Adopted from our friends across the pond, Black Friday has become a key consumer holiday that is on every shop/brands radar. Consumers embrace this day with open wallets and consistently flood shopping centres and high streets across the country, all for the opportunity to bag some ‘too good to be true’ deals, year on year.
As a small business, you may not have the ability to offer the ridiculously generous discounts that the other larger, mainstream shops can but that doesn’t mean you can’t capitalise on your share of Black Friday consumers. Black Friday provides the perfect opportunity to offer a discount, build awareness, develop trust with your customers and provide them with a great shopping experience.
Below are our 5 top marketing tips for small businesses in the run-up and during Black Friday:
1. Promote special deals for your most special customers.
“Special” can mean anyone you choose it to be. We suggest anybody currently on your marketing email list. Send them an exclusive ‘members’ discount, and encourage them to make a stop at your place this Black Friday. I’m sure they won’t regret it.
2. Place social media ads.
As we move closer to Christmas, people begin to spend an increased amount of time on the internet in search of gift ideas and discounts. Seize the opportunity to grab some of their attention by placing your ads on Facebook and Google prior to the day itself.
3. Get out of the shop and soak up the footfall.
Are there hundreds of people standing in queues for hours outside of a shop nearby? Why not get some discount coupons printed and hand them out to the nearby footfall and people queuing in the street for other shops.
WARNING: Be cautious with this tip and be sure to check with the owners of the nearby stores that you will be approaching first so that you don’t get into any conflict or get escorted from the property … or don’t and just go for it! Take that commerce and feel no remorse for your Black Friday competition!
4. Enhance the consumer experience with complementary edible offerings.
Shopping on Black Friday is tiring for all involved. Offering free confectionary goods such as cookies, sweets or fudge, or a beverage like hot chocolate or lemonade, can create a more welcoming environment that will do well to entice customers inside and retain them once they’re there.
You may also want to set up an area for shoppers to sit down and rest their tired legs, (should that area be positioned directly next to a rack of discounted goods and gift cards, then so be it).
5. Provide extra support and service.
Within a small business, you have the advantage of being able to offer dedicated, personal attention. People love low and discounted prices, but they also like to feel valued.
Depending on your product or service, you may want to offer a range of intangible extras. For example, extended support for tech items, a no-hassle refund policy if purchased on Black Friday, an extra discount to use at a later date, or the opportunity to be entered into a raffle for a suitable prize.
BONUS TIP: The early bird builds the awareness.
Congratulations! You made it to the end of the blog! As a reward, I’ll give you one more tip because I value your patience and resilience.
Start organising the tips listed above well in advance. Begin to roll out your Black Friday strategy up to 2 or 3 weeks in prior and create awareness amongst your target audience. The further away from the date you are the less frequent your push should be (you don’t ever want to bombard your audience) but should gradually build up momentum as Black Friday nears. Proper planning prevents poor performance and by getting all of your marketing ducks in a row before the big date will certainly enhance your chances of a successful Black Friday.
We hope that these tips are able to make your Black Friday a successful one. Remember that the day is a perfect opportunity to reinforce the brand, provide a great service and raise awareness amongst customers that may not usually shop with you; new customers are an inevitability on Black Friday. For assistance with your social strategy or Black Friday campaign, get in touch and see how we might be able to help.
