Black Friday and Cyber Monday are often seen as the ultimate revenue sprint for e-commerce businesses. But what if the goal isn't just to sell, but to profit?

The recent BFCM Masterclass, presented by BlueSense Digital, ProfitPeak, and Growth Gurus, challenged this traditional view. The core message was clear: sustainable growth comes from a deliberate, data-led approach that prioritises long-term profitability over a short-term revenue boost.

Held in Melbourne at BlueSense Digital's office, here are the key takeaways from the three speakers:

BlueSense Digital: Simple Offers Win the Race - A common pitfall during BFCM is "offer fatigue". Customers are bombarded with so many different promotions that they become overwhelmed and disengaged. Nathan's key point was to combat this with simplicity and offer rotation.

For a sale lasting less than seven days, a single, clear offer is most effective. If the sale runs for longer, sequencing offers throughout the period—starting with bundles, moving to simple discounts on core sets, and then shifting to individual SKUs or "buy-more-save-more" deals in December—keeps the messaging fresh and clear for customers.

ProfitPeak: Revenue Is Not Profit - Carla drove home a critical message: "Revenue growth isn't ROI". Her central point was that true profitability lives at the "contribution profit" level, which is calculated after accounting for advertising and variable costs.

She emphasised the importance of managing inventory and ads based on a product's profitability class (A, B, C & D). By over-indexing ad spend on your top-performing 'A-class' products and segmenting out your low-profit 'C & D class' items, you can ensure your ad budget drives genuine profit rather than just top-line revenue.

Also read: Meta Day '25 - From Sale To Scale

Growth Gurus: BFCM Is a Starting Line, Not a Finish Line - For many brands, the post-BFCM period is a "hangover". They've acquired a large number of customers, but haven't put a plan in place to retain them. Olivia's key point was to shift the mindset: BFCM is the starting line for building customer lifetime value, not the end.

She highlighted the importance of a pre-BFCM plan that includes gathering additional data from customers, cleaning your email list, and growing your database with quality contacts. Post-purchase, the focus should be on nurturing new buyers through personalised automated flows to secure first-to-second purchases. The goal is to reduce reliance on constant, expensive acquisition.

This event highlighted that BFCM is a delicate balancing act. It's a time when brands face a duality: increasing discount depth drives demand, but simultaneously erodes margin. For those who need help scaling their business profitably and sustainably, do book a demo today.

See all the pictures from the day here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.122134925510909489&type=3