As a new DTC brand, navigating the chaos of BFCM can feel overwhelming. With every brand competing for attention, it’s easy to think the best way to stand out is by offering the biggest discount or promotion.
But what if we told you that connecting with your audience on a deeper level could make an even bigger impact?
Through our work with over 2,000 brands at KnoCommerce—the leading post-purchase survey platform for customer insights in ecommerce—and our experience building PROTECHT, a first-of-its-kind fitness gear brand for smartwatch athletes, we’ve learned that BFCM success goes beyond slashing prices…
Success during BFCM happens when you leverage data-driven insights to create personalized experiences that truly resonate with customers.
This year, we’re not just relying on promotions—we’re using every piece of data we’ve gathered to craft messaging that speaks directly to what customers want.
Here’s how we, and other brands, are using customer insights to maximize BFCM success and conversion rate optimization—beyond just discounts.
Pre-Black Friday Preparations
More Than A Black Friday Promotion: Talking To Your People To Maximize Conversion Rates
Let’s face it: BFCM is the biggest time of the year for ANY brand.
However, preparing is one of the hardest things to do when you have a million and a half things to get done beforehand.
That’s where talking to your customers via post-purchase surveys (PPS) is the most automated way to connect with these customers and help shape your BFCM strategy as to who you want to talk to, why they will care, how they are hearing about your brand, and how long they’ve been waiting to buy your products.
Most marketers are familiar with surveys for attribution questions like “How did you hear about us?”, but attribution is just the first piece of the puzzle. While understanding where most of your customers come from is essential for maximizing this short season, it becomes even more powerful when you truly understand who your customers are on these channels.
Since we focus on PROTECHT's ad spend on Meta, we constantly try to answer the question, “Who is my exact customer?”
While understanding the impact of Google, Word of Mouth, and an occasional TikTok or press sale is helpful, the best way to maximize these insights is by asking questions directly about the customer.
For example, we ask customers a series of qualitative questions to better understand who they are, which informs everything from my product offerings to my ad copy. Here are some of the key questions we ask:
- How long have they been lifting?
- How supportive do they like their fitness gear?
- Are they switchers or first-timers when it comes to this kind of gear?
- What problem are we solving for them today?
- How much do they lift?
- What product benefit resonated with them the most?
These questions go beyond surface-level insights. They help us understand my audience's needs and motivations, allowing us to craft a genuine message that stands out from the usual BFCM noise.
After all, if we can get customers to engage without relying on promotions, we’re setting myself up for long-term success—well beyond BFCM.
Qualitative Insights That Fuel The Conversion Funnel
One of the most important questions we added was, “Would you buy straps if we made them?” The response? An overwhelming 80% said yes!
This insight was the foundation for my next product launch, and it even shaped my Replo “5 reasons why” landing page design and copy.
We didn’t just stop at asking—we used images and video to show different strap options and asked for feedback. This gave us more than just a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It showed us exactly what my customers wanted, helping us tailor my messaging and product offering based on their real preferences.
For this year's BFCM, we’re focusing on using that data to write landing page copy that resonates deeply with my audience's personas rather than just blasting generic sales ads. The goal is to attract the right customers by speaking directly to their needs, not just trying to attract them with discounts.
Leveraging Analytics for Personalized Marketing
Once you’ve collected this data, it’s crucial to integrate it into a tool like Klaviyo for targeted marketing. By tagging responses from post-purchase surveys, brands can create personalized campaigns that speak directly to customer needs and preferences.
Enhancing the customer experience will foster loyalty, keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds when they're ready to make their next purchase.
Launching a New Product: Stand Out From the Noise
Here’s one of our biggest advantages—we are a new brand and don’t have direct competitors yet. But that doesn’t mean we can rely on that alone. For this BFCM, we’re gearing up for a new product launch, and this will help us break through the noise.
By focusing on the unique needs of our audience and leveraging qualitative insights, we can create targeted ads and landing pages that speak directly to the customer to announce this new product.
While promotions are a part of the plan, we’re betting that my data-backed creative approach will drive deeper connections and, ultimately, higher conversion rates.
Using Post Purchase Survey Data In the Midst of Black Friday/Cyber Monday
Leveraging Attribution Data to Better Target High-Value Customers
One of the keys to finding and attracting high-value customers lies in effectively leveraging attribution data. For brands that operate with a multi-channel approach to advertising, understanding the AOV for each channel is invaluable.
