For retailers using Salesforce, planning for Black Friday involves a coordinated strategy across Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud to ensure an end-to-end customer experience.

This article will guide you through the essential steps, starting months in advance to prepare for a successful Black Friday campaign. We’ll explore how to use Salesforce to optimise performance, manage inventory, and execute impactful omnichannel campaigns.

Pre-planning and strategy (September-October)

Start your Black Friday planning in the early autumn to analyse data and define your strategy.

Analyse historical data: Use analytics from previous years to identify best-selling products, top-performing marketing messages, and key customer segments.
Segment your audience: Divide your customer list based on past behaviour and engagement. You can create different campaigns for:
- High-value, loyal customers
- Previous Black Friday shoppers
- New subscribers
- Customers with abandoned carts
Forecast and plan inventory: Based on previous sales data, forecast demand spikes for your most popular items. Set up automated low-stock alerts in Commerce Cloud to prevent overselling and ensure adequate stock levels.
Einstein AI in Commerce Cloud: Use AI to predict demand spikes for specific product categories. Set up automatic low-stock alerts within Salesforce Omnichannel Inventory to trigger reordering well ahead of the rush, minimising stockouts.
Optimise website performance: Ensure your Salesforce Commerce Cloud storefront can handle high traffic volumes.
Load testing: Perform comprehensive load testing on your Commerce Cloud site. Beyond just simulating traffic, test the entire checkout flow, from adding an item to the cart to processing the payment, to identify any potential bottlenecks.
Mobile-first: With mobile traffic often accounting for the majority of Black Friday sales, ensure your e-commerce site is optimised for speed and a seamless mobile checkout experience. A clunky mobile checkout can be a major source of abandoned carts.
Create campaigns and promotions: Plan your offers, including flash sales, tiered discounts, and product bundles, and use Commerce Cloud to set up pricing and promotions.
Marketing Cloud Analytics: Go beyond simple sales data by analysing engagement rates, conversion paths, and customer sentiment from previous Black Fridays. Identify top-performing assets and subject lines to replicate.

Marketing execution (October-November)

Use Salesforce Marketing Cloud to build anticipation and execute personalised campaigns leading up to the event.

Build anticipation with multi-phase campaigns:
- Teaser campaigns (2-3 weeks prior): Use Journey Builder to send a "save the date" email, followed by SMS and social media updates teasing the deals without revealing all the details.
- VIP early access (1-2 days prior): Create an exclusive Commerce Cloud coupon for your most loyal customers (identified via Audience Builder). Send a personalised email inviting them to shop early via Marketing Cloud Engagement.
- Launch day blitz: Use Marketing Cloud Engagement to coordinate real-time campaigns across email, SMS, and WhatsApp. Time promotions strategically, such as an "early bird special" in the morning and a "last chance" reminder in the evening.
Marketing Cloud Personalisation: Use real-time visitor behaviour to dynamically adjust your website content, offers, and recommendations for each segment.
Deploy omnichannel campaigns: Coordinate messaging across email, social media, SMS, and website banners for a consistent and integrated customer experience.
Add urgency elements: Use Commerce Cloud capabilities to display countdown timers on product pages and in email templates. Show dynamic, real-time inventory levels to create a sense of scarcity.
Create personalised journeys: Design personalised email journeys that trigger based on customer actions, such as abandoned carts or product browsing history.
WhatsApp messaging: For time-sensitive deals and stock alerts, use Marketing Cloud Engagement WhatsApp (via Mobile Studio) to push notifications directly to opted-in customers.

Black Friday execution and monitoring

On Black Friday itself, focus on agile, real-time monitoring and issue resolution to ensure a smooth operation.

Monitor site performance: Monitor key metrics like conversions, site speed, and average order value in real time. Set up automated alerts to notify your team of any performance drops.
Manage customer support: Prepare your Service Cloud agents for a high volume of inquiries. Use live chat and chatbots to provide 24/7 support and manage surges in customer service requests.
AI-powered assistance: Deploy Agentforce on your self-service portal, live chat, and WhatsApp channels. The AI agent can instantly answer FAQs about shipping, return policies, and order tracking.
Smart routing: When a customer has a complex issue, Agentforce automatically and seamlessly routes the case to the most appropriate human agent in the Service Console. It provides the agent with a complete summary of the customer's chat history, so they don't have to repeat themselves.
Track campaign performance: Monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your campaigns, such as conversions, revenue, and average order value, so you can make quick adjustments if needed.

Post-Black Friday follow-up

The holiday shopping season doesn't end with Black Friday. Use Salesforce to capture post-holiday sales and build long-term loyalty.

Retargeting campaigns: Launch retargeting ads and emails to shoppers who viewed products or abandoned their carts.
Abandoned cart journeys: Automate a series of follow-up messages using Journey Builder to engage shoppers who didn't complete their purchase. This can include an email, followed by a personalised WhatsApp message with a special offer.
Nurture new subscribers: Create a post-holiday email nurturing sequence for your new customers to build brand loyalty. Launch an automated onboarding journey via Marketing Cloud for all new customers acquired during Black Friday. This can include welcome messages, product tips, and future promotional sneak peeks.
Analyse and refine: Combine data from your marketing campaigns, sales, and service interactions in Data Cloud to conduct a comprehensive post-mortem analysis. Identify which channels were most profitable and which campaigns drove the most engagement.

To truly master your Black Friday with Salesforce, you need more than just a plan. You need ongoing support and continuous optimisation. That's where we come in. We work with leading retailers in the food, beverage, and retail sectors, providing the strategic planning and optimised support they need to make the most of Black Friday and beyond. Our managed services are designed to build a resilient Salesforce strategy that ensures your success, year after year.

Ready to transform your Black Friday from a stress point into a success story? Speak to our Salesforce Consultants and discuss how our long-term partnership can help you maximise your results.