Optimizing Q4 Marketing Strategies in Time for BFCM

Can you believe it’s already the middle of October? That means we’re gearing up for crunch time with Q4 marketing strategies, especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). Just like Labor Day, if Q4 planning snuck up on you, we’re here to reassure you that it’s not too late to craft intelligent, high-performing, and multi-channel marketing campaigns to support your retention and reactivation efforts. All you need is the right data, the right strategies, and the most suitable partner (that’s us, naturally). 

Black Friday, Cyber Monday 2023 Results

Previously, we shared a blog post outlining your expected BFCM results and reviewing 2023’s results. Here are some of the highlights: 

The National Retail Federation reported that the Thanksgiving weekend of 2023 drew as many as 200.4 million shoppers who spent an average of $321.41 on holiday-related purchases. Compared to 2022, this marked a slight decrease from $325 average spending. 

Online shopping figures were particularly striking, with Black Friday alone attracting 90.6 million consumers, and Cyber Monday drawing in another 73.1 million. Impressively, 134.2 million online shoppers took advantage of deals throughout the weekend, an increase from 130.2 million in 2022.

They preferred online shopping (44%), grocery stores and supermarkets (42%), department stores (40%), clothing and accessory stores (36%), and electronic stores (29%). 

As we look toward BFCM 2024, an estimated 182 million people are planning to shop during Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation. This figure is 15.7 million higher than last year and represents the highest estimate since the NRF began tracking this data in 2017. Holiday spending is projected to hit record levels between November and December, with an anticipated growth of 3% to 4%, reaching between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion. In contrast, last year’s holiday sales amounted to $929.5 billion. This year’s holiday spending aligns with the average annual increase of 3.6% observed from 2010 to 2019.

Preparing Your Data and Insights

With the window to get campaign live closing quickly print-on-demand direct mail, email, or digital campaigns are your best options. So, where do you start? Start with a retrospective analysis of your customer data. Questions to ask include: 

• What was your customer retention rate over the past 12 months? 
• Are you converting one-time customers to frequent buyers? 

These are critical metrics that can help to fabricate your strategies. If you need help with this, we have a Retention Report ready to help place everything into perspective.

Also, it’s important to take inventory of missing or outdated data in your customer file. Significant chunks of records without email addresses, or lots of email-only subscribers that failed to provide their names, could mean an append is in order. If it’s been a while since you performed an NCOA update to get the latest mailing addresses, it might be time for that as well. This is especially important of lapsed customers. 

We can quickly provide several data solutions to help address these issues: 

Email Append 

With Email Append, we can help enhance your customer data by adding missing email addresses. This improvement in data completeness optimizes communication channels and provides better opportunities for engaging, retaining, and reactivating your customers. 

Reverse Email Append 

On the other hand, Reverse Email Append allows you to enrich your data by obtaining critical customer information such as their names, addresses, or phone numbers using their email address. This process results in a more holistic customer view and supports more personalized, targeted marketing campaigns. 

Data Hygiene 

Data Hygiene plays an essential role in maintaining the quality, accuracy, and relevancy of your customer data. Regular cleansing and updating your data ensure it remains reliable and valuable — eliminating duplicate entries, correcting inaccuracies, and updating obsolete information. This practice results in more efficient campaigns and better decision making.  

Finally, consider what kind of data could supercharge your campaign performance. Our latest service, Customer Tagging, can integrate over 30 demographic, financial, and buying propensity data fields into your favored email, or print-on-demand platform. Imagine what you could accomplish with all that information! The possibilities are endless.  

We’re delighted to share that we have official partnership ties with Klaviyo, a top-tier email service provider. In addition, our established connections with leading print-on-demand vendors further extend the potential of our partnerships. This means we are equipped to upload crucial customer insights onto any marketing platform you currently utilize. Harnessing enriched data across every platform, we ensure that you’ll have the upper hand in your Q4 marketing campaigns and beyond, aiming always for high-impact outcomes. 

