eCommerce Podcast Black Friday Part 3 - The VIP List Strategy for Better Black Friday Results | Matt Edmundson
Most eCommerce brands make the same Black Friday mistake: blasting identical offers to their entire email list. Matt Edmundson explains why this approach "just feels wrong" and shares a VIP list strategy that segments customers into "soulmates," "lovers," and those "about to dump you." Learn how to create self-selecting VIP lists, test offers early, leverage SMS marketing, and turn your best customers into referral engines.
Key Point Timestamps:
- 05:00 - The existing customer strategy fundamentals
- 06:30 - Segments and journeys for maximising value
- 09:00 - Creating VIP lists and self-selection strategy
- 11:00 - Testing offers early with your VIP audience
- 12:30 - Give your best customers the best discounts
- 13:00 - SMS marketing for VIP access
- 15:00 - Building buzz campaigns before Black Friday
- 16:00 - Turning up your referral campaign
The Problem Most Brands Miss (05:00)
Matt identifies a fundamental flaw in most Black Friday approaches: treating all customers equally when they clearly aren't equal in value.
"Most eCommerce companies will just whack out crazy offers, right? Lose all their profits, all their best customers get the same offer, and it just feels wrong in so many ways," Matt explains.
This creates a problematic dynamic where your most loyal customers—who generate 80% of your revenue—receive the same treatment as complete strangers who may never buy again. There's no recognition of loyalty, no acknowledgment of their relationship with your brand.
The RFM Segmentation Framework (06:30)
Matt recommends using RFM segmentation, a methodology he learned from podcast guest Valentin Radu of Omni Convert, who uses memorable language to define customer relationships.
"He uses great phrases like soulmates, lovers, just about to dump you, the breakups and all that sort of stuff to sort of define the relationship you have with clients," Matt shares. "And actually at Vegetology we now use his language... just to define our clients a little bit better."
The key insight is that different segments require completely different approaches: "If someone is about to dump you... the journey you want to take them on is very different to the journey you want to take on for someone who buys from you almost every day. The emails, the stories, the marketing should have very different language, very different feel."
The Self-Selection VIP Strategy (09:00)
One of Matt's favourite approaches comes from Daniel Budai, who's also appeared on the podcast. Rather than guessing who your VIP customers are, you let them self-identify.
"You email out all of your customers and you say, listen, what we're gonna do this Black Friday is we are gonna create a VIP Black Friday offers list. So if you are on that list, you'll get access to all of the Black Friday offers early," Matt explains.
This strategy delivers multiple benefits: it gets your list engaged weeks before Black Friday, allows you to start sales early to reduce warehouse pressure, and creates a perfect testing ground for your offers. Only genuinely interested customers will opt in, giving you a highly engaged segment.
Test Early, Win Big (11:00)
The VIP list becomes your Black Friday laboratory, eliminating guesswork from your biggest sales weekend.
"You're gonna split test an email, which you send out to that VIP list. You're gonna see which offer pulls the best, and guess what you're gonna do on Black Friday weekend. You're gonna do that offer, which you've tested on your list already," Matt explains.
This approach means you're not switching campaigns during the crucial weekend or hoping your offers will work—you already know what performs best with your most engaged customers.
SMS for Inbox Overwhelm (13:00)
Matt suggests considering SMS marketing as an alternative to email during the Black Friday chaos.
"Let me tell you, their inbox is gonna be flooded over Black Friday. Just like your inbox is just like mine is gonna have more emails than you know what to do with. So getting on someone's text message gives a much, much greater chance of response, especially if they've opted into that list."
Rather than competing with hundreds of promotional emails, SMS gets you direct access to your customers' attention when it matters most.
Today's Guest
Today's guest: Matt Edmundson
Company: Aurion
Website: https://aurioncompany.com/
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mattedmundson