Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Xmas… How to tackle it all?
It’s that time of the year again… And no, I’m not really talking about snow, Santa, reindeers, or getting smashed on mulled wine. The busiest sales season for online advertisers is already here, and I thought we’d take some time to discuss it. In this post I will go through Q4 in general and what it means for online advertisers, what they should consider, and how you can move forward with this info. Let’s dive right in!
Background
It’s been another interesting year with a lot going on. Historically, November is the peak for online advertisers with a YoY growth that already last year was staggering, and it seems that this year will probably break previous records. Not only do we have the usual suspects (Single’s Day, Black Week, Black Friday, Cyber Monday) at play, but the pandemic has also increased the importance of online shopping to new levels. This only means that Q4 and November has become even more important for advertisers (and publishers too, of course!).
Considerations
Here are some things I believe are important for any advertiser to consider. Obviously, you already know it’s an important time for you, but what should you do, specifically, you might ask? Well, as always, preparation is key (funny coming from a guy writing this at the end of November, I know, but do read on :D).
Being early and planning ahead is important, because when you do that, you are also able to react faster when something unexpected happens. This is true in general, but it is especially important during this season when everything seems to be happening at once and life might seem just a bit hectic for any online advertiser.
Start early by breaking down the whole period into bite size bits, here’s an example of a checklist for this season:
– What is my overall affiliate/partner strategy for this period? Do I e.g., use one great discount as a flagship? Do I skip the whole “Black Week” mayhem in the name of sustainability?
– Which are the dates to remember? Adding to the usual suspects you will have a lot of variation depending on in which geo your customers are located.
– Do I have the promotional material I need?
– Have I talked to my existing partners and planned together with them?
– Have I checked what new “specialised” partners I should recruit?
Obviously, this list will change depending on your business or strategy, but it is a good basis for planning. When you have gone through the checklist you start executing, one step at a time. Remember to delegate to your agencies, partners, and networks as well. We exist for a reason, and we are more than happy to get your message through to all your customers and channels. By planning and delegating you will also free up your own time for other important matters, and as you know there are plenty of these going around this time of year.
Conclusions
1. Happily sounding like a broken record I’ll still repeat: Plan. I’ll borrow one of my favourite adages from the British army here. The 7Ps: “Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”.
2. Use this time to hone your skills in planning and delegating.
3. Delegate! Use your partners, networks, agencies. They will more than gladly help you (if they don’t, get rid of them).
4. Understand that it’s not a one-time effort. You can use the same checklists and methods for your other online marketing activities as well.
Expanding on point number 4 I want to emphasise how incredibly important it is to be prepared and to communicate clearly with your partners. What do you expect of them? What is their priority? What can they do better? What should they concentrate on?
As your partners here at Circlewise we will be more than happy to jump on a call with you and help you plan the rest of this year, and hopefully, next year as well.
Let’s have a chat and make sure you are ready to get the most out of all marketing activities, be it on Black Friday, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Midsummers Eve (shoutout to all my Nordic peeps!), or anything else.
And finally: We sincerely hope you will break all previous records this year.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at niklas.holmstrom@circlewise.io – Talk soon!
