More than simply getting more sales, Black Friday should be used as an opportunity to build strong customer relationships and strengthen the brand and its advocates. Using a rewards program or loyalty program grants you the chance to exceed customers' expectations through each interaction. Customers will be more encouraged to engage with your brand if they enjoy positive experiences consistently.
Though this article focuses on increasing sales volume to your store during Black Friday, bear in mind that every tip listed should be geared towards ensuring that the customers you acquire during this annual event are retained and become loyal customers. So now, let's dive into some valuable tips on how you can use a loyalty program to gain more sales on Black Friday.
Using a Loyalty Program on Black Friday
The beauty of loyalty programs is that they are proven retention tools that can help you alter customer behavior to suit your business while allowing you to reach the goals you set. Since launching a loyalty program takes a bit of time and effort, you should certainly begin working on its implementation before Black Friday sets in.
An excellent way loyalty programs can boost your marketing strategy for Black Friday is by distributing rewards. As is the order in loyalty programs, customers are usually required to make an initial commitment or purchase in order to get a discount or perk. Focus on the type of rewards you would be offering during this season. Instead of only sticking to discount coupons, you can move beyond that and provide more experiential rewards. Offering high-end experiential rewards means that customers would have to spend more loyalty points, but that's the good part. Such exclusive perks motivate customers to increase their basket spend and purchase frequency. In other words, they'll be more likely to stay with your brand beyond Black Friday.
Loyalty strategies for increasing sales on Black Friday
Free shipping & delivery
While reward program members highly desire this incentive, it becomes more of a must-have during Black Friday. Customers are more willing to purchase on Black Friday when they know their package will arrive at their doorstep without incurring an extra cost for delivery or shipping. In order to tune your loyalty program to Black Friday shoppers, you should make free shipping or free deliveries accessible event to new sign-ups. Of course, this benefit can be made a temporary perk that expires as soon as Black Friday is over. Another alternative is to offer standard free shipping for basic/regular members and preserve premium or next-day free shipping for members in advanced tiers. Either way, the free shipping incentive will increase your customer acquisition rate while increasing the chances of customers becoming long-term loyalty members.
Offer Early Access
Early access is one of the most overlooked reward strategies for online retailers. While it is basically free to implement from your end, it is one of the perks that customers really love. You only need a loyalty platform that can enable you to set up access to specific products based on customer segmentation. Giving early access as a Black Friday loyalty incentive implies that you have set your brand apart from competitors. By doing this, customers will be able to order their favorite products before the Black Friday rush begins. Since they would have done their shopping before the event, they will not be influenced by offers from your competitors on Black Friday. The Early Access feature is more effective when your loyalty program includes tiers. In that case, you can reserve the feature for members in the higher levels so that newly-enrolled members can increase their purchases and points to enjoy the perk.
Before implementing the above tips, you may have noticed that you first need to set up a loyalty program for your online store ahead of Black Friday. If you haven't done that already, the Beans loyalty program, Liana, is specifically designed to help you reward customers for their actions while boosting your sales tremendously.
The Beans loyalty program offers several features and rules that are suited to increase your sales on special days or events such as Black Friday. These rules are simple to understand and easy to set up once you have integrated your rewards program in your online store. We will delve into how you can increase your sales with Liana's rules in the following points.
Use the celebration rule to give extra points on Black Friday
Retailers can offer customers more points to purchase their products on Black Friday by setting up the celebration rule in their rewards program. This gesture can be backed with a prior email notification that announces that customers will earn X number of extra points when they purchase specifically on Black Friday. This will create excitement for the yearly event and further motivate them to visit your shop and increase their basket spend.
Using the Average Order Value rule: Spend more than x and get double points
Another rule that can be activated using the Beans loyalty program is the Average Order Value Rule. The Average order value denotes the average total of each order placed within a particular period. Thus, it is determined by dividing total revenue by the number of orders received. Considering this metric, retailers can set a rule for their Black Friday offers that motivate customers to spend more per order. For instance, they can decide to double the number of points or rewards earned for customers who spend above a certain threshold. For example, a rule can be set that customers get double the points allotted if they spend more than $100 on Black Friday. Shoppers will be incentivized to hit or exceed the threshold so they can redeem even more valuable rewards.
Activate the rewards program balance the week before Black Friday
An excellent strategy to prepare for increased sales during this period is to activate the rewards program balance so customers know the amounts of points they can spend. Many loyalty program members don't pay regular attention to their earned points and risk forgoing their perks. If customers are not redeeming their points, it means they are not enjoying the program's benefits and likely will not appreciate its value. As a retailer, you want to avoid this by regularly updating shoppers on the points they have in store and how they can spend it. A week before Black Friday, you can send out rewards program balance reminder emails and activate the rule. It will push customers to be more interested in earning more points prior to Black Friday and redeeming the points they've already accrued.
Decrease the number of points needed to reach a tier just for Black Friday.
This effect works superbly if your rewards program is designed to have tiers. You can reduce the number of points customers need to advance to the next tier just for Black Friday. This will push customers to spend more to reach that higher tier and ultimately enjoy more benefits in the loyalty program. This is another excellent way of retaining new shoppers and enticing basic loyalty members to become long-term advocates. The higher the tier, the higher the benefits and the more customers' dedication and affinity towards the brand.
The benefit of Using a Loyalty Program to boost Black Friday Sales
Typically, ecommerce owners offer Black Friday Discounts. With a rewards program, instead of simply offering discounts upfront, you can provide points for the actions taken in your online store. Giving points encourage customers to return to your store to redeem them. It also has the inescapable effect of urging them to spend more to earn more rewards, eventually enabling them to return for a second purchase. If shoppers are pleased with your rewards program on Black Friday, they are more than likely to sign up and constantly engage with your brand. With each Black Friday, you can be sure that you are attracting new shoppers and building a more lasting connection through the benefits your loyalty program presents.
Wrapping Up
As an online retailer, you need to understand that Black Friday sales are not the end but are a means to lay the foundation for retaining more customers. The key is to ensure that you offer the best rewards and highlight the incentives you're giving early on in your marketing campaign. Then, with a solid loyalty program and the right promotion tactics, give your customers a good incentive to return to your shop frequently and forego your competitors on Black Fridays and the days that follow.