Last-Minute Black Friday Tips for Your Business
Black Friday is looming closer with every passing day. If you haven’t started preparing your campaigns yet, fear not; there are still some things you can do to promote your sale:
Tidy up your path to purchase
No customer wants to spend time filling in registration forms on Black Friday. During this period, customers simply want to get in and get out again as fast as they can, so you need to make sure there are no obstacles blocking the path between your customers chosen items and your online checkout.
If your site currently requires registration in order for a customer to make a purchase, it’s probably better to remove that feature for the duration of Cyber Weekend. This will keep customers happy, as they’ll have a speedier on-site experience and will be able to checkout quicker.
Use your homepage as a ‘shop window’
When a user lands on your site, they should be instantly aware that you’re holding a Black Friday sale. You can make this happen by creating eye-catching banners with compelling calls to action that point your customers to your sale items.
It’s also useful to have a countdown clock or timer to build up excitement among your customer base. Timers also work as a tool to promote a sense of urgency, as they let customers know that they only have a limited time to buy the things they want at discounted prices.
Plan for products going out of stock
There is little more frustrating for a customer than when they find the product they want, only to learn that it’s out of stock. But during sale periods like Black Friday, this is a likely scenario.
That said, you can still keep users on your site, even if what they wanted isn’t available. If your product pages get a significant amount of traffic and/or have a lot of valuable backlinks pointing to them, it’s always wise to keep them live, even if the product in question is out of stock. In this case, you can place links to similar products that the user might also be interested in onto this page. A word of caution though: make sure these links are seen. There’s no point placing them below the fold, as the user is likely to leave the page, and perhaps the site, when they see the words ‘sold out’.
Placing links where the customer can see them will increase the probability of them staying on the site and potentially buying something else.
Get your PPC ad copy Black Friday ready
Black Friday is an immensely competitive period, so be prepared to bid more aggressively to get your sale products promoted.
Your ad copy should be compelling and stand out from your competitors. Don’t forget to use the term ‘Black Friday’ in your copy, as this will target users actively searching for sale items.
Remarket to users who have visited before
Grab those users who have already visited your site, looked at a product, but not converted, by employing remarketing tactics. Remarketing will allow you to let users know that their favourite products are on sale for a limited period, giving them an incentive to buy during Black Friday.
Black Friday marketing for small businesses
Black Friday isn’t just a day for large businesses to capitalise on; your small business can benefit too! As well as improving conversions, Black Friday is also a great way for small businesses to build brand awareness.
If you’re part of a small business, here are some great ways to take advantage of the Black Friday period:
- Use it as an opportunity to sell surplus stock that is out of season. This stock can be sold at a discounted rate and selling it off will make room for the new season’s products.
- Don’t try to match the prices of bigger online retailers – you can still offer your customers a good deal, but stick within your limits to avoid becoming unprofitable. Being selective with the products you promote means that you can acquire new customers whilst still making a profit over Black Friday.
- Offer a site-wide discount code – this is a really easy strategy that simply involves setting up a code before Black Friday and adjusting the date on which it will go live. If you choose to do this, make sure you promote the code via your social channels for maximum impact.
- Make your Black Friday sale exclusive to email subscribers. This is a clever way to build up your customer base and establish brand loyalty, and can be done through a pop-up on your website or social media promotion. This option is also low-cost, as only users who sign up to your email newsletter will gain access to the discount code.