It falls on November 23 this year, the day after Thanksgiving
in America, and has long been heralded in the US as the start of the festive
shopping season – although the term ‘Black Friday’ has only been really widely
used since the turn of the Millennium.
In recent years, Black Friday has taken off this side of the pond, as a chance for retailers to make a big promotional push a month before Christmas. (Last year, online sales in the UK reached £1.4bn on Black Friday.)
And while many shops dip their prices for 24 hours to get people splashing their cash in the run-up to the festive season, numerous retailers now spread their deals over a fortnight.
Additionally, others focus on Cyber Monday, always the first weekday after Black Friday – so this year it’s on November 26 – as a great opportunity for massive online promotion.
How ready are you?
With such a great chance for serious sales, you need to be properly prepared in advance to maximise this opportunity.
That means ensuring your promotions reach your target audience, and that you’re really thinking about what you’re offering, and to whom. It’s quite important that you aim at a specific customer, rather than being too generic or trying to please everyone.
In recent years, Black Friday has taken off this side of the pond, as a chance for retailers to make a big promotional push a month before Christmas. (Last year, online sales in the UK reached £1.4bn on Black Friday.)
And while many shops dip their prices for 24 hours to get people splashing their cash in the run-up to the festive season, numerous retailers now spread their deals over a fortnight.
Additionally, others focus on Cyber Monday, always the first weekday after Black Friday – so this year it’s on November 26 – as a great opportunity for massive online promotion.
How ready are you?
With such a great chance for serious sales, you need to be properly prepared in advance to maximise this opportunity.
That means ensuring your promotions reach your target audience, and that you’re really thinking about what you’re offering, and to whom. It’s quite important that you aim at a specific customer, rather than being too generic or trying to please everyone.
Shoppers
will be writing a list before the big day to be able to search and purchase as
quickly as possible. This means that you can be more specific than you would be
with general seasonal sales.
If
you’re running a social media campaign, you can really hone in on your target
demographic. For example, choose a geographical location, age profile, specify
particular interests etc.
Don’t leave planning until the last minute. Given that Black Friday really does now go on for at least a week, be ready. For example, if you’re planning on running a different deal on each day for a week, think those through thoroughly and well in advance.
Consider how you will get your message out – will it be by blog, newsletter, social media or press release? And how far in advance are you prepping the consumer?
Don’t leave planning until the last minute. Given that Black Friday really does now go on for at least a week, be ready. For example, if you’re planning on running a different deal on each day for a week, think those through thoroughly and well in advance.
Consider how you will get your message out – will it be by blog, newsletter, social media or press release? And how far in advance are you prepping the consumer?
Remember,
the more places that you Black Friday deal is featured online, the better this
is for your search engine optimisation (SEO). This means that your visibility
on online presence is increased.
You also need to know what you expect to gain from your Black Friday push. Set targets and measure the results. It’s best to set KPI’s before as a driver to achieve your objectives.
Particularly with social media campaigns, not least those you’re paying for, you need to be sure you’re getting results.
Finally, with an expected upturn in sales, be sure you can handle this increased volume. Make sure your team can respond adequately to social media comments, phone calls, sales handling and website traffic.
You also need to know what you expect to gain from your Black Friday push. Set targets and measure the results. It’s best to set KPI’s before as a driver to achieve your objectives.
Particularly with social media campaigns, not least those you’re paying for, you need to be sure you’re getting results.
Finally, with an expected upturn in sales, be sure you can handle this increased volume. Make sure your team can respond adequately to social media comments, phone calls, sales handling and website traffic.
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