Prepare your BFCM strategy in advance, a winning choice!

As we rapidly approach BFCM, it’s essential to keep abreast of the emerging trends that will shape these key sales days. By capitalizing on these trends, you can anticipate changing consumer needs and maximize your sales during this crucial period: 

• After almost two years of pandemics, followed by an inflationary situation, the decline in purchasing power is significant for many consumers. This reality gives rise to two possible trends: some consumers will certainly buy less – or at least avoid non-essential goods or services. The latter will opt for more sustainable, less excessive consumption. Others, on the contrary, will take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to take advantage of advantageous promotions; 
• Today’s consumers are more demanding than ever when it comes to the shopping experience. They expect smooth navigation, transparent information on prices and delivery times, and quality customer service. Making the customer experience a top priority will help increase customer satisfaction and strengthen brand loyalty; 
• Sustainability and environmental impact play an increasingly important role in consumer purchasing decisions. Companies that adopt transparent and sustainable business practices will be more likely to attract environmentally conscious customers; 
• Creating and nurturing a community of committed customers can have considerable benefits. It increases customer loyalty, builds brand awareness and boosts sales, while reducing customer support costs; 
• Supply chain issues can hamper operations and lead to delivery delays. By investing in innovative solutions to improve the supply chain, companies can boost customer confidence by making shipping faster and more transparent. Also, offering seamless international shipping will enable consumers all over the world to buy your products, thus expanding your market potential and boosting sales;

• Consumers are looking for consistent shopping experiences both online and in-store. By adopting an omnichannel approach, companies can offer their customers unique and unforgettable experiences, strengthening their relationship with the brand;
• Live shopping is gaining in popularity, with significant growth in live sales applications. Companies can capitalize on this trend by integrating social eCommerce into their sales strategy to boost customer engagement and increase sales. This involves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others to enable users to buy directly from these platforms without leaving the social environment. This unifies and facilitates the shopping experience;
• Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the business world, offering unprecedented possibilities for improving customer engagement and optimizing back-end operations. Companies should consider integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into their team to stay competitive and effectively manage the continuous growth of content to be produced and shared; 
• With the rise of online shopping, customer data protection has become a major concern. Companies must strive to protect their customers’ information in accordance with current regulations. If you’d like to find out more, Novatize has put together an article on best practices in compliance with Law 25; 
• Finally, it’s essential to prepare for the festive season, as consumers will be looking for gifts and special offers to celebrate Christmas. By anticipating their needs and offering attractive promotions, companies can capitalize on this major event of the year.  

By anticipating these trends and preparing adequately, you can seize opportunities and maximize your success during this strategic time of year.

A few recommendations from our experts

After analyzing last year’s statistics and taking a close look at the predictions for BFCM 2023, here are our recommendations:

Anticipate BFCM

This very busy period can be a strong period for online sales. We therefore advise you to optimize your eCommerce website, so as to have a platform that is ready to receive a large number of customers and convert them. Drawing up a marketing strategy in advance, detailing the actions to be taken during BFCM, can also help you get ahead of the game, while ensuring a clearer organization of this period.

Making the user experience pleasant

The user experience on an eCommerce platform has a big impact on the conversion rate the website will generate. There are a number of elements that can either hinder or encourage users, and this is what you need to focus on in such a busy sales period:

• Use chatbots (real-time assistance);
• Ensure smooth site navigation;
• Make sure there are no bugs on the site;
• Optimize page loading speed;
• Have a fast and secure payment process;
• Have a loyalty program to reward regular customers;
• Personalize the shopping experience by offering complementary products (up-sell/cross-sell);
• Update FAQs.

Promoting eco-responsibility and sustainable practices

Companies committed to sustainable development are increasingly sought-after by consumers. In order to target this clientele, who are looking to buy products from a company that reflects their values, we advise you to highlight the sustainable practices you adopt on your website. Whether it’s reducing the packaging used to send parcels, using products or materials made from recycled materials, encouraging grouped delivery, highlighting the working conditions of your employees or promoting the sustainability of your products, you’re sure to reach hundreds of consumers who have sustainable development as a decision-making criterion.

Create a sens of community among engaged customers

Engaging your customers in your marketing initiatives is one of the best ways to bring them to your shopping cart for purchase. To achieve this, you can use and overuse social networks by publishing engaging content weeks in advance of the BFCM, organizing online events (e.g. lives), encouraging testimonials and being highly responsive to the comments and messages they receive.

Don’t overlook Giving Tuesday

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday. This day of giving back is important for many customers and for your brand’s reputation, because of the impact it has on customers who are more reluctant to buy during events like BFCM. You can do this by partnering with a non-profit organization, donating a percentage of your sales to a charity or highlighting your involvement on social networks or in newsletters.