Web Push Notification Guide – BFCM 2020
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, it is time to look ahead and forget the uncertainty that has been this year. This BFCM is going to be interesting, to say the least. If the shopping season in India and China is any indication, Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 will be the biggest sales event in quite some time. With marketing plans in place, inventory scheduling and everything in between, there’s still lot to do.
Therefore we have created this quick guide for BFCM marketing using web push notifications including campaign ideas that increase conversions.
Top 5 things to do before sending your first BFCM notification
1. Start creating hype around your BFCM sale
The first thing you need to do is create a buzz around your BFCM sale. Excite your customers about the upcoming discounts so that they remember to check your site when the sale arrives.
Customized Web Push Opt-in for Black Friday
Add a countdown timer to your site informing users about when the sale is going to start. Next, change your 2-step opt-in copy to make users subscribe to push notifications to get the discounts ahead of everyone else.
2. Experiment with the campaigns you want to run ahead of the sale
Start testing the promos you want to run ahead of the BFCM sale. Check your audience reaction and tweak your campaigns accordingly.
The best way is to start A/B testing with different notification copy and hero images, so see what clicks with your customers. Also check for timing and which messages get you the most click-through. Whether it is category wide sales, BOGO offers or free shipping, plan ahead and test.
This quantitative approach will provide you with data you want to improve click through in the upcoming season.
3. Prepare your campaigns ahead of time
Trust me, you do not want to be rushing around during BFCM sale days. Plan and schedule your web push campaigns ahead of time, you can always tweak them later.
Lay down the groundwork weeks in advance, so that you have time to fine tune the copy later. Ensure that your marketing campaigns are all aligned to each other and inventory rollout matches the offers in place. The best part about notifications is they are real-time, so you can always make changes to your campaigns before they are sent based on customer behavior.
4. Use the Welcome Drip to your advantage
With welcome notifications, customers get to know what they should expect when they receive a notification from you. A welcome notification reinforces your branding and also helps you to re-engage your customers.
Welcome Drip Campaign – Black Friday 2020
Plan your welcome drip campaign keeping in mind the upcoming BFCM sale. Guide your customers through the store with notifications about what you have on offer, and where they can find the best deals. Tell them about your most popular products or new additions that would be added in the sale.
5. Program your Abandoned Cart Drip campaign to boost conversions
Re-targeting abandoned carts with real-time push notifications using a discount is the easiest way you can recover a sale. A timely intervention will help you boost sales by getting the customer to complete their purchase.
Create an abandoned cart sequence that starts within 30 minutes of the customer abandoning the cart and tries to re-target them within the course of the day. Read more about setting up abandoned cart reminders using web push notifications.
Abandoned Cart Drip Campaign
Now that we have a hold on how to start with the planning, let’s dive into what makes your users click on notifications and getting higher conversions.
Web Push Notification Promotional Ideas for BFCM
Pre BFCM Sale Campaigns
BFCM is won even before the sale begins. How? You need to get your users to remember your site among the flood of offers they will be seeing.
Prepare a pre-sale campaign ready to go out before Black Friday. Send a web push notification a week before Black Friday enticing customers with a glimpse of what’s to come. This pre-sale will set the tone for the entire week and keep sales coming throughout the season.
If you are not planning any pre-BFCM sale, then use web push notifications to remind customers about the upcoming sale. Although you want to keep the notification brief, use hero images to provide information about the date and time of the sale.
Pre-BFCM Sale Template
Use web push notifications to get your users to your BFCM landing page to encourage wishlist and ask them to sign up with their email addresses to get the best offers before everyone else. Cross channel engagement will be the key this season.
1. Entice with Product Deals
Planning to provide new products or existing ones at brilliant deals this BFCM? Let your customers know in advance to get them excited and also help build their wishlist. Share details about product features, their excellent reviews and your easy return policy.
Highlight Products to get Customers Interested
This will help you get users interested in your deals even before BFCM arrives.
2. Talk to bargain hunters and customers who haven’t purchased yet
The best part about web push notifications is that the customer doesn’t need to provide any personal information. But that doesn’t make this channel any less powerful. Use web push to reach out to those customers who haven’t yet made a purchase. Incentivize them free shipping this BFCM or help them create an account on your site for easier checkout on sale day.
3. Use Testimonials and social proof
Boost customer loyalty by providing testimonials or social proof from happy customers before the sale. This will help build credibility and urge subscribers to shop from you.
Use Social Proof to Build Trust
4. Boost social media interactions with web push
Share your social media posts through push notifications to boost engagement on social channels. This will help you get followers on social media and provide another sales channel.
During BFCM Sale: Reminders and Promotions
The first thing do to as soon as the sale begins is to let your customers know with a web push notification. Create FOMO by mentioning the sale is for limited time.
Here are some campaign templates to get buyers to your store during the sale:
Mid-sale Reminder
While the sale is going on, let your customers know that there are less than 24 hours left. Add urgency to your notifications to get users to your store and get them to checkout.
Entice with last chance deals
Last Chance Deals Template – Black Friday 2020
Use countdown timers in hero images so that the customer understands they will never get this deal again. Send notifications with personalized and urgent messaging to push customers towards a purchase. Communicate the discount and the time left for the deal clearly in your campaigns.
Pamper customers with exclusive deals
The best way to instill loyalty in your customers is through exclusive offers. It could be a cashback offer or a special discount code. Use behavioral segmentation to identify your target audience and send them this exclusive sale notification.
Exclusive Offer Promotion Template – BFCM 2020
Use suspense to get attention
Build hype using suspense. Run a special sale during BFCM for a fixed duration, give a hint to customers with the timing of the sale and that something special is coming their way.
Create Interest Using Suspense – BFCM 2020
Use browse abandonment campaigns
Boost conversions by converting window shoppers. Share the best deals of the day with the customers who came to the store and did not purchase.
Low stock alert
Setup an automated workflow for products that are in limited quantity. Alert subscribers that the item they were looking for is running low on stock to boost conversions.
Low-stock Alert Web Push Campaign for Black Friday
You can easily set this up by creating behavior based audiences and seeing which products the customers are looking at during the sale.
Post BFCM: Engage customers who missed the sale
Some stores have found immense success by running a “Its Not Too Late” campaign once the main sale weekend is over. The shoppers who have missed the actual sale can order their favorites for the next 24-48 hours in the extended sale.
Post BFCM Sale Campaign
But make sure the customers understand that this is an exception and not the norm. Moreover, you should clearly mention the timing for the extended sale as well. Here’s a good example that has worked for our customers.
Please let us know if you find the article useful and also share your experience. Have a great BFCM 2020.
