Published:
November 18, 2024
Reading time:
4 minute read
Written by:
Forter Team
You’ve invested countless hours perfecting your Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) strategy, setting ambitious goals for the year’s holiday shopping season. With the holidays fast approaching, it might feel like the window for adjustments is closing. However, at Forter, we believe there’s always room to fine-tune your approach and elevate the customer experience.
To give you that final competitive edge, we’ve collaborated with our trusted partners — Shopify, Salesforce, and PwC — to compile actionable insights that transcend the basics. These are not mere tips; they’re strategic moves designed to enhance customer satisfaction, build trust, and maximize your revenue when it matters most.
Shopify: Optimize Your Checkout Experience
A seamless checkout process can make or break sales during BFCM. Madeline Michelson, Senior Strategic Success Manager at Shopify, shares last-minute tweaks to ensure your checkout is both efficient and customer-friendly:
Firstly, consider adding options for gift wrapping. Offering a variety of wrapping styles, customizable messages, and eco-friendly materials can significantly enhance the shopping experience, making it more personalized and convenient for your customers. Secondly, introduce product upsells at checkout. By featuring smaller, giftable items that complement the main purchase, you can boost the average order value and provide customers with easy gift solutions for friends and loved ones.
Don’t overlook the importance of optimizing for mobile and desktop traffic. Roughly test each flow on multiple browsers and devices to ensure your checkout process is user-friendly across all devices. Leveraging chatbots during checkout can also enhance customer support and increase conversions. Providing instant answers to quick questions reduces friction and keeps customers moving smoothly through the purchasing process.
Lastly, make your shipping cutoffs clear at checkout. Prominently display deadlines and consider offering complimentary shipping upgrades to enhance customer satisfaction and encourage timely purchases.
Fast-growing retailers choose Shopify and Forter to create frictionless, secure shopping experiences. For more practical tips, check out our Retention Marketing Guide: Retention Marketing Guide.
Salesforce: Leverage Data for Strategic Insights
Staying ahead in the competitive BFCM landscape requires effective use of data. Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Strategy & Insights at Salesforce, offers strategies to harness your data for a strategic edge.
Begin by cleaning and normalizing your data. Abundant data is valuable only if accurate and properly prepared, especially when integrating with generative AI technologies. Next, scale personalization using AI. Utilize your refined data to make customers feel seen and catered to with AI-generated offers and recommendations tailored to their shopping behaviors.
Reward your loyal customers. This holiday shopping season, consider exclusive, time-limited promotions for those actively engaged with your loyalty programs—they are your biggest advocates. Balance self-service options with hands-on support. While shoppers appreciate autonomy, they also want assurance that exceptional service is available when needed.
Embrace the rise of conversational commerce. With 24% of shoppers using voice assistants to make purchases, capitalizing on these early adopters can set you apart from the competition.
Explore the power of trust in digital commerce—join Forter’s Doriel Abrahams on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud Innovations Podcast for expert strategies to maximize seasonal trends: Salesforce Commerce Cloud Innovations Podcast.
PwC: Mitigate Chargebacks & Fraud
Protecting your revenue from fraud and chargebacks is crucial during BFCM. Lisa Meepummarin, Director of Financial Crimes at PwC, shares essential adjustments to your risk management strategy.
Enhance your fraud detection measures by implementing robust technologies that identify and flag potentially fraudulent transactions without hindering legitimate customers. Establish transparent cancellation, return, and refund policies to minimize misunderstandings and reduce the likelihood of chargebacks. Optimize your payment processes by identifying bottlenecks and streamlining payment flows to capture more revenue.
Deploy fraud mitigation strategies for promotions by assessing potential risks inherent in new offers and implementing appropriate safeguards. Implement risk-based fraud strategies by segmenting customers and applying fallback authentication methods for those not frequently recognized by your fraud detection solutions.
Any changes in customer journey flows implemented, even if they are not pushed by the fraud team, should trigger fraud testing to ensure that no bugs are inadvertently introduced that would lead to loopholes that bad actors can take advantage of.
Finally, enhance the operational capacity for increased customer inquiries. Plan for higher call volumes and prepare your customer service teams with fraud training to effectively verify legitimate customers over chat or phone calls.
Strengthen your fraud prevention strategy for BFCM and beyond with personalized, actionable insights in PwC and Forter’s Fraud & Economic Impact Workshops: PwC Workshops.
Building Trust Beyond BFCM
As the holiday shopping season draws near, your decisions will define your success in the weeks ahead. With strategic insights from Forter and our esteemed partners, you’re not just preparing for BFCM; you’re laying the foundation for sustained growth.
By optimizing the customer experience, leveraging data-driven strategies, and safeguarding your revenue, you’re ensuring your business remains resilient in today’s fast-evolving digital landscape.
To dive deeper into the critical role of brand trust and customer experience in driving success, explore Forter’s 2024 Trust Premium Report — your essential guide to building trust.
