It's still 30 degrees outside, colleagues are gradually going on vacations, and Christmas is probably the last thing you want to think about.
However, it is precisely now that the difference is being made between e-shops that will have a record season in December, and those that will be firefighting problems on the fly.
Last year, we delved into how to prepare an e-shop from a technical and UX perspective, from web performance through checkout to testing the user journey. These recommendations are still relevant, and if you haven't read them yet, it's definitely worth revisiting them.
This year, therefore, we will look at the second half of a successful season. Marketing. At what successful brands and e-shops should be doing already in August to collect data in September, optimize campaigns in October, and focus solely on sales in November.
Because when Black Friday starts, there is no room to test new strategies, redo the checkout, fix feeds, deal with a slow website, or think about what content you will publish on social media.
At that time, you are just selling. Of course, if you have prepared everything in the summer.
That's why we have prepared a simple schedule for you so that you don't have to do things under pressure in the fall.
August | Prepare today for what there will be no time for in the season
Summer is the ideal time for preparation. Not because there is less work, but because you have the space to make decisions without pressure. You can design, discuss, plan.
What should be done by August?
- Campaign strategy and funnel for the entire Q4 (Back to School, Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas).
- Prepare a communication calendar and campaign schedule.
- Develop a creative concept for individual campaigns.
- Prepare content for social networks, newsletters, and banners.
- Prepare landing pages and promo sections on the website.
- Check tracking, measurement, and attribution.
- Set KPIs for individual campaigns.
Tip from ui42: The best campaigns are not created two days before launch. By August, you should already know what you will be communicating throughout the last quarter.
September | Time to launch campaigns
September is not about "selling as much as possible." It's about gaining enough data before the most expensive advertising period of the year begins, increasing brand visibility, and getting into the minds of potential customers.
Now is the time to:
- launch the first performance campaigns,
- test creatives, audience, and messaging,
- build remarketing audiences,
- collect the first data from campaigns,
- optimize landing pages according to user behavior,
- fine-tune email automation.
Every euro invested in testing in September can save tens of euros on clicks during Black Friday.
October | Optimize, there is no time to start from scratch
If you used September correctly, October can be significantly calmer. Instead of creating new campaigns, you focus on what already works. You optimize, respond to the market, customers, data, and scale.
- Evaluate the results of test campaigns.
- Shift budgets to the most effective creatives.
- Complete the production of the remaining content.
- Prepare Black Friday offers and scenarios.
- Check the performance of the website, checkout, and payment gateways.
- Go through the entire purchase process on mobile and desktop.
October should be about fine-tuning details, not making big decisions.
November | Reap the rewards of diligent preparation
During Black Friday, you don't want to deal with why the pixel isn't working or why the page loads two seconds longer. Really not. What you want to deal with during Black Friday is a massive influx of orders and the speed of delivering lunches for your colleagues. :)
Monitor campaign performance in real-time, respond to data, and let technology do its job. Evaluate and prepare to "switch" campaigns from Black Friday to the top Christmas season with the final touches on communication concepts for "still on time for delivery."
