Supply Chain Issues This Holiday Season
YOUR PRODUCTS AREN’T GOING TO GET HERE ON TIME FOR BLACK FRIDAY – NOW WHAT?
This is the question many eCommerce marketing leaders are asking themselves as the supply chain issues fustercluck disaster continues. There are a few ways to tackle this proactively as a steward of a brand at risk of disappointing your customer base this holiday shopping season:
Get out in front of the issue with transparency. Encourage customers to order early. Avoid vague “your order has been delayed” messaging and explain that the customer’s order, along with hundreds or thousands of others, is stuck on a ship a couple of miles off the coast of Long Beach waiting for its turn to be unloaded. Include a picture of the ship (or one like it) if you can- transparency matters! At this point, customers are beginning to realize that this isn’t a single brand issue, but how you communicate about the supply chain issues with them could make all the difference. This is where being a strategic marketing partner is valuable for your clients and their customers.
By the way- extend that transparency to your landing pages. Failing to do so is a good way to set up your ad account to get banned by Facebook when you fail to fulfill orders in a timely fashion and someone complains.
Push gift card bundles in the meantime. Offer product set to arrive ~someday~ as a part of a bundle with a discounted gift card that will be sent out immediately upon purchase, giving the shopper something to gift their loved ones, even if the main gift is going to take an extra week or ten to get there.
Bundle with Partners. Make the most of the product you do have on-hand, even if it’s a set of lower-margin SKUs, and partner with complementary brands to offer discounted bundles that give customers more perceived value while padding your margins. Savvy marketing leaders that have taken our advice to build out their owned audiences will be the biggest winners with this strategy.
Offer unique value-adds, experiences, and community features. Maybe it’s an NFT bundled in instead of a discount. Maybe shoppers that buy at full price will get early access to product drops for all of 2022. Maybe it’s access to a private Facebook group or Slack channel. Take advantage of your brand’s community and opportunities for exclusive engagement with your best customers by creating unique experiences as value- adds this holiday season. Your best customers will prefer these to a discount anyway.
We hope these 4 tips will help you navigate through the supply chain issues we are all facing.
