Black Friday and Cyber Monday are held the first Friday after Thanksgiving (last week November) and the following Monday. Essentially these are now the same thing - selling discounted products in the run-up to Christmas. 


The next dates are:


Black Friday 26th November 2021

Cyber Monday 29th November 2021

Summary Of Key Tasks

  1. Define your key objectives
    (e.g. more sales to retail buyers, gaining new customers, rewarding loyal customers)

  2. Plan your timeline for running the event
    (it doesn't have to last just one day)

  3. Select which products are in the promotion
    (and that you have enough stock / fulfilment / support capacity)

  4. Work out your specific offers to hit your sales / profitability / AOV targets
    (e.g. blanket 15% versus 20% off orders over £200)

  5. Select which channels you are pushing the promotions through and what costs are involved
    (e.g. email campaigns, website banners, social media and Ads)

  6. Communicate your deals and monitor results
    Track results throughout the event and record what has worked best and what hasn't

  7. Turn BCFM shoppers into loyal customers
    Drive repeat sales and LTV 

1. Define Your Key Objectives 

What do you wish to achieve and how are you measuring it 

e.g. 

more revenues but hitting certain profit margins

promoting high interest products that don't normally convert

promoting products that lead to other sales further down the line

clearance only products


Decide how much you wish to spend promoting deals

e.g.

Running prioritised paid ads for higher profit products / gaining better LTV customers

Email campaigns

Creating graphics for banners, ads etc

Printing material to send out with orders


Decide how to segment your offers 

e.g. 

retail users only, new prospects, loyal customers

different deals per channel to grow followers


Work out how to get maximum attention
e.g.

Using a 'jaw-dropper' offer to headline your campaign (a single item or a product bundle?)
Send teasers and 'sneak peaks' ahead of the event via email, site banners, flyers in orders being despatched

Build excitement via social media posts and influencer mentions




2. Planning Your Event Timeline

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer limited to just those two days. 

A lot of retailers run the event over a 7 day period and a third of shoppers buy before the event. 

Big retailers are known to run events that start as early as 10th October.

  • Create your timetable so that you know what you will be promoting each day.
  • If using Google Ads for the first time allow at least a week to get your data set up and into Google.
  • Ensure staff and suppliers are available to create graphics, create/change ads etc
  • Ensure forward ordering / manufacture of products to be promoted

3. Selecting Products To Promote

Select products to be promoted and ensure you have stock availability, fulfilment and customer service ready. This might include: 
  • promoting high interest products that don't normally sell (use Price Compare to check for overpricing)
  • promoting products that lead to other sales further down the line
  • clearance only products

Use the Top Products Report  to check which products are:

  • often viewed but not sold to price check and run promotions on them - sort by Unique Views

  • bestsellers which can lead your promotions to pull people in - sort by Quantity Sold


Use Price Compare to check your pricing against competitors:

  • set this up prior to the promotions to understand your price position and profitability
  • monitor competitor prices running up to the event - they might start their campaigns earlier than yours


Keep an eye on your competitors...

  • Our Price Comparison app is free to marketing clients and helps you understand your price position
  • Buy a product on their website and identify extra features / offers they have in place
  • Subscribe to their email offers and check their website and social media


4. Workout your specific offers 

You may have different offers based on user group (e.g. retail versus trade), channel, product group, loyal customers, influencer-exclusive promos.


  • Work out the type of deals you will be offering including 'shareable offers' (single use per customer coupons)
  • Reward loyal customers by:
    • emailing them the BFCM offer early to beat the rush
    • putting coupons covering the BFCM period in with their deliveries in the days and weeks prior
    • giving them more exclusive group pricing for an extended period
  • Set up timed special prices that became available automatically at the start of your event


Calculating & protecting your margin


Giving away a blanket discount like '15% off for the Black Friday weekend' may cut into your overall profitability more than a 'spend more to save more' deal which pushes up your average order value (using in-cart deals or product bundles).

Example: Blanket discount versus 'spend more, save more':
"20% off when you spend over £200" may be better than "15% off all products today".

Other deal types could include free delivery, product quantity break prices, gift sets / product bundles, including a free gift with orders from clearance stock, sending out samples.

Adding undiscounted cross- and up-sell items to product pages (alternate / associated products) can also help lift margins and average order values.

Use Price Compare to check competitors' pricing and make sure your offers are not too far below their prices so you can retain more of your margin.


5. Sending Out Promotions

  • Put your coupon deals on voucher sites - example sites to try
  • Create matching promo banners for your website, ads, social media etc
  • Create email campaigns and ensure your email address databases are clean and ready to send out.
    • Neverbounce have a low cost data cleansing service
    • Use our Mailgun integration when sending emails via REC+ Email Manager
  • Set up ads (including retargeting previous customers and visitors) including setting key promo products as a priority for ad spend
  • Set up your abandoned cart emails to tempt shoppers back and reduce the time after which they are normally sent
  • Discuss and agree promos with any influencers you engage with

All good to go?

Review your customer support to help customers and boost conversion

  • Make sure your delivery and returns policies are clear and as hassle-free as possible
  • Add live chat to your website if you are able to staff it, like Tawk which is free-to-use 
  • Add 'Expert Answers' to product pages to capture and reply to queries and publish useful ones which help others
  • Ensure your phone number and email contact are easy to find


Monitor your event & follow up with key buyers 

Track the progress of your event on a daily basis and adjust your deals based on what works, what doesn't work and product availability. 

  • Check which key customers have not opened your emails and follow up with them via personal contact i.e. email them a link to the email content with personalised message or ring them up directly.
  • Set up high value abandoned cart alerts to followup


Review and learn from your event

Once the event is over, review performance and takeaway any learning points for the next event you run. 

  • Send thank you emails that go out post-event


Turn Black Friday shoppers into loyal long-term customers

Here's some ideas on how to do that:

  • On your BFCM order confirmation emails include coupon codes that can be redeemed in the run up to Christmas
  • Similarly, include time-limited coupons and a mini-catalogue / flyer in your parcels
  • Extend your promotion all the way up to the last shipping day before Christmas
  • Upgrade buyers spending over a certain level to be VIP members and receive more benefits
  • Send targeted emails to buyers for associated products relevant to their original purchase
  • If you sell replenishable goods, send repeat purchase emails after a set amount of time
  • Continue to run highly targeted email campaigns in the New Year and beyond
  • Similarly, create ongoing social media campaigns and competitions