With KnoCommerce, we receive insights into AOV for every advertising channel, allowing brands to see not just how much revenue each channel generates, but also how they compare against each other.
This data isn’t just about numbers; it’s about identifying the customer segments that bring the most value. By analyzing AOV alongside other qualitative insights, you can uncover what channel, quality, and persona is the most profitable.
Be sure to ask deeper questions to better understand what drives your customers’ decisions. For example:
- What features of your products resonate the most?
- What specific problems are you solving for them?
- What motivated them to choose your brand over competitors?
By combining quantitative AOV data with these qualitative insights, you can refine your targeting strategy. This dual approach helps you not only identify current high-value customers but also find new segments that fit your most profitable profiles.
As businesses gear up for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the primary goal is often to attract new customers with first-time purchases. But how can brands ensure that these new customers not only return but also become loyal advocates over the long term?
The answer lies in understanding customer behavior, leveraging analytics, and engaging with customers meaningfully.
Post-BFCM: How To Retain Your New Relationships
Unlocking Loyalty Through Post-Purchase Surveys
Since my brand typically sees customers purchasing 1-2 pairs during their lifecycle, here are some ways other brands use post-purchase surveys to unlock LTV and foster loyalty:
- Understand Shopping Occasions: By asking customers about the specific occasions they’re shopping for, brands can gather valuable insights. Whether it’s for birthdays, holidays, or other celebrations, knowing the context of their purchases helps tailor marketing efforts.
- Identify Gift Purchasers: If a customer is buying for someone else, there’s a good chance they’ll keep your brand in mind for future gifts. By tagging these customers in your retention platform, you can build a profile that allows for targeted communication about relevant products for gift-giving occasions.
- Engage Returning Customers: For those who come back, asking questions like, “What brought you back to our site today?” can provide insights into what drives their loyalty. Understanding their motivations allows brands to refine their messaging and appeal to these customers earlier in the funnel.
Building Long-Term Relationships
After BFCM, the focus should shift from acquiring new customers to nurturing those relationships. By leveraging analytics and engaging customers meaningfully, brands can transform first-time buyers into loyal advocates.
Understanding their motivations and shopping behaviors allows businesses to create personalized experiences that encourage repeat purchases and boost overall customer lifetime value.
Optimizing Online Store Experiences Through Customer Feedback and Segmentation
Using KNO with PROTECHT, we’ve tapped into the importance of customer feedback to drive product offerings and improve our AOV. After asking customers whether they would be interested in purchasing straps alongside our main products, a remarkable 80% responded positively. This insight led to the creation of our first product bundle, which significantly boosted our AOV from $65 to an impressive $128. Not only did this increase sales, but it also encouraged customers to make quicker purchasing decisions.
We’ve also observed other brands within KNO successfully leveraging similar strategies. By creating larger packages and bundles based on household size, product consumption frequency, and direct customer feedback gathered through surveys, these brands are optimizing their merchandising strategies.
The best-performing brands go a step further by complementing post-purchase survey insights with email-out surveys. This dual approach allows them to dive deeper into customer preferences, uncovering motivations behind their purchases and gathering valuable insights on desired flavors, designs, colors, and product ideas.
An example of this approach is from the well-known beauty brand Laura Geller's recent experience. The brand was in the process of revamping its website to attract a younger demographic. To gauge whether their online imagery resonated with their audience, The team included a simple question in their post-purchase survey: “Do you feel the images of our models are outdated?”
Surprisingly, they discovered that the imagery resonated across different age ranges, including their average older customer. This valuable insight saved them significant costs on the redesign of their website and the need for a costly photo shoot, allowing them to stay aligned with their current customer base while effectively reaching out to new segments.
By gathering customer insights and feedback, brands like PROTECHT and Laura Geller are not only enhancing their product offerings but also streamlining their operations and marketing strategies. Understanding what customers truly want is key to driving growth and ensuring long-term success.
Next Steps
The window of opportunity is now. By setting up your PPS today, you still have time to gather valuable data before BFCM. This will give you insights into why your customers buy—and, more importantly, how you can keep them coming back.
Think of it as letting your customers speak for themselves, and using that data to craft a finely-tuned promotional calendar for the holiday season.
Try Knocommerce for free here to start learning directly from your customers. Use Replo to build high-converting landing pages based on your data insights.