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Before we dive in - we know that every eCommerce business is different, and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ to building your perfect tech stack.
That said, there are some areas you can’t really afford to ignore if you want to put in a competitive effort this BFCM:
It goes without saying that your eCommerce storefront is the foundation of your BFCM operations. It’s where customers make their final ‘to buy or not to buy’ decision, so it needs to showcase your brand and products effectively, ensure a seamless shopping experience, and stand up to the surge in traffic you’ll see over BFCM.
Now chances are you’re already set on the product you use for your eCommerce storefront, but if you are looking to make a last minute change there’s a few key things to keep in mind.
Our recommended solutions: Shopify, BigCommerce.
BFCM creates a sense of urgency that makes consumers a little more impatient than usual. That means you need a highly efficient, user friendly check out experience to prevent cart abandonment and boost conversion rates.
The goal is to make the transaction process as swift and stress-free as possible for customers to enhance your BFCM sales performance.
Our recommended solution: BoldCommerce, Address Validator
This part of your tech stack needs little explanation - the sheer volume of transactions that occur during BFCM demands a robust and secure payment processing system.
Again, it’s all about reducing cart abandonment with a swift, secure and efficient customer experience.
Our recommended solutions: Shopify POS, Recharge.
There’s a lot of ways to capitalize on BFCM after the event, and if your products suit, a subscription model is one of them.
Customers appreciate the convenience, cost savings and personalized experience subscriptions provide, and with a subscription solution in place you can secure ongoing revenue, reduce customer churn and capitalize on the long-term value of your BFCM shoppers.
A good solution will allow you to design subscription plans that suit your products, easily manage recurring payments, and promote retention with effective engagement techniques.
Our recommended solution: Rebuy
An effective review solution is a must for a lot of reasons over BFCM.
Published reviews boost credibility and trust, and give shoppers the confidence to buy at a time of increased risk. In fact a whopping 74% of shoppers say that reviews influence their online purchase decisions over BFCM. They’re also a great source of marketing content, with customer photos and videos showcasing authentic product experiences.
And of course, you can benefit from increased sales by collecting more reviews and UGC to enhance your reputation. Ultimately, a good review solution will allow you to leverage trust to maximize conversion this BFCM and beyond.
Read How Nakie Sells The Product Experience Through Review Driven UGC ⬇️
There’s fierce competition for custom over BFCM, and if you want to win you’ll need to create a shopping experience that stands out.
Personalization leverages customer data to suggest relevant products, offer targeted promotions and create a more enjoyable shopping journey, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
With a personalization solution in your BFCM tech stack, you can stand out in a crowded marketplace, boost conversion rates, and ensure that customers receive offers and recommendations that resonate with their unique preferences.
Our recommended solutions: BloomReach, Nosto.
Data suggests that on average, eCommerce merchants see a 20% spike in helpdesk tickets during BFCM. With increased inquiries, order tracking and a host of potential issues, it’s definitely time to up your customer support game.
A reliable solution streamlines customer communication, centralizes support requests, and provides real-time assistance. Fast, effective support enhances customer satisfaction and trust, making it a key component of your BFCM tech stack.
Our recommended solution: Gorgias.
Email campaigns are still the most effective way to promote deals, engage customers and drive sales throughout the event, as well as the best way to nurture long lasting relationships in its aftermath.
A good email marketing solution allows you to segment your audience, create and send personalized emails and schedule campaigns to align with BFCM events, while features like automation, A/B testing and analytics help you optimize your email strategy - improving open, click-through and overall conversion rates.
Our recommended solutions: Klaviyo, DotDigital
While email marketing focuses more on the long game, SMS marketing is a direct and immediate way to capture attention and make sure your BFCM messages don’t go unnoticed.
A good SMS marketing solution allows you to send time-sensitive promotions, flash sale alerts and order updates directly to a customer’s mobile device.
Features like segmentation and personalization enhance the relevance of your messages, while timely reminders and limited-time offers through SMS can drive urgency and boost conversion rates.
Our recommended solutions: Attentive, Klaviyo, DotDigital.
Because of the increased order volume over BFCM, it’s essential to be on the ball with stock and delivery management. If you’re not, you risk losing customers and earning yourself a poor reputation.
A robust inventory, shipping and logistics solution helps with real-time tracking of stock levels, so you don’t oversell on popular products.
It also streamlines the order fulfillment process, automates shipping label generation and provides real-time shipment tracking, helping to prevent shipping delays and improving customer satisfaction
Our recommended solutions: Shipbob, Sendcloud.
This is an essential part of an eCommerce tech stack if you want to build lasting customer loyalty during BFCM.
When you implement a loyalty program before the event, you can offer exclusive discounts or early access to members, significantly boosting sales and reinforcing existing relationships. Meanwhile, a loyalty program offered to BFCM customers gives them an incentive to return, increasing their LTV.
An effective solution will offer features for creating custom loyalty programs, tracking engagement, and turning your best customers into brand advocates.
Our recommended solution: Influence.io.
To extract maximum value from your BFCM campaign, you need to learn and adapt as you go. This is where insights and attribution software stakes its claim in your tech stack.
These tools provide data and analytics to track the performance of various marketing channels, helping you attribute sales and ROI to specific campaigns, channels or touchpoints and identify which strategies are driving the most conversions.
By using this data-driven approach, you can optimize your marketing spend and adjust your strategies in real-time to maximize return on investment during the BFCM period.
Our recommended solution: TripleWhale.
All of these solutions have standalone benefits, and each plays its own role in a successful holiday campaign. But it’s integration that will turn your tech stack into a BFCM powerhouse.
When you choose tools built to work together you ensure that data flows effortlessly between them. That means you can streamline operations through automation, make highly informed decisions and vastly improve the customer experience.
For example, with loyalty, reviews, email marketing and customer support all seamlessly connected, you can create a cohesive and personalized customer journey that drives engagement and ultimately leads to greater profitability.
So when selecting products to add to your BFCM toolkit, be sure to prioritize integration to unlock the full potential of your tech stack.
