Black Friday Tips

As soon as Halloween is over all I feel like I see are Black Friday promotions. It has become a massive retail event, so if you’re in that space what’s the best way to prepare yourself? Here are some top tips:

Set Your Offer Carefully!

This is so important. If you’re a growing business then think carefully about what you can afford to do for Black Friday. You DO NOT have to do an aggressive discount. Black Friday should be about attracting new people to your brand and giving them an excuse to try your products.

Instead of a site wide discount, focus on specific lines you want to sell out or bundle your products for a reduced price. Maybe throw in an item for free if people spend over a certain amount.

If you can’t afford a discount or giveaway then it doesn’t count you out. You could consider offering a ‘value add’ for the customer like free shipping or gift wrapping. This doesn’t have to cost you a lot but it gives you something to promote.

Promote Early (But Not Too Early)

Personally I’d start during the first week of November. This gives you the opportunity to promote your offer gently for a couple of weeks before really hammering the Black Friday message home.

Whatever you do, don’t go too early though. This could put people off buying now, so if it’s vaguely warm outside and you’re talking about Black Friday then you’ve gone wrong somewhere!

Mix Up The Channels

Promote your Black Friday offer on all of your channels. But try to tailor the message and artwork accordingly. If you’re promoting it on TikTok try to link it to a trend, include it in your monthly email newsletter, add a flyer to your current outgoing orders. Make sure people have as many opportunities to see the message as possible.

Repeat Consistently, Not Desperately

In the run up to the weekend make sure you ramp up your promotion, particularly on social media. Depending on your products and offer you’ll need to judge this carefully. You don’t want to fill your feed with desperate pleads for people to buy. Try to create some drama and anticipation. Make it seem like THE Black Friday offer to get.

Evaluate

Then once Black Friday is over, evaluate your results. What promotion got you to the most engagement? What channels did most of your sales come from? How profitable was it? What could you do differently next year?

It’s so important to do this close to the event, so you can maximise learnings for next year. It’ll be here before you know it!