How marketing and PR professionals can get the best out of their e-commerce clients this Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) period is an exciting time for e-commerce brands. While it’s an opportunity to thrive, peak trade season also presents its challenges. For a seamless experience for all stakeholders, marketers and PR professionals working with e-commerce clients should ensure they are across all areas of the business. This will give them the upper hand when it comes to storytelling, issues management and long-term customer satisfaction.

Sync marketing and PR efforts with operations and logistics

A frictionless BFCM starts with understanding the operations behind your client’s business.

Marketers and PRs must stay in close communication with e-commerce teams so that promotional activities reflect current inventory levels and fulfillment capabilities.

This applies to marketers running ads and also PRs pitching stories during peak trade. As a customer, there’s nothing worse than finding a new product to buy, only to discover that it’s sold out or won’t be shipped until the New Year.

Knowing what’s in stock, which products are likely to sell out and any timeframes for restocking, is critical from the get-go.

Build contingency plans with room to adapt

Even with the best planning for your e-commerce clients, unexpected challenges can arise. A surge in demand can deplete inventory faster than anticipated, or supply chain issues may cause delays in shipping. Marketers and PRs need robust contingency plans so they can pivot as needed.

Marketers should consider:

• Having secondary items to promote in case a hero product sells out
• Adjusting copy to set realistic fulfillment expectations like, “pre-order now and have your item shipped at the beginning of December”
• Pausing or redirecting traffic from ads that drive customers to sold-out products
• Staying one step ahead by having ads prepared for secondary products

PRs should prepare written responses for various scenarios, like addressing shipping delays or pre-order enquiries. This copy can be tailored as needed and later used by customer-facing staff and across all brand touchpoints to ensure consistent messaging.

Transparency is key

Proactive and transparent communication can be a key differentiator during BFCM. Remember to keep your client’s customers informed in real-time, whether that be with:

• Delays
• Inventory shortages
• Updates to shipping policies
• Restocks

This can be done through email notifications, website updates (ad banners or pop-ups) and social media posts.

Being upfront about issues as they arise means you’re setting realistic customer expectations and lightening the load for customer support teams. You’re also strengthening trust and loyalty over the long run.

Leverage data for storytelling

The e-commerce environment is competitive on a normal day, let alone during BFCM. Marketers and PRs who are across their client’s operations and logistics can uncover unique angles for storytelling.

If data shows your client has had its biggest ever BFCM sale, highlight it in media pitches. If your client is incorporating innovative eco-friendly packaging, use it as a selling point in ads to attract environmentally conscious or time-sensitive customers.

By understanding all facets of your client’s business, you’ll be able to craft compelling narratives that resonate with customers. You’ll also be better placed to position your client as a leader in their industry by leveraging their back-end efficiencies.

As you can see, the most successful BFCM campaigns are those with a holistic approach, where all teams work together to achieve frictionless operations, logistics and communications for the ultimate customer experience.

Lyn Nguyen is the founder and operations specialist of Auvie Consultants