With Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming up quickly, it's important to be prepared for the hottest shopping weekend of the year, and the holiday season that follows. However, this is not just a time to sell more products: with a little preparation, BFCM can be an excellent opportunity to create loyal repeat customers for life.
Similar to last year, inventory may be limited and shipping times extended, but that doesn't mean you cannot prepare accordingly. Here are some tips to get ready for BFCM and beyond:
Optimize your store
Your team and operations may be challenged by increased demand and sales, so prepare your team and business now for the uptick. Are you sure you can handle order management, ship on time, provide great customer service and deal with issues as they arise? Get prepared to serve your customers the best you can when your business gets busier!
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Go shopping in the Shopify App Store
Now is the time to stock your Shopify store with the right apps for the job, ones that integrate seamlessly and simplify your life! We recommend an order export app like Exportify, which extracts your orders from Shopify in the format that’s relevant to you and your fulfillment partners. As well, you can never go wrong with Zapiet’s Pickup + Delivery app. These are two of our favourites that work beautifully together. Don’t forget to test your systems well before the big day.
Make the most of Shopify-enabled tech
Bring your PDPs to life with the 3D + AR capabilities that are built in to every Shopify store. Go beyond dimensions; with this technology, you can showcase your product to its best advantage and let your customers picture it in their own home… leading to higher conversion rates.
Plan your inventory, intelligently
Check your Shopify Analytics dashboard to see which of your products have been selling well, using the Sales by Product report to get accurate information. With this knowledge at your fingertips, make sure your top sellers are in stock, and/or focus your marketing on products that have healthy inventory.
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Marketing
Promote your promotions ahead of time
Using paid advertising, socials, email lists or site banners, let your customers know that you will have amazing offers just for them. We recommend that you simplify your life by scheduling these promotions using tools like Shopify Launchpad. This app is free to Shopify Plus merchants, and offers a simple way to automate and schedule sales campaigns, product releases, or flash sales. Get creative and start early!
Be where your customers are
If you’re wise, you are already taking advantage of Shopify’s omnichannel ecommerce capabilities. Now, identify your most successful channels, from your Shopify Analytics dashboard. Be sure to double down on your best channels (Facebook, Google Shopping etc.) by increasing your marketing efforts there, publishing content consistently and ensuring that each channel is set up correctly.
Be where your customers are, Part 2: Instagram and TikTok
Get versed on Shopify’s new capabilities for direct selling via both Instagram and TikTok, and get marketing and selling on the two fastest-growing platforms for ecommerce.
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Create loyal customers for life
Target your best customers with exclusive offers (we recommend Klaviyo Email Marketing and Smile Rewards & Marketing), but don’t stop there. If you provide best in class customer service for everyone, you will increase your loyal customer base during this time. Remember, every prospective customer has the potential to become a repeat customer.
The bottom line
While your overall goal may be to meet demand and increase sales during this peak time, by utilizing tools like Google Analytics and Shopify Reports to understand what worked and what you need to improve, you can meet your larger, sustainable goal of increasing your loyal customer base for the future!
Are you looking for more expert tips or assistance? The team at Able Sense is always here to help! Start the conversation.
Able Sense is a Shopify Plus Partner and our app Exportify, integrates with Zapiet - Pickup + Delivery from Zapiet. We’ll help you take your e-commerce business to the next level with Shopify Plus.
