Suffering from Black Friday fatigue yet? Once upon a time, Black Friday was one day. Now it’s a whole week, or even a fortnight of stores and brands competing to lure customers in with the best deals and offers around. Despite the hype around the day, it can be a big success for businesses.
Last year, Black Friday saw its biggest ever year, with more than 174 million Americans shopping throughout the day, almost 10 million more than expected. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the average spend per person was recorded as $335 – a figure that’s hard to ignore.
How can you stand out from your competition on Black Friday? Here are some useful tips for handling sales and promotions that you can use this week and all year to help boost your sales and bring home the bacon for your business.
Be a tease
Most consumers are familiar enough with Black Friday to know to do a lot of their Christmas shopping on the date. Some people save all year to grab some bargains in the Black Friday sales! People know it’s coming, and if they know that you’re going to be offering something, even if you don’t say what, they’ll know to add you to their list of retailers to hit up on the day. An email to your subscribers or some posts on social media can be all it takes to build the anticipation and excitement for your Black Friday deal.
Spend more, save more
There are different ways to entice shoppers to spend on Black Friday, but one effective way is to adopt a three-tier discount system. By offering a bigger discount and bigger saving for the more you spend, you can help to encourage buyers to spend a little bit more at the checkout. You can use this as a good hook, and is an offer you can repeat throughout the year if successful.
Don’t be stingy with your deals
If you want to make a splash on Black Friday, you need to offer customers a deal worth talking about. A site-wide deal will mean that people aren’t just restricted to certain items or offers, but instead can take advantage of savings across the whole website. Instead of using the occasion as an excuse to shift bad stock, allow customers to get the things they really want, while driving bigger sales for you.
Negotiate with your suppliers
You’ve got a bottom line when it comes to selling products to customers, and your suppliers will have one for you too. Why not see how far down you can push your costs this Black Friday by haggling with your suppliers? It’s easier to negotiate with your suppliers at this time of year, and if you can guarantee them some additional sales – they might be more inclined to lower their costs. You can then incorporate these savings into even lower prices for your customers. Do some smart analysis of what your customers are searching for and already buying to give you some insight into the appetite for your products.
Target Millennials
Want to score the biggest sales on Black Friday? Target the millennial market. Millennials were the biggest shoppers during last year’s Black Friday sales, spending an average of $419.52 a head. This would be a great time to do some detailed targeting through Facebook and Instagram to make sure you get noticed by some of the biggest spenders.
Work with Social Influencers
Social influencers have become an extremely important tool for retailers, and Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to use them to their full advantage. By working with influencers to promote your Black Friday sale, you can generate a buzz around your offers and help to highlight some of the biggest bargains and must-have items. If you want a good use of your marketing budget this festive season, working with influencers is most certainly it.
Play to your strengths
You don’t always have to come up with something new to draw attention to your Cyber Week sales. In fact, you could repurpose some existing marketing materials in a hurry to help you spread the message without incurring further costs or spend time crafting a campaign from scratch. If time is up against you, identify your best-performing ads, videos, etc. and give them a Black Friday twist. These concepts worked for a reason and if you play your cards right, they’ll work again.
Offer value in what you’re selling
A Black Friday or Cyber Week deal is only as good as its worth, and if it’s not worth much to your customers – they won’t be buying. If you’re looking to Black Friday as a quick fix for a serious problem with your sales, it’s likely that it won’t work. You might want to go away and think about why your products aren’t selling before you come back with a good deal. Author Nick Stephenson offers fantastic insight into ‘why readers don’t want to buy your books’, and it’s worth a read to find out why, with some excellent insights that could work for your own business. Don’t just jump on the Cyber Week bandwagon – think carefully about what you’re selling and to who first.
Be bold
Sometimes, the message couldn’t be any clearer – yet it still gets missed. If you really want to hammer home your Black Friday deals then don’t be afraid to shout about them. From emails to social media to big obvious banners on your website – you can get people’s attention if you wave something in front of them enough. Look at some great marketing techniques that will help you make an impression and go all out for Black Friday.
Black Friday can be make or break for your business, and if you’re ready to join in the game then make sure you’re prepared first. Take some time to consider what you’re going to offer and at what cost, then channel your energy into selling. Now is not the time to anger your customers, so make sure you play by the rules and offer them the best Black Friday shopping experience possible. Will 2018 be your best year yet?
