It’s August, and if you haven’t started thinking about BFCM, (Black Friday Cyber Monday for the non-initiates) yet, then this article is for YOU.
BFCM season means that customers are expecting something special. However, with so many paths to take, how do you know what offers will work and which ones will drive the most revenue for you?
The types of offers to try
There are several types of offers to choose from, and 6 years running BFCM campaigns has taught me that you should have at least two different offers. For example, these can be separate Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers, a VIP offer vs. everyone-else offer, or a primary offer then a secondary offer for people who buy early. Here are some great examples of common offers:
- Storewide discount (this type of offer works well for everyone).
- Large discount on one item (this type of offer works best on “staple” items that appeal to everyone on your list).
- Tiered discount (this type of offer is more complicated for your customers to follow, but has something for every budget).
- Free gift with purchase (this offer works great for VIPs and high spenders - it makes them feel loved and appreciated, and who doesn’t like getting something for free? Bonus: Make it a limited quantity and then brag about it when the free gifts are gone so everyone else knows what they missed out on).
- Cashback with order (this offer also works well for VIPs and frequent spenders - and it encourages them to come back to your store after the holiday).
- Free upgrades (this type of offer works well to push people over the fence and into making a purchase. Anyone who may have been undecided may be swayed by the offer of a free upgrade).
Don’t wait, get testing now
So with all these great options, how do you know what’s going to work? The answer is to test offers now. If you don't know whether your audience will be more swayed by a BOGO or a sitewide discount, test a smaller version of these two offers with an engaged portion of your list or with your VIPs. This will help give you valuable data on what will work on a larger scale.
You can also ask your customers what they would like to see. Set up a short survey for your dedicated customers asking them which types of offers would sway them the most.
*Bonus* This also starts priming your list to get excited for BFCM!
Looking behind
Additionally, another important factor in your testing strategy is looking behind. Investigate your past offers to discover what worked and what didn’t by asking these questions:
- Were there promotions that had a high placed order rate, but low $/recipient?
- Insight: Try adding an upgrade offer to increase AOV.
- Did you see low engagement with a tiered discount?
- Insight: Perhaps it was too complicated for your audience, or wasn’t laid out clearly enough. If most customers went for the middle discount, try using that as a main storewide offer.
Looking ahead
The most important thing to take away from this article: don’t wait until November! Start testing now so you know exactly what will drive your customers during the most important weekend of the year!
-Katherine Burlock (
Want to talk further about all things ecommerce? DM me or connect on our partner page, &BAM!
Learn more from these resources to keep learning:
- How to use sign-up forms to offer tiered discounts
- Getting started with coupon codes in Klaviyo
- How to add coupon codes to sign-up forms
- How to add link that applies a coupon code to a Shopify cart