allows you to increase the visibility of your ecommerce, above all, you should be concerned with the responsiveness of the website or platform, and ensuring a good customer experience, so that the customer repeats the purchase and recommends the brand.
In addition, investing in ways to increase sales is essential. But how can you “grab” the customer’s attention when they arrive at your ecommerce store? Thinking about these strategies is fundamental to increasing the chances of conversion, and guaranteeing a positive and satisfactory experience.
How to highlight your ecommerce?
- Being original – thinking outside the box and beyond just offering discounts is key. Making a captivating advertisement will make your brand stick in customers’ minds. Another way is to give customers a special motivation to make purchases, such as making a donation from part of the sales proceeds;
- Having an attractive design – it should be clean, intuitive, and easy to use is yet another motivator for the customer to stay at your ecommerce store;
- Highlighting promotions – putting your products on sale prominently on your ecommerce site increases people’s interest in purchasing them;
- Have testimonials and reviews – showing testimonials from customers who are satisfied with the service and products increases customer confidence.
SUMMARY
What you should take into account for Black Friday (or peak season)
#1 Have a defined plan, but be flexible, predict and anticipate;
#2 Set goals to achieve, in terms of sales, traffic, leads;
#3 Prepare the marketing strategy (target, Black Friday visual identity, promotion on the main channels, customer-care and after-sales);
#4 Create relevant content that generates traffic to the website, online store or App;
#5 Prepare appealing and worthwhile offers;
#6 Structure the entire logistics operation;
#7 Pre-manage inventory, monitor and control stock;
#8 Analyze in advance the possibility of migrating to a solution that allows the business to scale.
Is your company ready for Black Friday this year?!
Prepare your customers for the promotions to come, invest in good communication, and avoid those mistakes that will make it difficult for your brand to succeed on a date with so much sales potential.
Some dates that might be useful:
- Halloween: October 31, 2023
- Black Friday: November 24, 2023
- Cyber Monday: November 27, 2023
- Christmas: December 25, 2023