The busiest time of year for retailers is right around the corner - Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just a few weeks away. Here at TRG, we've rounded up some of the top strategies to help you stand out from the crowd during the busy weekend!
Planning a Black Friday strategy is essential if you want to stand out amongst a large crowd of retailers wanting to do the same thing. Think about it - every store, whether that's brick-and-mortar or e-commerce, they will be preparing to advertise their deals, and customers are actively searching for them. So how can you catch the eye of a consumer?
Don't let the process of developing your Black Friday marketing strategy demotivate you. On a busy sales day, it's easier than you think to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the Friday that follows the American Thanksgiving. It is well-known for dropping prices in both online and physical stores, resulting in an increase in consumer spending.
Black Friday is typically the start of the holiday shopping season. You may have heard stories about the chaos that brick-and-mortar stores face during this time.
Retailers took it upon themselves to adopt Black Friday. They depended on the holiday shopping to put them "back in black" before the year ended. The term "back in the black" refers to earning profit instead of operating at a loss or simply "being in the red".
Today, Black Friday has expanded beyond brick-and-mortar stores to include online sales, with online sellers taking advantage of the holiday. Its timeline has also been extended. Now, Black Friday is a weekend of sales that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
In a recent research conducted by Finder, they have found that Brits shopping the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year will be spending an average of £189.59 each. This is a 31% reduction from last year's figure - indicating that people are making a real effort to reduce the amount of spending this year.
However, despite a reduction in overall spend, the number of Brits who are planning to shop these sales has risen by 6%. This spike is most likely people looking to save extra money ahead of the holidays, with the cost of living crisis impacting many.
Marketing Strategies
When it comes to Black Friday marketing strategies, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You understand your customers and what works best for them. However, there are some tried-and-true strategies that can assist you with your Black Friday marketing strategy.
Take a look below at some of our top strategies for a successful Black Friday!
#1 Marketing Emails - Emails are an excellent way to reach out to your customers and spread the word about your special discounts. Personalise these emails to try to connect with your customers. The more deals you can promote through these emails, the better your chances of increasing sales on Black Friday.
Try to make the emails as interesting as possible in order to attract your customer's interest. Track the emails you send to see if your potential buyers are reading or ignoring them. There's a chance that your competitors could be attempting to reach your customer's inbox. As a result, you should create a visually appealing email that stands out from the others.
#2 Create Urgency - In order to get your customers excited about your sale items, you need to create a sense of urgency or scarcity in your Black Friday marketing - as this will encourage customers to take action.
One of the advantages of creating a sense of urgency is that it helps to gain attention. An email that stands out and generates a sense of urgency, for example, is much more likely to be noticed in a crowded inbox than one that does not.
Customers can be encouraged to act now rather than later. Your customers will feel more compelled to take advantage of your Black Friday deals if you offer a limited-time discount or exclusive access to sale items.
#3 Chatbots - More customers mean more customer service inquiries. It's impossible to avoid. Customers will be contacting you with questions about orders, shipping, and returns.
You can simplify and automate your customer support services by installing a chatbot on your website. The chatbot will be able to handle the simple FAQs, and when a support representative is needed, they can step in and take over the conversation to help. This process will remove any repetitive work that can delay your team and give them the time to focus and provide support to customers with larger issues.
#4 Referral Codes - Referral marketing is a great strategy for your brand. It's also extremely effective when promoting any Black Friday deals.
Try send out referral codes to your email subscribers. You can offer them exclusive gift cards or bigger discounts as an incentive to shop with you. Their referrals have the potential to draw in new customers, along with the added bonus of showing your loyalty to your returning customers.
#5 Social Media Marketing - Some shoppers look forward to the thrill of shopping last minute, but others prefer to plan ahead and make the most of the early bird sales. You can attract both kinds of customers by using your social media platforms to promote your sales - you can entice customers with 'mystery deals' or you can state clearly what your promotions will be.
By showing previews of your exclusive deals, countdowns and other content, businesses can build up anticipation amongst their consumers and drive traffic to their stores during the sale period. Social media is a great way to connect with customers and provide support to them if they have any questions.
#6 Selling Through Socials - Many people will often use social media to research a brand and their products - and on Black Friday, everyone will be searching for the best deals and promotions.
By selling directly on platforms like Instagram, you're able to put products directly in front of your target audience. Selling the products directly through the app will make it even easier for your customers to convert - not only this, but you can also reach a global audience through social media.
#7 Plan Discounts Wisely - These sales are always filled with deals and offers from your competition. To pass your competitors and win more profit, you will need to be careful as well as creative when planning your discount. Offering half price on your items isn't the only way to attract your customers.
Consider offering them a discount code that that can use in the future or offer a less-popular product for free!
It's all about adding value to your customer's purchases. Even with discount, the chances of earning profits will be much higher as there will be a volume of people wanting and willing to spend their money on most Black Friday sales.
Black Friday has proven to be beneficial for many retailers in the past, and it has the ability to boost your retail business, provided you take the correct steps. Thoroughly research and stay up to date on all market activities related to Black Friday sales 2022.
Don't assume that offering a discount will entice your customers - remember that your competitors are also going to be offering tempting discounts. Making an extra effort and trying to be as unique as possible will only ensure that your Black Friday sales will be a success for you and your business.