As a small business owner or ecommerce company in the UK it is hard to ignore how popular Black Friday has become.
Traditionally, Black Friday is the day right after Thanksgiving in the US and marks the beginning of the holiday season.
Over time however it has grown into an event lasting weeks, and is increasingly popular across the world including the Middle East and parts of Asia, as well as the UK.
Beginning in November, Black Friday is ideally poised to attract the attention of shoppers who are already looking for Christmas gifts and offers.
As a business owner you should therefore consider Black Friday marketing an essential part of your sales strategy.
What kind of companies do Black Friday marketing?
You may think that Black Friday marketing is suited for B2C companies, however these days even B2B companies promote Black Friday offers.
At the end of the day everyone likes special offers and discounts, so if you’re keen on boosting sales and generating extra business then you should seriously consider it.
If your business tends to slow down over Christmas, or January, then Black Friday marks the final sales push of the year until spring.
Easy Idea 1 – Free shipping
This is a really quick and easy idea which has worked for some of our clients in pushing extra sales through.
Free shipping may not result in a huge saving for a customer, but psychologically not having to pay for p&p is a nice sweetener.
Easy Idea 2 – Minimum spend reward
Incentivise your customers to spend a little more than they usually would by offering a free gift in return.
As long as the gift is decent, this is a great strategy in pushing sales up with not much efort.
Easy Idea 3 – Social media competition
If you have a strong following on social media then a competition should really get your customers juices flowing.
Offering a really great prize will push engagement and by sharing your competition with others you can hopefully increase your reach too.
Easy Idea 4 – Email marketing
This is a great tactic for the entire year.
If you have an email marketing database then you must send out regular deals, offers and posts to your customers.
By leveraging customer loyalty and goodwill you can turn subscribers into repeat customers.
Easy Idea 5 – Discount code
Super-simple, just offer 10% or 20% off for Black Friday and you should see an upturn in sales.
Make sure it’s visible on the website so people know it’s available and they take advantage of it.
Easy Idea 6 – Easy returns
Of course you don’t want product returns, but by explaining to customers how easy it is then it may convince them to buy something they normally wouldn’t.
Another way of looking at this is to offer money back guarantees.
Easy Idea 7 – Gift cards
Gift cards can be really easy to set up and a great way of getting a few more sales.
With many shoppers looking for Christmas gifts, a gift card can be perfect for someone who doesn’t know exactly what to buy.
Easy Idea 8 – A flash sale
Flash sales which start on Black Friday or Cyber Monday can attract a lot of attention if you do them right.
Just announce them on social media early and mention they are limited time and will end soon to add a sense of urgency.
Easy Idea 9 – Unveil a limited edition product
A Black Friday special or hamper could be something a little bit different which customers may be looking for.
By stating something is limited edition you also display scarcity and play on FOMO (fear of missing out) which can propel some people to order now rather than later.
Easy Idea 10 – Christmas offers
It’s the end of November so most people are already thinking of what to buy.
You can tap into this market easily during Black Friday but why not keep the offers ongoing into December?
This tactic of a prolonged sale can help to generate more orders at a time when people are looking to spend money.
Get help with your Black Friday marketing
If you’re an SME or ecommerce store and you need help with your Black Friday marketing (or any other online marketing) get in touch with us.
Examples of what our team can do over the festive period to help your business are:
- Professionally designed banners
- Help with email marketing setup and ongoing mailshots
- Set up discounts and deals on your website
- Fix website issues and bugs before the event
- Post blogs and update onsite SEO
- Look at your entire sales process and help optimise it
We will assess your existing marketing methods and go through the different options available to you.