The drastic lifestyle change, the upsetting lockdowns, work from home, and so much more… This year sure did leave a hefty toll on all of us. With the falling economy, the business faced huge losses too. We never knew, we were in such huge trouble when we were living our lives with utmost satiety before this satanic pandemic? But it’s time to let bygones be bygones and stand again with force so strong, so powerful that every negative vibe stopping us gets wiped away along with this virus too.

And what’s more exciting than an upcoming Black Friday 2020 sale? It’s not called the busiest shopping days of the year for no reason! Now is the time when businesses can flourish back again and get their ace game on like never before.

Remember, the lockdowns have frustrated not only the business owners but also the consumers. And hence, they are all set to celebrate this Christmas the best they could, thereby making this Black Friday discount spree a record-breaking e-commerce revenue opportunity like never before!

So it’s time to gear up and get started on the ride to the most effective strategies and tactics to master this sale.

This detailed guide with all the essential information is your one-way ticket to stand out amongst your competitors and get your share of benefits in this shopping spree like an ultimate pro. 

A Little Bit About Black Friday

First things first, let’s start by getting familiar with the history of Black Friday and how it emerged.

Black Friday was initially not used to refer to the shopping spree that it is known for today. 

It was termed by the police of Philadelphia to refer to the hectic traffic and the rush after Thanksgiving. 

This term was later recognized as the big shopping day in 2003, and since then, the trend of celebrating this day exponentially kept increasing. And now, what we have is the day everyone waits for. 

From kids to elders, everyone has their eyes on something or the other they want to buy, eagerly waiting for this day to get the best discounts and offer to get their hands on. 

Why is Black Friday So Important?

Let’s talk about figures…

It’s not all words for us; significant impacts must have big numbers.

• If you’re wondering just what makes Black Friday more important than other opportunities, according to Spendmenot, a striking 93.2 million buyers shopped online on Black Friday. With an average adult spending around $400 while driving a phenomenal sale of $7.4 billion.

• According to Statista, sales on Black Friday have increased dramatically over the years.

• The Pandemic led people to shop less during the lockdown, the consumers have more and more reasons to shop this year, and with big sales on the list, their eagerness is at an all-time high.

• According to Adobe Analytics, the amount spent by customers on Black Friday is forecasted to increase by 20% in revenue.

• The opportunity present in this Black Friday sale is like never before. The amount of craze and anticipation this day comes with; it easily surpasses all other sales days. So it’s high time to buckle up and grab all the possible benefits in the best way you can!

What Are Preparations Needed to Be Ahead of the Time?

Now that we all know the intensity this day holds, let’s cover this guide’s central aspect. The significantly effective strategies and tactic to consider the most to get started:

Start Early

 It’s always best to initiate the offers and discounts in phases, give the consumers something to come to you again and again. Preferably, please give them a pre-sale offer, throw in some teasers, and intrigue them in. So, they have you in mind when the big day comes.For example, Apple’s Black Friday campaign announced with emails announcing the teaser sale a few weeks before the big date. Later, as the date approached, they launched a second email marketing campaign putting forth Apple’s exact offering.  

Creative Black Friday Campaigns

For better traffic, it’s essential to reel the consumers first. For that, nothing works better than an attractive ad campaign. Be unique and straightforward. But most importantly, involve the consumers, by creativity, by playing a quiz perhaps or a hint game, potentially through some live online contest or giving them reward points on posting about their experience with the company. 

For example, Patagonia, a leading outdoor clothing company, joined hands with the environmental initiative “One Percent for the Planet, 2016 Black Friday.” They agreed to donate 1% of their Black Friday retail & online sales.

Make Your Website User-Friendly

 There is absolutely no point in spending time in advertisements and promotions if your website gives a bad user experience. It is of utmost priority that you fix these issues on your website, the first thing to start with

• Long loading time
• Issues in UI
•  Website not mobile-friendly (Optimizing issues)
•  Poor navigations
•  Onsite search
• ·Scalability to handle

Your website is like a temple for your e-commerce business; treat it as one. Otherwise, as Tammy Evert (Shopify blog) says, a 2 seconds delay can cost you 66% of your sales. Do your calculations, be smart, and always alert.

Not Only Just Black Friday

Make sure to take into consideration that there’s so much more to it than just Black Friday. The whole season consists of long-awaited holidays and excitement to spend and celebrate. Make it count. Throw in exciting offers to lure consumers in not just on Black Friday but also ThanksGiving, Christmas, New Year, and every possible holiday during the season too.

Give them what they want, to get the most of what you want.

Simplify Checkouts

According to the data from Baymard institute, out of 2584 responses, 34% of the US adults abandon carts due to account creating requests, while 26% of them abandoned it due to complicated or too long checkouts. It clearly shows how an easy and quick check out can make a huge difference in sales revenue in the long run.

However, even if the prospect has abandoned the cart for a long time, it’s best to lure them back through enticing email reminders of their cart items. Analyze when the customer left, send an email first with a gentle reminder. Then spice it up with a sense of urgency, offering a discount or mentioning its popularity.  You can also use the help of bulk SMS for the same, a useful tool for this can be retentionrocket.com.

Stock Up the Inventories

Before you decide what scale you market, make sure you would have that amount of inventories ready and piled. Disappointing consumers with stock out or delayed delivery updates is a big setback in a business. It will only lead the consumer to turn their back on you. So you must take a smart leap and manage your inventories in advance. One good way to manage it is through wc-marketplace.com, this can be the solution to all the needs and necessities your marketplace needs.

Utmost Transparency

Treat customers like your respected guests, and they’ll trust you for a long time. The policies of shipping and returns should be clear. The customers should know the regular status of delivery, till it arrives at their doorstep. They should know till how long they can return the product. The offers and discounts should be legit, and the information mentioned on the website should always be right. Following an ethical norm is still essential for an e-commerce website.

Prioritize Your Loyal Customers

There is no doubt that the customers who come to you repeatedly are the most important ones. They trust you and have a good liking towards what you offer. So irrefutably, keeping hold of these customers should always be prioritized. Klaviyo rightly says it, high segmented VIP emails, even if they consist of 3-5% of the list, spend three times more than the other customers.

Furthermore, giving some special advantages to these loyal customers, supposedly, giving them access to the sale a few hours before the actual time, providing membership discounts or extra offers; might make them feel more privileged.

However, skimming through the list and refining the loyal ones might involve some deep work. It’s worth every sweat, though, so hush and get on the business! 

To Sum It Up

Black Friday is an easy break for your business. And to top it up, it’s the talk of the town. With Black Friday just a few days in tow, it’s high time to gear up the best, right away. It’s not rocket science, preparing for the big day, and it’s not difficult to get the most out of this shopping spree when most consumers are already ready with their credit cards to spend their hearts out. Your only job, this Black Friday, is to give your best to show your presence on top of others in every way possible, and you’ll see that rest would be a cakewalk.