As an e-commerce vendor, you are probably extremely excited about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And why wouldn’t you be? These are the biggest shopping days of the year and a great opportunity for e-stores to turn a profit.
Then again, virtually every e-commerce site on earth has a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale; even foreign vendors who do business in the United States. If you really want to stand out, you’ll need to rethink your marketing strategy. Below are a handful of unique ideas to excite shoppers and beat your competition.
Embrace Special Package Deals
Deep discounts are a given. What you need to diversify your brand is a fun and unique package deal. For example, you could offer a bundle of your “Top 10 Beauty Products” for a third of the retail price, or “Six Band T-Shirts of Your Choice” for only $39.99.
After the holiday rush has slowed, you can reintroduce stock that needs to be moved with some deep discounts. Now that’s thinking ahead!
Pop Up in the Real World
It’s no secret that e-commerce is overtaking brick-and-mortar retail, but that doesn’t mean physical storefronts are dead and buried. In fact, all sorts of cloud e-commerce stores are finding great success with hosting in-person events and pop-up shops. This gives shoppers the chance to examine your products through sight and touch – something exclusively-digital e-stores can’t match.
Admittedly, setting up an event or pop-up shop takes a lot of planning and dedication. So, start as soon as you can. You’ll need to find a location, work with organizers and bring enough merchandise to fill out the store. Take things to the next level by hosting a short Q&A session with your founder or bring in a live DJ to get shoppers into the holiday spirit.
Send Wish List Reminders
Customers have been putting items onto their wish lists all year long only to forget about them moments later. This doesn’t do anybody much good. Take a moment to remind your consumers about their wish lists via email. They’ll appreciate the time you save them struggling to come up with gift ideas.
Use a cute and quirky subject line to capture their attention like “Get the Gifts You’d Give Yourself.” Include an easy ‘share’ button on your email so consumers can send their wish lists to friends and family.
Start a Scavenger Hunt
This idea might seem silly, but it’s a surefire way to get your customers excited about holiday sales. What’s even more amazing is scavenger hunts can be hosted online or in the real world.
Make use of multiple social media platforms for an online scavenger hunt. Place your first hint on Snapchat, which will then tell the user to visit your blog page for a secret coupon code valid only on Cyber Monday. This is just one simplified example. Try leveraging the various social media and marketing platforms you already use.
If you decide to play real-world hide and seek you’ll need to pick out a location with a high density of shoppers, like a college campus or the city of Los Angeles. Post hints on your Facebook or Snapchat accounts every few hours to lead them to the item in question, like a branded mannequin for example. Whoever takes a selfie with it first wins a grand prize.
Offer Digital Door-Buster Deals
Every Thanksgiving, the news covers the long lines outside retail stores. These shoppers just can’t wait to take advantage of door-buster deals. Why not bring that same frenzy to your e-commerce site? Alert your followers that the first 50 shoppers to click ‘check out’ will be given an extra five percent off their order.
Keep in mind a lot of e-commerce sites cannot handle heavy traffic requests. However, if you use a robust cloud e-commerce provider, you should be just fine. This Black Friday, try thinking outside the box for sales.
Feature Photo: Pixabay
Additional photo provided by author
