Thanksgiving is on Thursday and that can only mean one thing…Black Friday is upon us! In our experience, you either love Black Friday or you hate it. There is no middle ground. Not only is there Black Friday, there is Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and some companies started their sales on November 1.
Whether you love it or hate it, there is one thing you can’t deny: many businesses have HUGE discounts. Whether it’s discounts on products or services, free shipping, buy one get five free, every business is trying to outdo another one.
Unfortunately, businesses are starting to open even earlier on Thanksgiving. That’s right, Black Friday doesn’t actually start on Friday anymore. Long gone are the days of waiting outside at 4AM for a store to open. The sales have somehow creeped all the way to 3PM on Thanksgiving Day.
There is good news though! There is no wrong way to do Black Friday. If you own a business, we have some marketing tips for you.
- Go Cyber
For those people who think leaving their family to go buy a $2.00 toaster is crazy, there should be another option! If you are participating in Black Friday, offer your sales online too. Your customers will be more willing to take advantage of your sales if they don’t have to leave the house.
- Get Social
Announce all your sales on your social media pages. If you are starting sales at different times, make sure that is very clear. Use #BlackFriday, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #sales and other similar tags to get your message out. Also, send an email to your subscribers detailing what your sales are and when they are happening.
- Coupons
Do you typically have customers waiting outside your store before you open? Take this opportunity to surprise them with another deal. Ten to fifteen minutes before you open, take some freebie coupons to your customers. Maybe it’s for a free candle, a $5 gift card or a free candy bar at the register. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant but something to show you appreciate their business during the holiday.
- Think outside the box
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to offer discounts on your products. Offer free shipping, free setup, a $20 gift card with any purchase or a discount code for a future purchase. If you want to stay closed during the holiday, do it! Let your website do the work and let your customers redeem the promotions after Thanksgiving.
If your business is participating in Black Friday, we wish you luck. If you want marketing assistance with your Christmas sales next month, you better call Red Dog!