Black Friday. Get a bounce in your sales, not in your recipients list…

With Black Friday fast approaching, so commences the panic to couple together some hastily produced CRM. While our American cousins take it in their stride, outside of the US we tend to forget Black Friday, then remember it, prepare for it, then get blacklisted on Cyber Monday, cause those in the know know that Black Friday isn’t just a day it’s an extended period of high and heavy traffic.

So, what is it? Black Friday has now become one of those things that if you do not already know about it, you are too frightened to ask. Here’s your one line cheat sheet. Wikipedia take it away: “The day after the US holiday of Thanksgiving, regarded as the first day of the Christmas shopping season, on which retailers make many special offers.”

Right, here are the things that you need to do if you are hoping to raise your sales without raising the eyebrows of your ISP.

1. Put the shotgun down and step away with your hands up. “Let’s send to the entire database” said no one ever that actually valued their reputation. Sending everything to everyone is not a good game plan, it never was to begin with and has only worsened with age. One word, customer segments (ok that’s two), gather an idea already a month before of which customers would even be receptacle to an offer. Last login, propensity to purchase, geography. All of these things matter and will improve your open and CTR.
2. Start now. Not at 9am on Black Friday. Start gathering an overview on your actual customer stack. Who has done what so far in 2019? How are my bounce (soft & hard) stats looking, how has my unsub rate been for the last 6 months. Opening rates, CTR, all of this information should be at hand if you are planning on expanding your communication ahead of any seasonal event. Decent planning here will mean that you can start to widen the net somewhat already.
3. And the lord said…

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