Choosing the Right Channels and Strategy

BFCM success hinges upon three crucial elements: the right audiences, the right channels, and the right promotions. While crafting the appropriate promotions squarely rests on your understanding of your customers, here’s how we can assist you with effective audience selection and channel strategy. 

Understanding Your Audience 

At the heart of direct marketing lies a simple truth: ads that resonate better perform better. The data offered through our Customer Tagging solution allows you to accomplish this on a large scale. 

Initiate by building audiences based on your Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM) metrics. Tailor your messaging for each group uniquely and leverage Customer Tagging data to customize the creative elements for significant sub-segments. 

To ensure precision, maintain exclusivity in your contacts (avoid overlaps). 

New Customers (Last 12 Months)

Customers who have made their first purchase from your brand in the last 12 months belong to this group. They’re fresh to your brand, so entice them with a fantastic promotion that can win their commitment for the holiday season. 

By utilizing details like Gender and Presence of Children from our Customer Tagging package, you can curate different imagery for each group that aligns well with their demographics. For instance, a campaign targeting Females with Children should reflect in the creatives for effective resonance. 

Top Customers (Last 12 Months) 

This category constitutes the customers who have been frequent purchasers or big spenders over the last 12 months. Acknowledge their loyalty with a special holiday offer. 

Employ data on Discretionary Income from our Customer Tagging package to discern two things: which customers may require a deeper discount to make purchases and which might be more inclined towards your higher-priced products. For example, offer a 30% discount to lower-income groups, whereas a 20% cut might be sufficient for higher-income households. This strategy ensures improved profitability compared to a one-size-fits-all discount approach. 

Lapsed Buyers (12+ Months Since Last Purchase) 

Individuals who have not engaged with your brand for more than 12 months constitute this segment and they’ll require an exceptional promotion to reestablish the connection. 

Depending on your business sector, we can supply insights on which of these customers have recently engaged with your competitors, despite being dormant with you. 

Convert this situation into an opportunity to win them back; demonstrate your latest products’ superiority and value. 

Deciphering Channel Strategies

Although there’s a narrow window of 8 to 10 weeks to launch proactive campaigns, smart strategies can turn constraints into opportunities. The trick lies in focusing on the best-suited channels for maximum impact.  

Email campaigns have been proven effective for both retention and reactivation initiatives. Nevertheless, counting solely on emails (even when sent out frequently before BFCM) may not fully tap into your audience’s potential.  

To overcome this, strategically onboarding identical audience groups onto Meta’s platforms for targeted Facebook and Instagram campaigns could be a game-changer. This not only expands your reach but also diversifies audience engagement touchpoints.  

In addition, an impactful endeavor to include could be a print-on-demand (POD) postcard campaign for one of these audience groups, such as your Top Customers. Acknowledge their loyalty with a distinct touchpoint – a special offer delivered right to their doorstep. While printing does involve a lead time, planning can serve as a timely and rewarding surprise for recipients.  

For expert guidance on how to implement year-round POD strategies optimally, please refer to our insightful blog article. 

Sample Strategy 

Further, to help you plan better, we recommend adopting our multi-channel timeline that jump-starts your BFCM campaigns from November 1st. 

We’d love to review this with you in detail. Reach out to us by filling out this form. Zig Ziglar once said, “You can’t hit a target if you don’t know what it is.” And we’re here to help you not just see your target, but to hit it right where it matters most. Don’t wait, start planning your BFCM marketing campaign now! 

About LiftEngine

Since 2005, LiftEngine's primary mission has been to help clients better understand and connect with their most responsive prospects and customers, online or offline. Our expertise is behind the marketing campaigns of 400+ clients.

Behind LiftEngine is LiftBase, our proprietary addressable consumer database. Comprised of 250 million US consumers, 140 million US households, and 1,000+ enhanced data elements, LiftBase powers our audience development services and industry-leading products, PortalLink and LaunchPad.

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