Making the Most of Q4 Sales

Any brand can implement a Q4 strategy and see sales soar throughout the holidays, but only some know what to do with those increased sales, customers, and data. The ability to make the most out of Q4 sales is a defining factor that  sets a brand apart from the rest.

It's important to harness the information you gathered during this critical time to inform how you communicate and serve your customers. Now is the time to turn your focus on customer retention, especially as increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits up to 95%, which will lead to a favorable Q1.¹

Follow our guide below on how to Make the Most of Q4 Sales:

1. Identify Your Audience

Now that you have a good understanding of where your customers' loyalties lie, use that information to your advantage. Has a customer only purchased when there was a sale? Ensure they are on all sale communications go-forward. Has a customer found you through your BFCM communications? Ensure to nurture them throughout their new customer journey by sending them dedicated campaigns about the brand’s mission and product education. Has a customer made 3+ purchases and has engaged with your channels actively in the last 30 days? Then these customers should receive early access to new products, sales, and exclusive VIP-only content. Also, use any purchase information to inform segments for product-specific campaigns. Q4 is the time when your audience can truly show you who they are, so use this information to your advantage.

2. Analyze your Q4 data

While analyzing each quarter's data is important, taking a deeper look into Q4 can truly inform your whole next year’s strategy. Understanding how visitors land on your site, enter your database and move throughout your pages during this critical period can help inform lead capture strategy, banner placements, promotional strategy and more. During this time, analyze inventory and what has worked in promotions, and what may need to be discounted in future campaigns. An important aspect of ensuring you can maintain Q4 sales and retain those customers is to do a deep dive into deliverability. Ensuring that your lists are clean, you are hitting your benchmarks, and you are sending to your engaged database, will help to increase the lifetime value of your customers.

3. Nurture, Nurture, Nurture

There is a multitude of ways you can nurture your audiences, but these are a few that we find successful post-holiday.

• Set Up New Flows
  • After heavy-sale times, inventory can be low, so ensure that you are communicating with your customers when an item they are wanting is back in stock. Utilize your post-purchase flow to communicate with your different customers in different ways. Share with first-time purchasers how their purchase will enhance their life to combat buyer’s remorse. Talk to VIPs about how much you appreciate them and give them access to extra loyalty points, new product releases, and more.
    
    
• Create Personalized Lead Capture Journeys
  • Now that you have a deeper understanding of your audience's behavior, use this to target them with pop-ups that will convert them to subscribe to email or SMS, give them a discount, or drive them to complete a purchase. You can also create dedicated pop-ups that are targeted toward active purchasers to gather more information about them and the products they enjoy.
    
    
• Optimize + Promote Your Loyalty Program
  • Focus on extending the customer lifetime value of infrequent and product-specific customers during the holiday season, through your loyalty program. Accenture reports that customers who belong to loyalty programs generate between 12-18% more incremental revenue growth per year than those who do not participate.² Include information on this program in your email, SMS, banners, social media, and more. Once you get these audience members onto your loyalty program, create triple points day campaigns, refer-a-friend campaigns, or birthday campaigns. These are all campaigns that will make your audience feel special, while also increasing sales.

Sources:

1. https://www.yotpo.com/blog/post-black-friday-marketing-strategies/

2. https://www.yotpo.com/blog/post-black-friday-marketing-strategies/