It may seem like Black Friday/Cyber Monday is ages away – it’s the 25th of November after all. But the key to a profitable BFCM starts now. Black Friday/Cyber Monday is one of those events that people tend to leave till the last minute, but it’s also one of those times where everyone is dumping huge amount of budget.
And if you’re just a little fish (spending less than $100k a month) like most of my clients, you’ve got to be prepared to be able to compete.
First things first, do you even want to go on sale?
It can be easy to get swept up in it without thinking it through. Do you have the margins to go on sale? Is it good for your brand and customer experience? Can you do something else other than go on sale? There is so much hype with BFCM it can be hard to work out what you want. It’s why planning early is vital, so you don’t get swept up in it all.
If you don’t want to go on sale, here are some great ideas I’ve seen over the years:
- I’ve seen companies give to charity instead of going on sale.
- Others release a limited edition collection purely for the time period.
- Mystery boxes always do incredibly well.
- Others do a gift with purchase.
- Do nothing, and say nothing.
There are so many options other than going on sale. Work out now what works best for your brand, your customers and go from there – don’t worry too much about everyone else.
Know your margins
The biggest mistake people make around BFCM, or any sale in general, is picking a number that sounds good. But what they don’t realise, is that when you see brands doing crazy 70% off sales, it’s because they can afford it.
You need to know your margins and make sure you’re still profitable! You need to know how much it costs you, not just from a cost of goods perspective, but from your postage, rent, phone bill, marketing expenses, the whole lot! Then you can work out how much you can afford to give away while still making money – that last part is key. No point going on sale if you lose money, you’re not a charity (unless you are, and even they need to make money!)
Ad costs skyrocket
Because of this increased demand, ad costs tend to skyrocket. So if you’re running on smaller budgets, now is the perfect time to start running engagement ads to build up your audiences to keep costs as low as possible when the time comes.
What does this mean? Rather than your conversion ads focused on a sale, work on some video ads or ads with the goal of engagement talking about your offer. Get people excited and hyped up, these ads usually run much cheaper than your conversion ads, and the best part is you can retarget those who have engaged with these ads when the time comes, and because you’re now retargeting these people, it’s a lot cheaper to reach them in the auction because Facebook already knows they’re interested.
Build your email list
My favourite strategy for Black Friday/Cyber Monday is to focus on building your email list for early access. This does a couple of things, it makes your sale or offer more exclusive, you build your email list which is always a huge bonus, and you avoid the increasing ad costs because you don’t have to spend that much over the weekend if you don’t want to. You can just email your list!
There is a lot to think about, which is why we recommend you start prepping and thinking about what you’re going to do for the weekend now.
Have a question? You can contact us here, or book in a Free Strategy Session and we will review your ads for you and help you plan your Black Friday/Cyber Monday ads!
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash
