Crushing BFCM & beyond: A multi-week approach to holiday marketing

The holiday season, particularly Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM), marks one of the most lucrative periods in the retail calendar. These shopping events are synonymous with significant discounts and a consumer frenzy that drives massive sales. 

However, it's essential to recognize that while the season may be defined by Black Friday and Cyber Monday, maximizing the holiday shopping window involves much more than focusing solely on these two days. It's a multi-week engagement opportunity that starts well before Thanksgiving and extends into the New Year.  

To make the most of this extended period, let's break down the three key promotional phases of the season and explore strategies marketers can use to engage customers and boost sales within each window.

BFCM Pre-season: Start early to build excitement

The old rule was that the holiday shopping season begins the week of Thanksgiving, but savvy marketers know that’s no longer true. Starting campaigns in early November can build excitement and anticipation, capture early sales, and create momentum for the more significant events.

Offer early bird specials and sneak-peek exclusives

Use this window to build anticipation with early bird specials and holiday previews. Offering a select group of products on sale or teasing new holiday products can whet your customer’s appetite for more. 

Alternatively, you can make last year’s holiday products available, winding down inventory while keeping this year’s new products ready for the BFCM peak. The key is to make these immediate sales opportunities, capturing early revenue while priming the pump for peak season engagement.

Promote customer loyalty through early access

This is also the time to do something special for your best customers or most loyal subscribers. Offer them more generous discounts or “exclusive” early access to new holiday products. This strategy boosts early sales and strengthens customer relationships, making your most valuable users feel appreciated. 

Peak Season: Making the most of prime-time BFCM

As the two pillars of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have effectively merged into a four-day block that drives the most intense promotional activity of the year, kicking off the height of the holiday shopping season. 

This window usually continues through December 15th, the most common date eCommerce retailers use to promise that orders will be delivered in time for Christmas when customers use standard shipping.

As you'd expect, this three-week block is the most competitive time for holiday revenue, with brands rolling out their best deals, aggressive campaigns, and the largest ad spend. You’ll also want to lead with your best offers while ensuring you stand out.

Effective strategies to consider include:

• Creating urgency: Consider limited-time offers of 24 or 48 hours to develop a fear of missing out (FOMO) on the best offers. You can also use countdown timers in emails or on-site to heighten deadlines
• Merchandising waves: Stagger the release of new products or sales items. Start weekly in the build-up to BFCM and then go daily at the height, creating “new news” to increase engagement with your emails and texts
• Product recommendations: Increase the 1:1 relevance of your promotions by using your product recommendation solution to highlight key products on sale for each customer

Shipping dates are also crucial during Peak Season. Unless your product is digital (think streaming services, audiobook purchases, or video games), you will have a cut-off for guaranteed delivery by Christmas.  

Identify your cut-off date early and promote it aggressively to avoid surprises for your customers. This date also provides an opportunity for “Last Chance to Receive for Christmas” communications that can boost late Peak Season sales. The folks at eBay have dubbed this date Green Monday, the last Monday with at least 10 days before Christmas, and it is regularly their most significant day of the year.

Post-Peak: Finish strong and start strong

Even after Peak Season, there’s still additional revenue to capture. Depending on your operational capabilities, you may offer two-day or overnight shipping at an additional fee to the customer, creating a few extra days for Christmas delivery. 

Last-minute gift-giving campaigns

An equally important opportunity is Last-Minute Gift-giving via online gift certificates. These can be delivered directly via email or printed at home, and they become solid solutions for your customers while teeing up post-holiday engagement (and potentially new customers) when the gift cards are redeemed.

Treat yo’self gifts

Another successful post-holiday promotion is the “Give Yourself a Gift” concept. After weeks of shopping for others, customers appreciate the opportunity to purchase something for themselves. 

This can be as simple as a special discount they can use on any item in the store. To create extra relevance and excitement, personalize the opportunity by highlighting an item from their wishlist or a product recommendation from your CDP.

Create a brand connection moment with “Year in Review”

Want to bring this personalized reward to life? You can include the offer in a “Year in Review” email personalized to each customer. 

Popularized by Spotify with their annual Wrapped promotion, this concept is a terrific opportunity to remind your customers of the value they received from your brand over the past year by highlighting things like their most frequently purchased category, highest-rated items, and savings for the year. Your CDP can generate and dynamically integrate this data into your communications.

Look beyond BFCM

Lastly, think about New Year’s and early January. While November and December are the most significant revenue months of the year, you can start the next year strong with both existing customers and, more importantly, new customers acquired during the Peak Season push. 

New Year’s resolutions often drive interest in specific categories, such as fitness gear, healthy (or adventurous) eating, self-improvement books, and organizational tools. Having engaging communications and promotions ready in early January can set the stage for solid sales for the first quarter.

The holidays come but once a year

Making the most of the holiday shopping season requires careful planning, creativity, and a well-orchestrated effort with new promotions throughout the season.  

By embracing the opportunity as a multi-week event, anchored by Black Friday and Cyber Monday but rich with various promotions and communications before and after, you’ll be able to drive continued customer engagement, maximize end-of-year revenue, and ensure that your brand stands out from the rest.