With its origins in the USA, Black Friday is the name given to the first shopping day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday benefits many businesses and has become the most important retail business day. This is because many retailers can often make enough sales to put them in the black for the year and boost annual performance records.
Given that Black Friday affects investor confidence and the stock market, it makes sense that the model has spread abroad and been adopted by many other countries.
Have you considered embarking on a Black Friday campaign for your business? You may only be doing this because your competitors are doing it and you are wondering if it is really worth the time and effort spent dealing with shipping, returns, and discounts.
However, take a second look at what your business will lose if you decide to back out now.
How Black Friday Benefits Your Business
As you read the below advantages, apply them to your business and consider if they would work for you.
Leverage Your Brand Image
With the right strategy that is aligned with your goals, you can leverage your brand image. Make use of the hype and promote your offers on your social media and digital marketing channels, using the event as a focal point to create more brand awareness and enhance your business’s reputation.
Be aware that your brand equity relies on your performance, so when planning your Black Friday strategy, be sure that you are capable of meeting the expected demand increase to prevent any negative impact on your business.
Re-engage with Your Customers
Black Friday is the ideal opportunity to strengthen bonds with your loyal customers and to re-connect and build stronger relationships with previous customers who may have forgotten about your product and need a reminder of why they should purchase from you again.
Additional Sales Opportunities
Customers put a value on things by price. Luxury goods are considered so partly because they cost more than average. Generally speaking, people often assume that if something is on sale, then it is broken, out of style, or unpopular.
However, customers are more often looking for a bargain as Christmas draws closer and with Black Friday tradition, the prospect of getting items they want at a more affordable price can invoke a bit of a spending spree. Beyond using Black Friday as a promotional platform for new products, this is a great opportunity to clear out some of your older or slower moving stock without the worry of consumers questioning the product value as they normally might.
Attract New Customers
Even the savviest consumers are likely to be more receptive to marketing campaigns around Black Friday. This opens the door for your brand and products that might not have been noticed before. Using the correct channels to communicate your planned discount strategy, you stand a better chance of attracting new customers who may find your product appealing.
Drive Repeat Sales
By offering excellent service and paying attention to details, you can entice customers to return again and again during the Christmas season, as Black Friday sales attract new customers. Creating an enjoyable buying experience for your customers is crucial to converting them into long-term loyal customers and boosting your overall sales performance.
Tips for Your Black Friday Strategy
When pursuing your Black Friday strategy, keep in mind that all the benefits don’t fall into place without preparation and planning. Leaving loose ends could potentially damage all the hard work and hours you put into the event.
To reap the Black Friday benefits for your business, planning is crucial for success.
Determine the resources you have in place, the number of people who can be dedicated to your marketing strategy, whether you would need to outsource work temporarily, your social media following, how effective your marketing campaigns are to present your products, who is your target customer, and where do they shop?
This knowledge will enable you to better create a plan of action that suits the way you already work, as well as improve on areas that may be lacking.
To grow your customer base with subscribers and begin targeting new visitors and potential customers both with and without internet access, you’ll want to explore the amazing world of USSD. Surveys, competitions, information, and vouchers are easy ways to engage and interact with a potential customer.
Bulk SMS campaigns boost your message to a wide audience and are cheap and easy to set up. Personalised messages, exciting multimedia options, special offers, or the launch of a new product can be communicated seamlessly to a massive audience without a massive price tag.
Never forget the value of WhatsApp in driving your Black Friday marketing campaign ahead of time. In fact, if you’ve been considering upgrading your WhatsApp to a business account, then now’s the time to get started with Whatsapp Business API.
Black Friday Communication Plan to Drive Record Sales
While Black Friday may seem like a battle of discounting, in reality, it’s a battle for attention. If you want to win the battle, your top priority is to get noticed.
For the majority of consumers, shopping is like modern-day hunting and gathering and when it comes to Black Friday, the shopping experience can be even more rewarding because of the thrill of the hunt. Applying the R.A.C.E strategy to your customer communication plan can be used as the framework to help you to drive record sales.
Reach (R)
This involves attracting interest and reaching out to your current customers and enticing potential new customers by creating awareness around your Black Friday sale deals. Digital PR is the perfect way to promote your products and spread the news, particularly if your industry hasn’t taken the plunge in previous years.
Start early to reduce the competition with your competitors before consumers become numb to the onslaught of marketing material by scheduling your campaign emails, bulk SMS, Whatsapp Business API, and social media engagement well ahead of Black Friday.
Using your current customer base, create referral reward programs that enable buyers to benefit from amazing deals and discounts as well as profit further by referring friends and family.
Many consumers love a surprise so encourage them to open and read your marketing media with creative catchphrases like “You’re getting a Discount” or “Here’s your unique gift code” whereby the consumer won’t know the additional discount they are getting until they are ready to pay for their Black Friday deals.
Act (A)
Once you have begun to raise awareness, creating interaction with your audience will deliver an experience that encourages customers to keep coming back even beyond Black Friday. Incorporate pre-event Black Friday content, such as recommended products and sneak peeks, so that consumers are more inclined to browse around and keep returning to find out about upcoming deals and plan their purchases.
Ensure all of your communication channels are primed to welcome new customers and create an affinity and excitement around your brand.
Convert (C)
This concentrates on getting people to buy or sign up for something by capitalising on the Black Friday deals opportunity and turning traffic into a sale.
This can be accomplished by sending micro-content about your specials to your current customers and social media followers. Use punchy messaging emphasising the exclusivity and short-lived nature of your offerings. Grab consumer attention with calls to action that are creative and quirky so they stand out among your competitors.
Engage (E)
This is arguably the most important part of your marketing campaign. This is because a highly engaged audience who are nurtured for their loyalty is more likely to return long after your Black Friday sales are over.
Add emotional value by designing exclusive offers to reward loyal customers by using USSD and other messaging channels.
Rather than just offering discounts on products, increase sales by implementing an Average Order Value which encourages buyers to save more by buying more; 3 for 2 deals or additional discounts if you buy 3 or more of the same products for example.
Can’t offer too many cash discounts? Offer free shipping instead. This is a powerful and proven way to get consumers to add a few more items to their shopping cart to qualify for free shipping.
Ingenious ways can be devised to turn your Black Friday campaign into a huge success, so your business has little chance of being left behind if you are devoted to the task.
Let’s Get Started
Contact the Cellfind Business Team and enquire about their affordable pricing options on the most effective forms of mobile marketing available today. Get ahead of your competitors so you are in a strong position to reap all the Black Friday benefits for your business.
