Black Friday Checklist: How To Get Your Business Ready

With the busy holiday season almost upon us, customers are gearing up to start their holiday shopping. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday always see a huge rise in sales. Companies need to be prepared to stand out and offer sales. If you are still working on your marketing plan, here are some ways you can make the most out of these big shopping days.

Test Your Website:

Whether or not you’ve been on your website recently, now is the time to check on it. You are more than likely going to have a higher volume of customers on your site, and you do not want it to lag or crash. Make sure that all of your product pages are working correctly, everything is still in stock, and your loading times are prompt. If customers are having a difficult time getting to the page that they want, or your items are selling out before they have a chance to get to them, they are going to turn to one of your competitors.

Promote On Social Media:

Promoting your sales on social media gets your audience excited about what’s to come, and will encourage them to go straight to your website before shopping around for other deals. Posting your sales on social media can be done however you think works best for your business. Letting your audience know exactly what your sale is going to be (20% off all orders, free shipping, new holiday bundles, doorbuster prizes, etc) creates excitement and conversation. You can also choose to tease your sales (“our biggest sale ever”, “unbelievable Black Friday sales”, etc) if you want to surprise your audience with great deals. However you choose to promote your deals, make sure you make them sound exciting to get your audience talking!

Use Your Email List:

Those who have opted to subscribe to your email list are already interested in your product and have possibly made a purchase from you before. Reward them for their loyalty by sending them updates on your sales before you announce it to the public, and offer them a special code or small freebie with a purchase. Customers get so many emails every day, make sure that yours stands out! Write a catchy headline, add a call-to-action, and make sure that opening your email is worthwhile.

Use Popups:

Adding a popup to your website announcing your sales, or guiding customers to a page you want to promote. Not every website needs to add popups, but it can be an effective way to help guide customers. They can also be used at checkout to help reduce cart abandonment. If you do choose to make a popup for your website, make sure that they are tested and scheduled before your big sale!

Create Urgency:

Creating urgency around your sale drives customers to buy those products they have been looking at, rather than leaving them abandoned in their shopping carts. Put an emphasis on how long your sale is running (“30% off until noon”, “20% off a popular product until they sell out”). You can also start the sale prices at a higher discount earlier in the day, and slowly lower the discount as the day goes on. However you choose to run the discount, let your audience know that this is a deal they can’t miss out on!

Holiday sales look different for every business, but having a plan is essential for everyone. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are something that customers look forward to each year, so have some fun and offer your audience deals they can’t resist!