By James Bayhack, Sub-Saharan Africa Director at CM.com 

Earlier this year, a country-wide research study revealed some interesting insights into how South Africans have come to embrace digital channels and online platforms to perform various activities. The findings confirm that life has moved online for people across all income brackets and ages in various sectors.

It’s clear that consumers have welcomed the opportunity to take care of day-to-day admin using online platforms – from banking and grocery shopping to managing insurance. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up on the retail calendar, there’s a chance for businesses to make the most of consumers’ new digital habits. And with the help of technology and integrated marketing automation tools, the online customer journey can be streamlined and improved. Black Friday is a competitive time of year, but automating the customer journey could maximise retail revenue and help businesses prepare for high-volume sales events.

Make it personal

Consumers head online with their latest Takealot, Checkers Sixty60, Woolworths, Yuppiechef, Netflorist or Superbalist online experiences in mind, expecting to receive communications that are hyper-relevant to them. When they open their inboxes, they want to find information on products and services related to their interests. The Association of National Advertisers named personalisation the marketing word of the year in 2019, and it’s even more important now than it was then.

The first step in coming up with a targeted Black Friday marketing strategy is to develop personalised email marketing messaging, and to commit to communicating Black Friday-related information with customers ahead of time. For example, online retailers could send save the date or teaser emails that give customers early access to promotions or sneak peek deals. Sharing information on free gifts or promo codes is another option.

Turn leads into loyal customers with email automation workflows

Automated email workflows represent the journey that prospective customers take through a series of emails, from lead generation and lead nurturing through to the point of conversion and retention. Email automation campaigns are set up to send emails based on a trigger, for example, signing up for a newsletter or claiming a free trial.

A simple workflow can be set up for Black Friday, where subscribers receive an email containing pertinent information that sets them up for a stress-free customer journey. The best part is that this entire process could be 100% automatic.

Automate to grow

Another solution that delivers truly personalised communication is a data storage system called a customer data platform (CDP). A CDP is a software solution that could help e-tailers store, retrieve, and utilise data more effectively. The most significant benefit of a CDP is that you can store data from multiple touchpoints in one place and then automate time-consuming tasks such as email segmentation.

With a CDP in place, making a bigger impact with email segmentation is simple and hassle free. Given that the CDP stores data in one place and the dates for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fixed, creating automated reminders that nudge customers to act is a breeze. CDPs allow online retailers to segment audiences on numerous levels, creating detailed lookalike audiences that can be used for highly personalised, targeted marketing campaigns. E-tailers can alert their customers to Black Friday deals and competitions or create engagement opportunities without spamming their inboxes and ultimately losing them as customers. Given that the CDP stores different data points, predicting which products are likely to be of interest to a particular customer segment becomes highly accurate, giving e-tailers peace of mind knowing they’re creating personalised messaging that will resonate with their customer base.

An abandoned cart is a significant pain point for most eCommerce businesses – a situation that should be avoided at all costs during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. Once again, a CDP steps up to the plate by allowing e-tailers to collate abandonment data, which takes the thinking out of retargeting those potential shoppers.

Level up with chatbot technology

In addition to streamlining marketing messaging processes, considering how to provide easy entry points for new and existing customers is the next logical step. This is where chatbot technology comes in – and it could be a game-changer.

Chatbots could be put to work by starting conversations with new prospects by, for example, reminding browsers that Black Friday deals will be launched soon in the run-up to this period. Here, the aim is to provide an exchange that not only promotes the brand but also adds value in terms of the customer journey at the very top of the funnel.

Invest in scalable marketing tools now

Effective communication is critical when it comes to optimising key retail dates, and the number one way to achieve this is with the right technology. Investing in intelligent marketing solutions elevates an eCommerce experience. It allows e-tailers to take full advantage of the power of data-driven marketing automation to deliver a customer service experience that exceeds the expectations of today’s consumers, resulting in them returning again and again.

With a robust email marketing strategy and data management system in place, vital sales events on the eCommerce calendar could be turned into a golden opportunity to shine. Now’s the time to be thinking about how you can use marketing technology to make this your brand’s best Black Friday yet.