Not Another Black Friday Deal

November is a month that really shifts gears. It changes perspectives. Some companies are getting ready for their biggest days of the year for sales, others are planning for what's to come in the new year. On the personal side, there's new activities as it's chilly enough outside, a focus back to family and holidays are about to take over. Either way, it feels like we'll blink and it'll be January 1st! 
Not being another Black Friday deal is simply because our inboxes are already full asking us to spend at unusually low prices… ridiculous prices... And that's never been the appeal that we find with our clients. After all, deep discounting isn't a marketing strategy, it's a tactic for a transaction and to beat your competition.
We prefer adding value and building lifetime value. Two things that don't jive well of your loyalty only comes at 80% off. 
When you look at your November recap and compare against other months, I want you think about a couple of metrics:
  • CAC - your customer acquisition cost (did it change)
  • AOV - see how much your average order is this month (keeping in mind your current promotions)
  • ROAS / ROI - looking at your profitability to acquire customers and what you’re generating from your new sales.
  • and finally…. LTV - the lifetime value of your customers - how much each person will spend with you… not a single transaction, but over a longer period of time.

This leads us to the next idea: how to maximize your store's performance after Black Friday. Focus on the customers you have and getting them to purchase again.

  • How many customers do you have that have only purchased once? How can we incentivize their next purchase with an offer that’s less than your CAC? If you have already proven to these people that you have a great expereince shopping with you, then you should be able to get them to purchase again for less than the cost of acquiring a new customer… What could this generate for you if 10%, 20% or 50% of people took you up on your offer.
  • Next, figure out when would be the right time to offer these 2nd purchase incentives 
    • For existing customers, that could be in a couple weeks before new years, especially if you have a product that could be helpful with a new years resolution.
    • For your customers that you just got from Black Friday, send the email just before you think they’ll be looking to buy again. Get in there before they start comparing and searching online - you need to shift their mindset from “hunting for a deal” to “appreciating the service and convenience” of getting an email with an incentive from you
  • Repeat these steps for your customers who have purchased 2, 3, 4 or more times… and start with the ones who are right around that “looking to buy” timeframe. Don’t spend your time on the most recents (they are going to buy anyway… they have already… multiple times) and don’t go too far back trying to revive old customers (we’ve seen a decline in results when it’s been too long - they are less likely to buy - and usually it’s not because of you, but you’re probably going to take it personally because you care about your customers and love your brand)
  • Learn more about your customers by creating a customer survey full of questions that you are dying to know.
    • set this up with a simple type form - it looks great, functions well, and integrates with Google analytics. Don’t mess around with trying to find the perfect app that’ll integrate - just use something easy.
    • Make the time less than 1 minute to complete
    • Offer an incentive to a draw for a prize - it gets some people to try and take advantage… instead, increase their chances at winning a prize draw by giving ballots only to people who complete the customer survey.
    • Give a short period of time - 7-10 days after sending the email to people, the survey will close and you’ll draw for the prize.

This certainly isn't another Black Friday deal, this is the first edition video our weekly Ultimate Online Store series! After years of offering Email Marketing, Sales Funnels, Copywriting, Website Design, Social Media, Graphic Design, Video and Email Automation, we have finally put our skills to use for ourselves. Partly, this is our way of sharing what's on our mind and what we've been testing. It's also a way that we can share some tips and what's inspired us in the wide (or wild) world of Marketing. 

Each video, we'll cover things that might include:
  1. Tips and Training for your online store 
  2. Reviewing an App or Tool that we like and find valuable
  3. Something from our Marketing Lab
  4. Case studies 
  5. Invitations or Early Access