The Importance of Aligning Marketing and Inventory for BFCM Success

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) represent a golden opportunity for e-commerce businesses to boost their sales, as 30% of all annual retail sales occur during that period.

In last year’s BFCM:

• Black Friday online sales reached approximately $9.8 billion in 2023, which represents a 7.5% increase from 2022, surpassing the previously reported $9.12 billion!
• Cyber Monday 2023 set a new record with $12.4 billion in online spending.

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But with this potential comes significant challenges—especially when it comes to aligning your marketing efforts with your inventory. Misalignments can lead to stockouts or dead stocks, disappointed customers, and lost revenue. That’s why strategic planning is crucial.

Why Does Strategic Planning Matters?

Effective planning ensures that your inventory is ready to meet the surge in demand that BFCM brings. It’s not just about having enough stock; it’s about having the right stock, supported by timely marketing efforts that drive customers to your store.

The Risks of Misalignment During BFCM

When marketing and inventory are out of sync, you risk running out of stock on key items just as your promotions are driving traffic to your site.

The result?

😠 Frustrated customers, missed sales, and the potential to damage your brand’s reputation. Not to mention that you’re pouring money down the drain. This is why a well-coordinated strategy is essential—one that aligns your marketing campaigns with accurate inventory forecasting to ensure you’re fully prepared for the BFCM rush.

Accurate Inventory Forecasting: Your First Step to a Seamless BFCM

Forecasting accurately is the cornerstone of a successful BFCM strategy. It ensures you have the right products at the right time, avoiding the pitfalls of both stockouts and overstocking.

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With effective seasonal sales forecasting, you can predict demand as accurately as possible and adjust your inventory accordingly.

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Here’s how to get it right:

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Leveraging Historical Data for Accurate Predictions

Historical data is your most reliable guide when preparing for BFCM. Start by thoroughly analyzing past BFCM performances, including data from other peak seasons, if applicable. Focus on identifying trends, such as which products were the most popular, which experienced sudden spikes in demand, and which underperformed.

Look beyond just the top-selling items; delve into the specifics. Did certain product categories see a surge due to a specific promotion? Were there external factors, like a social media trend or a competitor's move, that influenced sales?

By dissecting these patterns, you can start to predict not just what might sell, but why it will sell. This enables you to make more informed decisions on what products to prioritize, ensuring you have enough stock of items that are likely to be in high demand while avoiding overstocking less popular items.

Moreover, consider the timing of purchases. If customers typically buy certain items at the beginning of the BFCM period, you’ll want to have those products fully stocked before your campaigns launch.

Conversely, if there’s a second wave of shopping closer to Cyber Monday, ensure you can restock or have an ample supply ready to meet that demand.

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Automating Forecasting to Stay Ahead of Demand

Forecasting demand manually is not only labor-intensive but also could lead to inaccuracies, especially when dealing with the complexities of BFCM.

The stakes are too high to rely on guesswork.

This is where automation becomes invaluable. Advanced inventory management tools can analyze large volumes of data to predict demand with a high degree of accuracy. These tools take into account various factors, including past sales data, seasonality, current market trends, and even external economic indicators, to provide a comprehensive forecast.

Trying to do this manually with Excel sheets is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors, making it difficult to achieve the same level of precision and efficiency.

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Tools that can be used for that

When you’re searching for an inventory management tool, there are certain features you should be looking for. Namely, they are demand forecasting, analytics, purchase orders, backorders, replenishment, and freight planning.

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So now let’s look at a few tools that has all or some of these features.

1. Fabrikatör

With Fabrikatör, businesses can achieve comprehensive inventory management that optimizes operations, improves efficiency, and drives profitability. 🚀 Fabrikatör offers all the must-have features for your eCommerce store’s success: demand forecasting, purchase orders, replenishment, analytics, backorders, freight planning, and more!

Book a free demo now & start enjoying seamless inventory control!📈

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Pricing: Starts from $99

How Fabrikatör’s Monocle Enhances Demand Forecasting

Fabrikatör’s Monocle feature is designed to take your forecasting to the next level. By integrating with your existing sales data, Monocle provides detailed predictions on what your inventory needs will be for the upcoming BFCM season.

Unlike traditional forecasting methods, which might only consider past sales, Monocle uses a combination of historical data and real-time analytics to offer a forward-looking view. This means you can not only anticipate which products will be in demand but also at what point during BFCM those demands will peak.

For example, if Monocle predicts a surge in demand for a particular product by analyzing trends from both your store and the broader market, you can prepare your inventory accordingly. This proactive approach helps you avoid the common pitfalls of stock outs or overstocking, ensuring you capitalize on every sales opportunity during BFCM.

