Most brands run VIP early access the same way. Same discount as the public sale, sent 24 hours early, to whoever spent the most last year. It's treated like a promo tactic: get a head start on revenue before the inbox gets crowded.
That's fine, but I think it misses what the email is actually deciding. Who gets what on Black Friday is a retention call more than a promo call. And the customers it matters most for are the ones who buy from you at full price all year.
The customer you're about to retrain
Think about someone who's ordered from you three times this year, all at full price. They didn't wait for a code. They like the product enough to just buy it.
Then Black Friday week, they get the same "30% off everything" email as someone who joined your list last Tuesday. Maybe they buy. But next year, a little voice tells them to hold off until November. You just taught your best customer to wait.
Sale-trained buyers already know the drill, and that's fine. You're not changing them in one weekend. But your full-price regulars are a different group, and they shouldn't hear about Black Friday from the same email.
Split the list three ways
- Full-price regulars. Two or more orders in the last year with no discount code. They get early access first, and the hook is access, not a bigger discount. First pick of sizes and colors before things sell out, a limited bundle or a gift with purchase, or a product held back just for them. Some brands don't give this group a discount at all, and I think that's often the right call.
- Sale-trained buyers. People who mostly or only buy with a code. Give them the sale, a day or so early if you want. They're going to buy on discount anyway, so getting them in before the rush is the win.
- Everyone else. New subscribers and one-time buyers get the main sale on the normal schedule.
You're not hiding the sale from anyone. Your regulars will see it on Instagram. You're just not leading with a discount to the people who never needed one.
Building it in Klaviyo
None of this needs anything fancy. A segment of profiles with two or more Placed Order events in the last 365 days, where the order had no discount code, gets you most of the way. If you're using RFM in Klaviyo's Customer Hub and Personalization, your top groups are a good cross-check. We wrote about where RFM earns its keep last month.
Then use that segment as an exclusion on your public sale sends for the first day or two, so your regulars get their own message first instead of three versions of the same discount.
Timing for Thanksgiving week
Black Friday is November 27th this year. Here's roughly how I'd stagger it:
- Monday, Nov 23: Full-price regulars get early access. Email plus a text if they're SMS subscribers. Don't sleep on the text for this group.
- Wednesday, Nov 25: Sale-trained buyers get the sale early.
- Thursday, Nov 26 through Cyber Monday, Nov 30: Public sale for everyone. Regulars stay out of the first public sends.
Each brand's customers are different, so the windows and the offer will move. But the order matters: the people who pay full price hear first, and they hear about something other than a percentage.
What you're actually measuring
The revenue from early access looks small next to the public sale. That's expected. The number I'd watch is what those regulars do in the spring. Do they come back at full price in March, or do they go quiet until next November? That's the whole point of keeping them off the discount email.
So, when your best customers open your Black Friday email this year, will they be able to tell they're your best customers?
