Where Does the Black Friday Come From?
Before getting to the heart of the matter, let’s take some time to explain where the Black Friday comes from. First, it is important to mention that Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. It occurs on the fourth Friday of November. In the beginning, it was mostly a long weekend where people visited their families. Since this Friday was a holiday, many Americans took the opportunity to go shopping for their Christmas gifts. Vendors then saw their sales increase, and in order to get more customers, they started to offer discounts and promotions. With time, this phenomenon reached other countries like Canada and Mexico, and then the world.
How to Prepare Your Online Shop for Black Friday
If you have an online shop and want to have sales during Black Friday, how can you manage to be successful when there is so much competition? Keep in mind that online shopping has never been more popular. If you prepare yourself adequately, it is possible to seize opportunities. Here are a few things to think about to prepare your online shop for Black Friday.
-
Communicate with your potential customers in advance
If you wish to offer discounts at Black Friday, do not wait until the last minute. Do not forget that you compete with other big businesses like Amazon; consequently, you need a plan! First, to must tell your potential customers that you are planning to have an exclusive offer. You can announce it on social media or even send a dedicated newsletter a few days before. We do not suggest that you divulge your offers on the very day unless they stand out. The reason why is because your discounts may be lost through all the other ones. In the meantime, work on creating a community of followers that like your products or services.
-
Calculate the discounts you can offer
Whether you provide products or services, your main goal is likely to make a reasonable profit. Unfortunately, some people forget to count all fees when they do a promotion. Consequently, before unveiling your offers, make sure you thought about everything. For example, have you thought about the delivery fees or your employees’ salary during that special day? Did you calculate your time or the cost of your promotional campaign (Facebook Ads, Adwords, sending a newsletter)? Validate these before doing a promotion. It would be a shame to provide an offer and lose money, right?
-
Stand out!
As we mentioned earlier, during Black Friday, you compete with other businesses, of which some of them are major companies. What can you do to stand out? Let’s start with these questions: who are your potential customers? What is the main reason why you wish to participate in Black Friday this year? Is it because you want to increase customer loyalty? Is it to get notoriety or present new products? It will be easier to find the right strategy once your main objective is chosen. For example, if you wish to get exposure for your products, perhaps a partnership with another company could be interesting. If you make beautiful frames, you could work with a photographer. In sum, be creative. If needed, here are some promotional ideas for your online store. There are more options than to offer a 50% discount for 24 hours.
-
Test everything
Since Black Friday only happens once a year, you need to prepare accordingly. If you have an online shop, we suggest you check each item’s product page of each item to make sure everything is there. Answer the questions your potential customers could have in a FAQ, present your products from a number of perspectives with beautiful pictures, and use call-to-action buttons. Then, test everything. You will see if you receive your orders and if your PayPal account is linked with your WebSelf website. Of course, you need to do these verifications before Black Friday. Again, do not wait until the last minute.
-
Check your inventory
The last point we want to talk about is your inventory. Do you have enough stock to cope with the demand? Did you think about ordering enough boxes for the deliveries? Try to have everything you need a few weeks before Black Friday since there may be more significant delays. Therefore, when you receive your first orders, you will have everything close at hand.
In conclusion, you indeed need to think about many things if you want to have promotions during Black Friday, but you can make it. Start by having an objective, prepare your offers, and communicate with your potential customers. Once your boxes are sent, you will need to start everything again for the Christmas sales!