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2. Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory offers comprehensive forecasting tools designed to minimize stockouts, reduce unnecessary inventory, and optimize purchasing decisions. It’s ideal for small to medium-sized businesses looking for cost-effective solutions.

Pricing: Starts at $59/month.

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3. NetSuite

NetSuite’s inventory management software includes powerful forecasting tools that provide detailed demand planning and inventory optimization, making it suitable for larger enterprises with complex supply chains.

‍Pricing: Custom pricing based on business requirements, typically starting from $999/month.

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Leveraging Preorders for Forecasting Trends

Preorders are an excellent tool for gauging interest in products before the BFCM rush begins. By offering preorders, you can get a clear indication of which products are generating buzz and excitement among your customers.

This early data is invaluable for fine-tuning your inventory levels and shaping your marketing campaigns.

If a particular product receives a high volume of preorders, it’s a strong indicator that it will be a bestseller during BFCM. You can then adjust your inventory and marketing strategies to focus on these high-interest items.

Additionally, preorders can help smooth out inventory management by providing a buffer—allowing you to stock up on popular items before the BFCM demand hits its peak.

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Aligning Promotions (marketing campaigns) with Inventory Availability

One of the biggest challenges during BFCM is ensuring that your promotions are in sync with your inventory levels. There’s nothing worse than launching a successful marketing campaign, only to have your best-selling products sell out before most customers even have a chance to make a purchase. Proactively aligning your inventory with marketing efforts not only prevents stock outs but also enhances the overall customer experience. This leads to better reviews, higher retention rates, and ultimately, an increase in customer lifetime value.

This not only leads to lost sales but also frustrates customers, potentially harming your brand’s reputation.

To avoid this, it’s crucial to align your promotions with your inventory availability. Before launching a campaign, assess your inventory levels to ensure you can meet the anticipated demand. If a product is running low, consider adjusting your promotional strategy—either by limiting the promotion to available stock or by offering alternatives that are well-stocked.

Additionally, communicate clearly with your marketing team to ensure they are aware of any inventory constraints. This way, they can tailor promotions to push products that you have ample stock of, while also preparing for any necessary adjustments during the campaign.

Do you need help planning your inventory ahead of BFCM? Here are the best practices👇👇

Real-Time Adjustments for Optimized Campaigns

Even with the best forecasting and planning, the dynamic nature of BFCM means that unexpected changes in demand are almost inevitable.That’s where real-time inventory management comes into play.

During BFCM, it’s critical to be able to make quick adjustments to your inventory levels based on live sales data. This flexibility allows you to respond to surges in demand without missing out on sales. And doing this with old school Excel Sheets is almost always ineffective.

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Fabrikatör’s Replenishment Helps Optimizing Your Inventory

Fabrikatör’s Replenishment feature is designed to help you stay agile during these peak times. As sales data comes in, Replenishment automatically triggers new purchase orders for products that are selling faster than expected.

This means you can keep your best-sellers in stock without manual intervention, ensuring you never miss out on potential revenue.

For example, if a particular product is flying off the shelves, Replenishment will notify you and suggest placing an order to restock it. This feature helps you maintain optimal inventory levels throughout the BFCM period, ensuring a steady flow of products to meet customer demand.

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Managing Stock Outs During BFCM: Effective Solutions to Keep Customers Happy

Stockouts during BFCM are a reality many businesses face, but how you manage them can make a significant difference in customer satisfaction and retention.

Here’s how to turn stockouts into opportunities rather than setbacks:

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Offering Backorders as a Customer Retention Strategy

When faced with stockouts, offering backorders can be an effective strategy to retain customers and avoid losing sales.

Backorders allow customers to purchase an item that’s temporarily out of stock, with the promise that it will be shipped as soon as it becomes available. This option not only keeps the sale but also shows customers that you value their business, even when demand exceeds supply.

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Backorders is also a great cash flow generator. Sourcing products for your eCommerce store has its costs, but the revenue from sales allows you to create new purchase orders. Accepting backorders helps you continue generating revenue even when items are temporarily out of stock, keeping sales steady.

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Check out Fabrikatör’s Backorder Feature!

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By offering backorders, you can maintain your sales momentum without disappointing customers. It's a way of saying, "We might be out of stock now, but we’ve got you covered." However, the key to a successful backorder strategy lies in clear communication and setting realistic expectations about when the product will be available.

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This brings us to the importance of customer communication.

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Effective Customer Communication to Maintain Trust

Communication is crucial when managing backorders, as it helps maintain customer trust and satisfaction. Customers are generally more forgiving of delays if they are kept in the loop about their order status. This is where integrating your backorder system with an email marketing platform like Klaviyo becomes incredibly valuable.

