After BFCM, what's your plan? Dream big with post-holiday strategic thinking

Get a jump on creating effective strategies to propel your businesses forward.
Emily Roberts

At last, after months of intense preparation, those all-important Q4 campaigns have finally been executed. Probably the last thing on your mind is planning for next year. We get it—post-holiday burnout is real. However, if you want to avoid a slow Q1 next year, it’s important to fight the urge to hibernate until January. We recommend starting to work on it ASAP.

At Roswell NYC, we believe in getting a jump on creating effective strategies that propel businesses forward. As we dive into the last weeks of the year, we’ve compiled a list of recommendations based on the expertise of our team and our exclusive technology partners:


I. Retargeting Customers from BFCM

As the dust settles after the frenzy of Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM), don't let those valuable customers you acquired during BFCM slip away. It's crucial to focus on the next steps. Through retargeting, you can deepen engagement, nurture relationships, and drive repeat purchases. We suggest:

  • Retargeting campaigns with Meta and Google, focusing specifically on the interests or categories they were shopping
  • Interest-based email/SMS flows based on the categories they were shopping


II. Planning for Q1 and Beyond

The early bird gets the worm, and in the realm of eCommerce, it's no different. Taking proactive steps to plan for the first quarter can help you avoid potential slowdowns. By thinking ahead strategically, you can seize opportunities, tackle challenges head-on, and set yourself up for success in Q1 and all year long. A few high-level recommendations are:

  • Make sure to plan product launches around manufacturing freezes like Chinese New Year. Q1 is a great time to launch a new product and see how it performs, but be sure you’re accounting for all potential delays so that your go-to-market strategy can be as effective as possible.
  • Don’t miss out on key campaign opportunities like Presidents Day promotions and Valentine's Day. These valuable moments in your marketing calendar can arrive sooner than you think after the year-end holidays, and it would be a shame to lose out because you were too slow on the draw. Valentine's Day is a great time to show love to your customers and emphasize loyalty programs.

III. Navigating New Sender Domain Restrictions

When it comes to meeting email requirements set by major providers like Google and Yahoo, it's important to understand the necessary steps.

One critical aspect is implementing DMARC authentication for your sending domain. DMARC allows you to specify how receiving servers should handle messages that do not pass SPF or DKIM checks. By implementing DKIM, you assign a set of keys that authenticates you as the original sender, ensuring that your emails cannot be intercepted or fraudulently attributed to someone else. SPF, on the other hand, is a special list that includes authorized email senders on your behalf. To implement DMARC, you can add a DMARC policy as a TXT record on your domain's DNS control panel.

In order to align with DMARC compliance, it is necessary for the domain in your "From:" header to be in alignment with your sending domain. Shared domains are no longer recommended, so it's important to have your own dedicated sending domain.

To improve the user experience while meeting requirements, make unsubscribing from your marketing emails as easy and clear as possible. Include an unsubscribe link in the message body to allow subscribers to opt-out in just one step. While it doesn't have to be a one-click process, it should be a straightforward and streamlined experience.

Our esteemed email marketing automation partner, Klaviyo, plans to implement an "unsubscribe header" by February 1, 2024, to ensure compliance with the one-click to unsubscribe requirement. The best part is that brands will not need to configure anything—it will be applied automatically.

Spam complaint rates are another critical item to keep in focus. Google's Postmaster Tools can be a valuable resource for monitoring the volume of spam complaints your emails generate to ensure you stay within the acceptable range, ideally below 0.30%.

There are a few more areas that require attention, but with Klaviyo by your side, you can rest assured that these pressing tasks will be covered. This includes setting up SPF and DKIM email authentication, ensuring that your sending domain has valid forward and reverse DNS records, and formatting messages according to the Internet Messaging Format standard.

IV. Optimizing Your Tech Stack

Embracing cutting-edge technology is the secret sauce that can catapult your business ahead of the competition. A solid tech stack lays the foundation for streamlined operations, enhanced customer experiences, and accelerated growth. Every year, your business changes as it grows. What made sense for you when you started might break once you make your first million. It’s important to constantly reassess how well these platforms are serving you.


V. Adapting to the End of 3rd Party Cookies

The digital landscape is continuously evolving, and it's crucial to adapt and stay ahead. With the impending end of 3rd party cookies, marketers must pivot their strategies to continue delivering personalized and relevant customer experiences. We thrive on being at the forefront of industry trends. Our visionary approach empowers you to navigate this new terrain, leverage alternative data solutions, and deliver hyper-targeted campaigns that drive results.


VI. AB Testing and Customer Segmentation

In the pursuit of optimization, AB testing and customer segmentation play vital roles. Conducting rigorous AB tests helps you identify winning strategies, unlock insights, and elevate your campaigns to new heights. Additionally, customer segmentation enables you to tailor your messaging and offers, creating personalized experiences that resonate with different customer groups. Through our collaborative approach, you'll gain a deeper understanding of your audience to drive higher engagement and conversion rates. Creating incentivized surveys is one effective way to learn as much as possible about new and existing customers.

VII. Leveraging Loyalty Programs for Special Product Offerings

Loyalty programs are a powerful tool for nurturing meaningful relationships with your customers. If you have implemented a loyalty program, it's time to take it to the next level by extending special product offerings that allow your loyal customers to redeem their hard-earned points.

By crafting exclusive product offerings tailored to the preferences and purchasing history of your loyal customers, you can create a sense of excitement and exclusivity. Imagine the delight on their faces as they browse through a curated selection of products, knowing they can use their loyalty points to unlock these unique opportunities.

Our team of experts at Roswell will collaborate closely with you to design and implement these special product offerings. We'll analyze your customer data, segment your loyalty program participants, and identify the best-suited products for each tier or category. This personalized approach ensures that your loyal customers feel valued and rewarded for their continued support.

But we don't stop there. We understand the importance of seamless integration when it comes to loyalty programs. Our technical prowess enables us to integrate loyalty program systems into your e-commerce platform, ensuring a frictionless experience for your customers. From tracking points to redeeming rewards, every step is streamlined to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

With our innovative strategies and collaborative mindset, you can leverage your loyalty program to not only foster customer loyalty but also drive incremental sales and revenue growth. Let's empower your customers to redeem their points and indulge in special product offerings that enhance their connection with your brand.

At Roswell, we envision a future where your loyalty program becomes a catalyst for building lasting relationships with your customers. Together, we can create unique, irresistible offers that ignite excitement and loyalty among your customers. The sky's the limit when it comes to leveraging loyalty programs to unlock new opportunities!


Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of eCommerce, a post-holiday plan of action is key to success. By implementing the strategies outlined above, you'll be on the path to eCommerce greatness. Partner with Roswell, and together, we'll unleash your business's full potential as we embark on an exciting journey of growth, innovation, and tangible results.