Is Black Friday right for small businesses?

It's the time of year when turkey and thanks are spread, but with that also comes one of the busiest shopping events of the year. Yes, of course, we are talking about Black Friday.

Black Friday gets its name from retailers' accounts, going from "in the red" (losses) to being "in the black" (profits) after shopping frenzies. In the US, people tended to get paid weekly on a Friday, so would be more inclined to spend money the day they were paid (a sentiment still felt today). And as it's the day after a restful Thanksgiving, it marks the beginning of Christmas and holiday shopping, so many businesses offer discounts to entice more spending.

Black Friday follows Thanksgiving, which was originally the third Thursday in November. However, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it to the fourth Thursday to boost sales post-Great Depression. Therefore, Black Friday has always been synonymous with spending money and snapping a post-holiday bargain. Black Friday has been around in the UK since 2010, despite its American origins, that's 15 years. And with each passing year, the expectation is that a store will offer a discount...even small businesses. 

So, should your client run a Black Friday offer? Ultimately, it's down to them and what's right for their business, but this blog will give you some talking points to help them navigate the decision.

Get them to ask themselves: 

Does running a Black Friday sale make sense for my business? 

Everyone wants to make sales, and it's no secret that price reductions will entice the audience. However, it's not always possible to host a promotion, as these eat into profit margins. The cost of production or the time taken to deliver hasn't changed, so this cost must be considered when a discount is offered. On the flip side, do they have a lot of stock they need to shift? Do they need to boost sales? Or do they want to give something back to their loyal customers?

Will this promotion devalue my product or service?

People are hooked by large discounts, but offering these discounts risks creating shoppers who will wait a whole year for your item to go on sale again and are not interested in paying full price. So discounted items or services end up not being fully valued by the audience, as they are not willing to purchase at any time and pay the full price. This is why you must work with your client to get the messaging and execution right if they do decide to run a sale. Also, it doesn't have to be a big discount. Our Black Friday Bible has a list of different sale ideas your client can offer.

How many other businesses will offer discounts or special offers on similar products on Black Friday? 

Is someone else taking sales away from you because they're offering a discount? It actually doesn't matter if these other businesses sell similar products. They're still your competition. A lot of people do their Christmas shopping during Black Friday so people aren't necessarily shopping with something specific in mind, just a particular person in mind. That means someone could be choosing between a coffee table book your client sells and a seven-pack of socks. They're similar RRP, but the socks have free shipping for Black Friday, and the book doesn't. Which one do you think they're going for?  

Ultimately, participating in Black Friday has to make financial sense for your client. Then, as their freelancer, you need to ensure you're on the same page about what you can execute within your contract and what will be extra because it will be a lot of work and might require services such as email marketing that falls outside of your agreement. However, we HIGHLY recommend you have a marketing plan for Black Friday because just posting a few times will not cut it.

Our Black Friday Bible download is the perfect tool to help you navigate these conversations with your client and devise a robust online marketing plan to make Black Friday a success.