With Fabrikatör’s integration with Klaviyo, you can automate notifications to keep your customers informed throughout the backorder process. For example, you can set up a sequence of emails that updates customers on their order status—from confirmation of their backorder to an estimated delivery date. This reduces the burden on your customer service team and enhances the customer experience.

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Klaviyo Template Examples

To ensure your communication is as effective as possible, it’s helpful to use pre-designed email templates tailored for backorders. Fabrikatör offers a selection of Klaviyo templates that you can customize for your brand.

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These templates include:

• Order Confirmation: This email confirms that the customer’s order has been placed and informs them that the item is on backorder, providing an estimated availability date.
• Order Update: Keep your customers informed with periodic updates on the status of their backordered item, reinforcing your commitment to transparency.
• Shipping Notification: Notify customers as soon as their backordered item is shipped, giving them tracking information and an estimated delivery time.

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You can find these templates and more examples on how to customize them for your business needs here.

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By using these templates, you can maintain consistent and professional communication with your customers, ensuring they feel valued and informed throughout the process.

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Leveraging Post-BFCM Inventory Data to Shape Future Marketing Campaigns

BFCM is not just about generating sales—it's also a goldmine of data that can guide your future marketing and inventory strategies. By leveraging post-BFCM analytics, you can turn the insights gained into actionable steps for future success.

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Analyzing Sales Data for Better Future Forecasting

After BFCM, your sales data will reveal valuable insights into what worked and what didn’t. Analyzing this data is essential for refining your future campaigns and inventory strategies.

Look at which products sold the most, the times of day when sales peaked, and how different promotions performed. This information will help you forecast future demand more accurately, ensuring that your next BFCM is even more successful.

Understanding customer behavior during BFCM is also crucial. Which customer segments responded best to your campaigns? Were there particular promotions or product combinations that drove higher conversions?

By diving deep into these data points, you can tailor your future marketing efforts to better meet your customers' needs and preferences.

This analysis should also feed into a feedback loop between marketing and inventory. Marketing insights, such as customer preferences and engagement data, should inform future inventory decisions.

This two-way communication ensures that marketing and inventory continuously influence each other, enhancing the overall customer experience and driving better reviews, higher retention rates, and increased lifetime value.

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Which Metrics Matter the Most?

While all data is valuable, certain metrics are particularly important for shaping future campaigns.

These include:

1. Sales by Product: Identifying which products were the top performers helps in deciding what to prioritize in future inventory planning.
2. Conversion Rates: Understanding how well your promotions converted traffic into sales can guide your future marketing tactics.
3. Inventory Turnover Rates: This metric shows how quickly products sold out, indicating which items were in high demand and which were less popular.
4. Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): Analyzing how much you spend to acquire each customer during BFCM helps in budgeting and planning future campaigns more effectively.
5. Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI): This metric is used for measuring how efficiently a retailer turns its inventory into profit.

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Identifying Bestsellers to Optimize Inventory

Your bestsellers during BFCM are a strong indicator of what might continue to perform well in the future. Fabrikatör’s Analytics feature can help you identify these top performers with ease, using advanced reporting tools that break down sales data by product, category, and more.

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Using Fabrikatör’s Analytics to Identify Bestsellers and Optimize Inventory

With Fabrikatör’s Analytics, you can visualize your sales data through intuitive dashboards and detailed reports.

For instance, a screenshot of a sales heatmap or a trend analysis graph can highlight how Fabrikatör’s tools provide clear, actionable insights. These visual aids not only make it easier to understand your BFCM performance but also help you make data-driven decisions for your next campaign.

Using these insights, you can optimize your inventory by stocking up on bestsellers and reducing the quantities of underperforming items. This approach not only improves your inventory efficiency but also maximizes your profitability in future campaigns.

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Conclusion: Ensuring a Profitable BFCM Through Strategic Marketing and Inventory Alignment

As BFCM approaches, aligning your marketing and inventory strategies is essential for maximizing profitability. By leveraging accurate forecasting, managing stockouts effectively, and analyzing post-BFCM data, you can ensure a seamless shopping experience and prepare for future success. Integrated tools like Fabrikatör can simplify this process, helping you stay ahead of demand and make informed decisions. As you gear up for BFCM, consider how these strategies can elevate your campaign performance and drive long-term growth.

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Recap of Key Strategies

We’ve explored the essential strategies:

• Forecasting demand with historical data
• Managing stockouts through backorders
• And using analytics to refine future campaigns.

These tools and techniques are crucial for maximizing sales and customer satisfaction.

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Preparing for Future Campaigns with Enhanced Insights

As you analyze the results from this year’s BFCM, use the insights gained to refine your approach. Tools like Fabrikatör can help you streamline both marketing and inventory management, ensuring each campaign is better than the last.