Every affiliate marketer’s strategy is different, but each has merit.
We interviewed some of our top advertiser and agency partners, asking them to share their unique approaches for success in Q4 and beyond.
Tell us your plan of action for this Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Beth Worrall, Protein World: “The health & supplements space is extremely competitive so we have to be clever about how we work with our partners. We know we aren’t the cheapest in our space and we discount all year round, but we’re looking at our product mix and working closely with internal teams to deliver an offer that should have a strong impact.”
Alberto Benarroch, Daily Steals: “We will be running aggressive deals and advertising our best promotions. Our goal is to promote more sales, categories, and products than the previous years. Last Black Friday/Cyber Weekend was a very successful one for us, so we are looking to match or beat last year. We’re hoping to do this with a site-wide sale, along with a handful of ‘door-busters’ which proved to be successful last year, so we want to continue with this strategy. The door-buster deals help attract people to the site, then the site-wide sale helps increase AOV.”
Lee Carter, PrettyLittleThing: “We’ll offer high percentage discount on site, but we’re also exploring some different offers to keep customers engaged for the whole Cyber period, like one–day flash offers for example.”
Danielle Basak, Layla Sleep: “Communicating your promotion and planning well in advance will get you a long way. A crucial part of preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is setting a clear promotion strategy in advance while remaining open to new ideas. It’s vital to identify historical data — not only as what worked well last year but what has been working well for ‘burst holidays’. I communicate our sale on a personable level to partners at least 3-4 weeks before the official announcement.”
Chloe Zhang, PatPat: “Black Friday and wider Cyber Weekend, as the biggest shopping carnival in the whole year, will be a promotional festival that merchants must not miss. Especially for cross-border e-commerce, it is the peak sales node every year. During this period of time, the purchasing potential of customers is huge, and the purpose and randomness of shopping increases. At this time, strong promotional discounts and rich forms of activities are needed to induce consumption.”
Can you share one piece of advice for retailers looking to achieve marked success in Q4?
Geno Prussakov, AM Navigator: “Don’t mistake Black Friday and Cyber Monday for a coupons/discounts time meant for coupon-oriented affiliates only. Any deal has the power to increase conversion rates for any type of affiliate.”
Jeff Borsuk, Harper Wilde: “November sales are hugely important and the timing of this Black Friday weekend puts all of the eggs into the last three days of the month (and Cyber Monday is December 2). Start your holiday communication as early as possible to ensure a great month.”
Alberto Benarroch, Daily Steals: “The competition for customers’ attention and wallet share is always fierce, but this is for a reason. We don’t judge our success during this aggressive promotional period on profitability, we see it as a chance to introduce our brand to new customers and recover waning ones. It’s OK to break even if you are able to impress new customers in the process.”
Danielle Basak, Layla Sleep: “Strategy after Black Friday weekend is to focus more on gift ideas for the Holidays. We’re launching a lot of new product during this time of the year –this helps engage new audiences while optimizing the peak sale season.”
As a whole, what do you think of these holidays? Are they a crucial part of your business strategy or viewed as a necessary evil?
Geno Prussakov, AM Navigator: “Regardless of what you’re selling, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a great marketing opportunity that no business can afford to miss. Is it overblown? 100%! As a shopper comparing pricing throughout the year, I am well-aware that Black Friday and Cyber Monday ‘discounts’ are often not any better than those offered during any other seasonal ‘sale.’ As a marketer, however, I know this is the time when consumers are especially primed to respond to a sale. This hunger for shopping creates a perfect selling opportunity… for everyone!”
Jeff Borsuk, Harper Wilde: “Black Friday has been a funny event to witness as it has grown and morphed in the surge of DTC e-commerce companies. Every year it starts earlier and the sales generally seem to get bigger. At this point it’s a necessary evil, but it’s a great opportunity to take advantage of time when we know that the likelihood to purchase it at its highest.”
Austin Ratner, HP: “Black Friday and Cyber Week are incredibly important to HP’s business and the entire technology sector. People save up all year to make large purchases when they feel they’re getting the best deal. More often than not, that’s what happens for consumers.”
Read more interviews and thoughts from our partners worldwide here.
