It’s November o’clock. That means Black Friday’s sibling, Cyber Monday (or Cyber Week), is just around the corner. Few marketers can hardly imagine a better time to improve Return on Investment (ROI) and raise Average Order Value (AOV). So, let’s thoroughly examine strategies and techniques to make Cyber Monday 2022 your day in the sun.
What is the difference between Cyber Monday and Black Friday?
When?
Black Friday: The fourth Friday of November, the day after Thanksgiving
Cyber Monday: The Monday after Thanksgiving
How they work
Black Friday is a pool of opportunities for both offline and e-commerce retailers. Cyber Monday traditionally takes place online. These days however, the line between the two is often blurred. One might assume that Black Friday needs more effort than Cyber Monday as it requires brands to run marketing campaigns both online and offline. To some extent, it does. But the actual difference is not about how it is promoted. What matters is where the purchase happens — instore (Black Friday) or online (Cyber Monday).
Buyer behaviour
Black Friday often features buyers who have already done their homework on coveted big-ticket items. That’s why you can see people camping outside your store, sometimes even overnight, to get the specific laptop that they want. In contrast, consumers associate Cyber Monday with smaller items, gifts and impulse buys which are cheaper to ship and return. Clothing, toys, and accessories are the most popular goods.
Source: Salesforce
4 paths to a successful Cyber Monday
1. Cyber Monday = FOMO marketing
Cyber Monday is predominantly about FOMO marketing. According to psychological studies, people are more likely to take an interest in things in demand. Useful stuff at low prices is always in demand. Consumers understand that not every wanted smartphone or service subscription will be there for an unlimited time. Of course, dozens of similar spam messages like “BUY NOW” or “ONLY TODAY” can lead to buyer fatigue. Countdown timers may make some difference — but this method is not a panacea.
How to make the best out of Cyber FOMO?
- Accurately segment target audiences for your marketing efforts. 68% of people are fine to receive ads if they are not annoying. Once you segment your audience with a CPaaS solution, you can send personalised campaigns via Viber. Viber is an amazing tool to properly segment customers by demographics like gender, age, location, and even interests based on purchase history. For instance, let’s imagine you own a chain of electronics and home appliances stores — like Comfy. You can offer recent PC or iPhone buyers an opportunity to purchase accessories like computer mice or phone cases directly via messenger. Also, don’t forget about the CTA button power.
- Invest in quality visual content. Did you know that text-only Facebook posts see 2.3X less engagement than those with images and videos? Fancy visual ads are more likely to grab the attention and appeal to the emotions of Millennial consumers who appreciate a good Instagram grid.
- Boost FOMO with influencer marketing. 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations. Few tech enthusiasts will doubt whether a device recommended by Marques Brownlee is worth buying.
2. Play the long game
Cyber Monday or Cyber Week is usually seen as a short-term plan — online retailers try hard to sell more, adopting discounts and intensive marketing campaigns. Fickle shoppers will not hesitate to move on to competitors offering a better customer experience shortly after the event. Not every business sees Cyber Monday as an opportunity not only to make a quick buck but also to acquire and retain more loyal clients. Companies that do so play the long game and thus have more chances for strategic success.
So, how can Cyber Monday set the stage for greater customer loyalty in the long term?
- 96% of customers believe that a positive customer experience is crucial for brand loyalty. Superior CX highly depends on a flawless purchase process. You may install a chatbot on your website to make customer support more accessible. Verification and confirmation SMS, timely reminders to combat shopping cart abandonment, smart cross-sales on your website or post-sales via Viber, WhatsApp, or Push notification would also come in handy for better CX.
- Foster communities. For example, brands like Apple or Gymshark have highly engaged fans lining up to give them money for any new product. Viber is a convenient platform for developing communities of superfans. Why don’t you send an invitation message with a link to your Viber community immediately after the customer gets done with the purchase? Soon you will be able to communicate your brand more effectively and engage your audience with updates, polls, and special offers. Consider that Viber communities are searchable and shareable by default.
- Convince potential buyers with BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) and BNPL (buy now, pay later). These trends are gaining popularity in the contactless economy. Send an SMS message with your Cyber Monday BOPIS offer, and after the customer checks out with BOPIS, send real-time transactional notifications about the order status and pick-up procedure. BNPL resembles the older method of layaway shopping. It’s a good match for subscriptions. For instance, you can offer a discount for your annual pass to your gym allowing clients to split the bill into 12 monthly payments like the Ukrainian gym chain Sport Life does. Thus, you will help people save a penny and acquire new loyal customers.
3. Target ethically
78% of consumers are likelier to repeat purchases from brands that pay attention to personalisation. But hyper-personalisation can also heighten privacy concerns. For instance, Meta has caused large public outcries and been slapped with hefty fines for its data breaches. It might be tempting to use unethical targeting methods during Cyber Week but do not do that under any circumstances. This tactic may bear fruits here and now but will destroy your brand image in the long run.
How do you orchestrate ethical Cyber Monday marketing campaigns?
- Give preference to first-party data shared by the consumers
- Avoid sensitive targeting criteria
- Do not track customers if they refuse to be tracked, use analytics data
4. Divide Diversify and rule
Just like any conscious investor diversifies stocks, any striving business should use several communication channels to multiply traffic sources. 75% of adults aged 18-45 start their purchase journey on one device and end it on another or even in person. That creates many opportunities for multichannel marketing, allowing for upsales, cross-sales, etc. to positively affect AOV — such campaigns earn a 13% higher AOV. Adopting a multichannel approach and some Cyber Monday FOMO magic can give a big boost to an enterprise’s ROI.
What is worth knowing to efficiently diversify your communications for the Cyber Monday marketing campaign?
- Invest in omnipresence. To illustrate this point, let’s consider an atypical Cyber Week example. Let’s suppose you’re a mobile banking service. Users choose you due to your mobile app’s intuitive interface and excellent customer support. But your core audience consists of youth — Gen Z — traditionally owing less wealth and thus not interested in premium services. Why not offer them a discount for the Gold Credit Card directly in the app? Besides, you can utilise a chatbot to move potential VIP clients down the funnel. An AI chatbot can ask intuitive questions, enable seamless onboarding, or process new applications, helping to improve retention. On top of that, you may send them a message on WhatsApp or Telegram to provide additional info.
- 80% of your income will come from just 20% of your customers, according to Kevin Kruse, author of “Great Leaders Have No Rules.” Besides, the average customer needs about 6-7 touchpoints to feel comfortable with an e-commerce brand to finally purchase something. Thus, a multichannel approach will help you better perform your marketing efforts in a short Cyber Monday time frame.
- Orchestrate all channels using a single platform for all purposes. A CPaaS solution is a single point of access for your marketing channels. Whether you want to build brand loyalty or organise a quick Cyber Monday messaging campaign, you can communicate through push notifications, messengers, RCS, and SMS, mixing and matching them as you please.