Black Friday is the most loved and hated time of the year — I asked 10 e-commerce brands and 9 said so.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday, aka Cyber Weekend, marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in America. This sales holiday soon rose into the spotlight and now becomes popular all over the world. Not only retailers, online businesses, but B2B and SaaS companies now have also joined the frenzy!
We all admit that this holiday season sometimes can be harsh: huge amounts of orders means excessive paperwork, more complaints, more refund requests. To some small businesses, the hassle seems too big of a cost.
That’s why several companies go with the madness with little to no thoughts and planning. Others, by contrast, join in with Black Friday marketing campaigns to get the most of the sales time.
In fact, Cyber Weekend is a great time for all-type businesses to get benefit, as long as thought-out strategy and careful planning is ensured. The prospect of losing out on some sales because next door has opted in represents a risk too far for most — The Guardian.
The posts will walk you through reasons why you should have a marketing plan for Black Friday. Belows are 4 benefits that Black Friday can bring to your business if going along with wise plans:
- Incremental sales opportunities
The biggest advantage of Black Friday to businesses is definitely increased sales. Last year’s holiday saw 93.2 million online shoppers and an all-time high $71.4 billion sales .Online revenue has increased steadily over the past 10 years, from just $288 million in 2008 to over $2 billion in 2017. This number is expected to follow an upward trend in the next few years.
Black Friday is the most critical day for retailers, as the holiday season counts for more than 20% of their annual sales.
It is such a perfect time to get your sales record through promotions and deals. People are more likely to make more purchases during Black Friday since they like to grab deals and blend in FOMO situations.
Retailers can make use of this profitable season to clear down leftovers. By paring best sellers with low-value items as a gift, they can sell their old stock from the previous seasons, increasing sales.
BotStar tip: All effective sales campaigns are driven a lot from a cohesive marketing strategy. Take advantage of social media to reach out to billions of people who can be your potential customers. Create an attractive title and entice users into your campaign. An inspiring storytelling can help to make your strategy more engaging.
2. Attract new customers and generate leads
People tend to see Black Friday deals as better than they really are. They are more open to ads and receptive to marketing actions, even to savvy shoppers.
Black Friday is a great time for businesses to attract new customers. Planning a social media strategy and delivering interesting content helps promote your brand and make it reach a larger audience. Once they find your campaigns appealing, they’re more likely to join in and become the prospects.
New customer acquisition can be expensive, but Black Friday offers a chance to do so at a key time of the year.
When you acquire new customers, you have a higher chance of turning them into prospects through meaningful marketing messages and attractive deals. If you make them happy and satisfied with the experience, your business is more likely to drive repeat sales in the future.
If customers can be retained in the long term and they buy at a full price later, this justifies Black Friday discounts.
BotStar tip: With thousands of businesses joining the hype, you’ll need an engaging marketing strategy to stand out from the crowd. Schedule the plan to stay head of the game, and optimize your landing page to ensure the smooth, frictionless shopping experience. I wrote a post about tips to get new customers during Black Friday. If you want to know more, check it out!
3. Extend brand exposure
This time of the year provides the opportunity to create buzz around your brand and a way to get your products noticed. As said above, customers are driven to Black Friday deals and promotions easier, then make more impulse purchases.
Many businesses use advocacy marketing to boost brand awareness and visibility nowadays. Advocacy marketing is another form of word-of-mouth marketing in which existing customers share their positive experiences with others about the products they’re using. In the social media world with billions of users, thousands of advocates can reach over millions of their friends and family sharing the campaign info, making your brand name visible to a wider audience.
BotStar tip: To boost your brand presence and make your Black Friday deals more discoverable, create hashtags for your own brands and add them into your posts. Encourage your customers to use the hashtag when they buy from you to attract additional awareness of both your brand and your holiday sales.
4. Re-engage with customers and build loyal communities
Black Friday is such an ideal time to reconnect with your previous customers. On this day, email open rates increase by 60% since everyone is looking for promotions from different brands (https://www.inc.com/ari-zoldan/want-to-win-big-on-black-friday-10-best-strategies-for-businesses.html). By offering exclusive discounts through emails, you can remind customers who have once bought from you a while ago and encourage them to make a purchase again.
This time of the year is beneficial to business when it comes to nurture the existing customers and reward the loyal ones. Send targeted emails to show your appreciation to these types of customers, build loyal relationships and strengthen bonds with them.
Black Friday, or Cyber Weekend is the perfect time for businesses to shine. However, all the holiday’s benefits cannot come into place without having a thought-out and well-planned marketing strategy. Take full advantage of the biggest retail day of the year and keep track of the data gained to make adjustments when needed. Should you need any help, we — at BotStar — can give you some ideas with our powerful marketing solutions.