In 2023, an incredible 134 million consumers shopped online during Black Friday, spending a staggering $38 billion. For e-commerce leaders, BFCM represents a huge revenue opportunity. However, it’s also one of the most challenging times of the year. From complex campaign planning involving multiple stakeholders to content creation and audience segmentation, BFCM prep can feel overwhelming.
At Great White Media, we specialize in guiding brands through these challenges, helping them maximize revenue without burning out their email channels or alienating customers. In this article, we explore the biggest BFCM pain points and show you how to overcome them with a strategic approach. Ready to make this BFCM your best yet? Read on!
Problem #1: Campaign planning chaos
Planning a successful BFCM campaign is a mammoth task that requires careful coordination across multiple teams. From strategists and content creators to designers and marketing managers, aligning everyone on messaging, timing, and goals can be stressful.
In fact, a study by Asana revealed that employees spend about 60% of their time on “work about work”, which includes tasks like status updates, searching for information, and coordinating schedules. This significantly reduces productive time on actual campaign work.
Coordination chaos doesn’t just waste time; it can lead to costly delays and last-minute scrambles to meet deadlines. Bottlenecks in approval processes or miscommunication between teams can derail even the best-laid plans, causing missed opportunities and potentially lower returns during this critical sales period.
Solution
Our team at GWM provides streamlined campaign planning support to keep everyone aligned and focused. By establishing efficient workflows, clear timelines, and a well-defined approval process, we ensure that your BFCM campaigns run smoothly from start to finish. With our support, you can reduce “work about work” and free up time for what truly matters – executing a winning campaign.
Problem #2: Content confusion and segmentation challenges
Many e-commerce business owners feel paralyzed when it comes to deciding what content to send, how frequently to send it, and how to properly segment their audiences. They worry that too many emails will overwhelm customers, while too few will leave money on the table. According to Inc.com, 44% of customers unsubscribe from email lists because of “excessive frequency,” a critical concern during BFCM when email volumes tend to spike.
With this uncertainty often comes poor content decisions; either excessive emailing that frustrates customers or bland, generic content that fails to engage. Worse, too many emails sent without strategic segmentation can hurt your sender reputation, impacting your domain and IP standing and reducing deliverability in the future. This confusion can turn BFCM from an opportunity into a risk.
Solution
GWM creates tailored content strategies and precise segmentation techniques designed to engage audiences without overwhelming them. We assess your customer data to create segmented lists based on behavior, purchase history, and engagement, allowing us to deliver relevant messages that resonate. This approach protects your email reputation while maximizing engagement, ensuring your BFCM communications are strategic and impactful.
Problem #3: Hitting sales goals without burning out channels
For many e-commerce businesses, BFCM is about squeezing every possible dollar from their email list. While this makes sense financially, it’s easy to overlook the long-term consequences. Over-emailing during BFCM can lead to dropped engagement rates and higher unsubscribe rates.
This short-term approach can severely harm your email list health, making it harder to reach your audience in the future. Mismanagement not only increases unsubscribe rates and customer fatigue but also damages your IP and domain reputation. If your emails start landing in spam folders, your brand could suffer from lower engagement and diminished customer trust for months to come.
Solution
GWM helps you meet your sales goals without sacrificing long-term growth. By optimizing email pacing and targeting, we balance high engagement with sustainable list health. Our strategic approach ensures that each email is relevant and well-timed, maximizing revenue during BFCM while preserving your email channel for future campaigns. This way, you achieve your revenue targets without risking burnout or future losses.
How We Helped a Lifestyle Brand Achieve Record BFCM Results
Our client, a Health and Fitness brand, aimed to maximize revenue during the holiday season while maintaining a healthy email list. They wanted to leverage Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas to increase sales, but lacked the experience and strategic approach needed for impactful campaigns. With minimal planning and a plateaued subscriber growth, they were also concerned about list degradation and the risk of suspension from email service providers.
Challenges
- Account maintenance: Ensuring the email account stayed healthy by monitoring metrics and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
- Maximizing revenue: The client had little experience with large-scale holiday promotions, putting them at risk of missing out on significant revenue opportunities.
- Slow email list growth: With a plateaued subscriber count, the client was eager to expand their list to drive more holiday sales without risking list fatigue.
Solution
GWM implemented a streamlined approach, including:
- Strategically designed pop-ups: We created pop-ups aimed at growing the client’s email list, which resulted in an 80% increase in subscribers over eight months, expanding their list from 20,000 to 100,000.
- Targeted email campaigns: Between Black Friday and the New Year, GWM rolled out 11 tailored email campaigns, followed by 8 additional holiday-themed emails for Christmas and New Year.
- Optimized account health: By closely monitoring metrics and ensuring proper segmentation, we kept the client’s Klaviyo account in good standing, avoiding suspension and maximizing deliverability.
- Optimized account health: By closely monitoring metrics and ensuring proper segmentation, we kept the client’s Klaviyo account in good standing, avoiding suspension and maximizing deliverability.
Results
- List growth: The email list grew from 20,000 to 100,000 subscribers within eight months.
- Revenue increase: The 19 holiday-focused emails generated over 1,100 orders, resulting in a total of $125,000 in revenue.
“John is a Klaviyo ninja! He knows all there is to know and if something new comes along, he figures it out immediately. Without his expertise, we would have missed a huge opportunity which yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales!” – Health & fitness brand client
Ready to maximize your BFCM potential?
The holiday season, especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday, can be a game-changer for e-commerce businesses. With the right approach, it transforms from a stressful period into one of the most lucrative times of the year.
As we’ve seen, tackling campaign planning chaos, overcoming content and segmentation confusion, and hitting sales goals without risking email burnout are essential for success. A well-planned, audience-centered strategy not only drives revenue but also safeguards your brand’s long-term email health.
At Great White Media, we specialize in helping brands navigate these BFCM challenges with precision. Our expertise ensures you get the most from your email list without risking reputation or customer trust. Whether you’re looking to streamline planning, optimize engagement, or boost sales, we’re here to make BFCM your most successful season yet.
Contact us today to claim your free Email Growth Mastery consultation.
