It’s the final countdown for Prime Day. But don’t overlook two of the world’s all-time greatest sales events: Cyber Monday and Black Friday 2023. Ready to write your own Amazon seller success story? With these valuable insights from Amazon marketplace experts and industry leaders, you’ll show up and show out this BFCM.
With less than a week to Prime Day 2023, you’re probably busy prepping for Amazon’s birthday bash, what with all the Prime Day strategies we shared last month. But don’t focus all your time and resources on it, because you might not see the forest for the trees.
Prime Day is Amazon’s time to sparkle. It might be shining with all the brilliance of $12 bn in sales, as Statista reports, but it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the Prime members. One of the first lessons Amazon sellers learn about Prime Day is that it’s a recruitment event first and a sales event second.
So, let’s focus instead on Cyber Monday and Black Friday 2023. Over the years, they merged into a single, massive sales bonanza known to Amazon sellers as BFCM. That’s when, with the right strategies, anyone can boost sales, reel in new buyers, and hit end-of-year revenue growth targets.
What’s so special about Black Friday 2023, you ask? BFCM has always been an excellent opportunity to increase visibility, drive sales, and leverage the digital marketplace. But this year, it’s bound to top them all. Advertising company Crimtan banks on 3 major changes:
- Brands will dish out their deals even earlier than last year in a pattern known to marketers as ‘Black Friday creep’.
- Mobile shopping will hit new highs, surpassing the 55% share of sales Adobe calculated for smartphone orders in 2022.
- Buyers will be looking for more bargains that they can pay for later, in installments, or at massive markdowns. Let’s face it; budgets are being squeezed by the cost of living crisis.
Amazon Seller Strategies for BFCM 2023
To make the most of the BFCM sales event, start prepping early and try not to put all your eggs in one basket. After all, it’s not unheard of to have outages, bugs, and stock-outs mid-sale. Here are a few BFCM strategies for Amazon sellers who like to plan ahead and take their growth into their own hands:
1. Optimize Your Listings
- Ensure your Amazon store is optimized before the rush with improved product listings, optimized keywords, and enhanced product images.
- Use pricing techniques to offer competitive deals without compromising on profit margins.
- Look at your product reviews and seller feedback, address any unsightly testimonials, and reach out for more ratings to beef up your numbers.
- Pick your BFCM product line-up, including best-sellers and newcomers.
- Consider shipping a few units to FBA before Oct. 31 to leverage that Prime badge.
- Keep an eye on the FBA holiday readiness guide for shipment deadlines.
- Look at last year’s conversions, views, and traffic to identify aspects of your listings that might put buyers off.
- List your big-ticket items earlier than last year.
- Offer free shipping wherever possible.
2. Plan Your Marketing Campaign
- Craft a well-thought-out marketing campaign that includes engaging and shareable content.
- Make use of social media platforms to promote Cyber Monday and #BlackFriday2023 deals.
- Offer testers and samples, especially if you’re launching a new product or bundle.
- Run scheduled and targeted ads and leverage influencer partnerships to extend reach and attract a wider audience.
- Set up online and in-store raffles and competitions that draw attention to your Amazon items.
- Look at setting up rewards programs and referral perks.
- Make a BFCM gift guide that includes some of your items and aligns with the demographics, interests, and needs of your customer base.
3. Deploy Email and SMS Marketing
- Use personalized email campaigns and targeted SMS notifications to engage with your customers from other channels, as explained in this Market Rhythm YouTube tutorial.
- Segment your audience effectively to deliver relevant content that matches their preferences using opt-in keywords.
- Offer exclusive deals early on to help drive conversions and organic traffic, which can eventually lead to higher ranking on Amazon just in time for BFCM.
- Send exclusive content like unboxing videos for items that match their interests.
- Send shareable Amazon discount links and promo codes.
- Follow up with shoppers after BFCM to say thank you, ask for their opinions, and offer more discounts.
4. Leverage Advertising On- and Off-Amazon
- Maximize visibility with Amazon Advertising, trying out the various types of PPC ads available to Amazon sellers.
- Optimize ad campaigns through A/B testing and other data-driven insights through Brand Registry for effective ad copy and targeting strategies.
- Set up dynamic creative optimization (DCO) ads if you own a brand, so that the format and content of every ad changes depending on buying history, IP, weather, etc.
- If you don’t own a registered brand on Amazon, carry out A/B testing of your own by trying out various versions of titles, images, descriptions, and bullet points.
5. Optimize Your Website
- Test your traffic capacity, purchase flows, and speed, and look for ways to shorten the checkout process.
- Drum up interest into your Amazon deals with website counters, sitewide discounts, chatbots, and shopping lists.
- Optimize your listings and your cross-selling ads for mobile phone users and their attention spans.
- Look for SEO optimization tips to make sure that you draw in buyers with matching Google search results.
- Offer minimum spend rewards and freebies with packaging inserts that promote items you sell on and off Amazon.
- Keep an eye on abandoned cart rates and develop pop-ups to boost interest.
As we sign off, we’ll remind you, Amazon sellers, that now is the time to start planning for BFCM if you want to capitalize on the immense sales potential of these events. With our simple strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023, you should breeze through that peak season crunch time.
Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.