Black Friday: less massive discounts, more targeting!

Black Friday yes, but not at any price.

After many years of debating whether or not brands should include Black Friday in their marketing strategy, it's clear that this sales event is now part of the marketing landscape in France, and that it's in the best interests of both brands and their customers to do so!

• Retailers have the opportunity to attract new customers, boost sales, clear inventory and build customer loyalty.
• Consumers can take advantage of special offers, anticipate their Christmas shopping, discover new brands and/or strengthen their relationship with the brands they love.

Especially since, according to GFKif we take the example of home furnishings, week 47 represents the highest sales week of 2022, with €802 million for French retailers.

It has to be said that since Covid-19, promotion has become a consumption mode in its own right, accentuated today by the period of declining purchasing power that consumers are experiencing. Customers with promophile appetites will always be on the lookout for bargains, and customers with responsible consumption habits will remain so too, since they will integrate the purchase of sustainable products on promotion into a useful approach, without any frenzy.

Can Black Friday and sustainability go hand in hand? According to the latest Shopify surveysurvey, 79% of French consumers want to buy better quality products!

But now is not the time to apply massive discounts to everyone for Black Friday, but rather to focus on preserving margins with promotions on specific products, respecting the positioning of responsible brands, and which make sense for customers.

If properly considered as part of a well-thought-out CRM strategy, Black Friday is an opportunity to (re)contact prospects and customers, and the least we can say is that they're eager to do so, since according to Shopify, 74% of French consumers want to take advantage of Black Friday to anticipate their Christmas purchases. Here are our five tips for making the Cyber 5- the five days from the eve of Black Friday to Cyber Monday - the sales event where both brands and customers benefit.

1. Define your goals

How did Black Friday fare last year? What do you expect this year? How can you ensure that Black Friday contributes to additional CRM sales?

It's an undeniable sales peak that takes place over an entire day or week, and will enable you to clear stocks, please loyal customers and recruit new ones. Whether it's a question of business or marketing, set your objectives taking into account last year's results, your current retail issues (destocking, etc.) and your annual sales targets.

2. Position yourself for Black Friday

It's important to communicate your desire to make Black Friday a special moment between your brand and your customers, and to explain how it's aligned with your values. The idea is not just to highlight the promotions, but to reiterate what makes you different, what you expect from Black Friday this year, and why customers should choose your brand over another. Talk to your customers.

• Send a letter to your customers giving them your vision of Black Friday.
• Liven up the week on your sales channels, with quizzes on your e-commerce site to orient your visitors, and in-store "micro-tests" to get them to express their satisfaction with the in-store experience offered during Black Friday.
• Liven up the week on your social networks with dedicated content: podcasts, a temporary YouTube channel, surprise guests, behind-the-scenes...

3. Take stock of your customers

Customer knowledge is the key to Black Friday success, knowing your customers so you can offer them the products and shopping experience that suit them best. Analyze your database and identify your customers' buying behaviors, habits, frequencies and channels. Then, based on their typologies, define strategies that stand out from the crowd.

• Newsletter subscribers: reward loyalty to your newsletter by offering an extra discount during Black Friday to encourage subscribers to become customers and customers to repeat the purchase.
• Loyalty program: start Black Friday on Thursday for your loyalty program members. Highlight special offers for members of your program, allowing them to double their loyalty points.

4. Personalize all your offers

Several degrees of personalization are available to CRM marketers. Use your customer data to personalize your messages, deliver tailored content and meet your customers' needs.

• Personalized offers thanks to product recommendations increase conversion rates.
• Bundled offers are a tactic for encouraging cross-sell and increase the average basket.

Entrusting the calculation of the best audience for each campaign toAI will enable you to send personalized offers to those who expect them, while respecting the marketing pressure management rules you've set yourself.

5. Optimize your campaign strategy with new approaches

Black Friday is a fast-paced, highly competitive event. To make yourself seen and heard without damaging the customer experience, here are a few steps to take:

• Mobile: think Mobile Responsive, because the search for good deals is done a lot on smartphones. According to Junto, over 60% of email opens occur on a smartphone or tablet.
• Dashboard: track campaign performance in real time to adjust your strategies according to database feedback.
• Marketing pressureSet the rules. Don't put the pressure of sales and de-stocking on your customers, as this would be far too counter-productive and generate churn.
• Be tactical: bring forward Black Friday for loyal customers and/or extend Cyber Week for those who haven't validated their basket and finalized their purchase until Tuesday evening.

Fewer massive discounts, better targeting to satisfy customers and preserve margins - that's our approach to Black Friday at Splio.