IS BLACK FRIDAY RIGHT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES?
It’s that time of year again, when turkey and thanks are all being spread, but with that also comes one of the busiest shopping events of the year. Yes, we are of course 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. 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 a lot of businesses offer discounts to entice more spending.
Black Friday follows Thanksgiving, which was originally the third Thursday in November, but in 1941 it was moved to the fourth Thursday by President Franklin D Roosevelt, to boost sales post-Great Depression. Therefore, Black Friday has always been synonymous with spending money and snapping up a post-holiday bargain.
It’s very easy to get swept up in the mania of deals and shiny discounts over this period as a consumer, often buying things we didn’t know we wanted.
We like to come at it with three questions:
- Did I want this item 20 minutes ago?
- How often will I use this?
- Do I already have something similar?
Now asking these types of questions can also be appropriate for small businesses when offering discounts. For us as a small agency it doesn’t make sense to offer Black Friday deals on our services, as we prefer to invest in our community and nurture our current audience without having to offer price reductions or a special offer.
So if you’re a small business and you’re considering running a Black Friday promo, ask yourself:
- 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 your audience, but it’s not always possible to host a promotion, as these eat into profit margins. The cost of production or time taken to deliver hasn’t changed, so you must bear this cost while you offer a discount.
The second point to consider is:
2. Will this promotion devalue my product or service?
People are hooked in by large discounts, but by offering these discounts you run the risk of 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 any time and pay the full price.
The final point to consider is:
3. How many other people are going to be offering discounts / special offers on similar products or services, on Black Friday?
A lot of people use Black Friday as a way to clean out their inbox and unsubscribe from a lot of mailing lists. We’ve always talking about the importance of email marketing, which cannot be underestimated (read this for help with setting up your flows!). Do you want to be another email in someone’s inbox along with 1000s of others offering similar deals? You could risk fatiguing your audience and convincing them to unsubscribe.
Fear not, though. As a small business, you can still participate without having to devalue your brand or product. "Small Business Saturday" was introduced to encourage people to turn away from big brands and support local and indie businesses instead. It’s also helpful that this happens one month before Christmas, so it’s a great opportunity to pick up some unique gifts.
There’s a lot of pressure to take part in these big sales and it’s not always feasible for smaller businesses. We certainly don’t bother with Black Friday deals, so you can forgive yourself for not taking part.