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With shoppers spending a whopping $9.12 billion in online sales alone in 2022, Black Friday is easily one of the most pivotal times of the year for small businesses.1
But with great opportunity comes great responsibility — and potential for stress. Unless this is your first holiday season, you’re likely familiar with the planning, strategy, and creativity it takes to compete with larger retailers, capture a greater market share, and remain calm through the frenzy.
As shoppers eagerly await possibly the best deals of the year, here are some ways to prepare your small business for successful Black Friday sales.
Black Friday isn't just another sales event. It's a cornerstone for small business’s annual revenue — the National Retail Foundation estimates that holiday sales between November and December make up approximately 19% of annual retail sales.2
In other words, a poorly planned Black Friday could mean missing out on massive opportunities to find new customers, generate sales, and grow your business.
Everyone wants to win at Black Friday, but what does that look like for your business?
Before diving into the nitty-gritty details of marketing campaigns and promotional strategies, take the time to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
For example, your Black Friday goals may be related to:
Before deciding which products should be front and center of your Black Friday marketing campaign, you should know what’s on your physical and virtual shelves.
To conduct a product audit, look at your inventory and ask yourself: What items could be potential bestsellers? Then, assess inventory levels to ensure you neither run out of stock nor end up with unsold goods taking up valuable space.
With retailers promising irresistible doorbusters and massive savings left and right, it’s essential to create eye-catching deals to catch a shopper’s eye.
You can consider:
Determining your Black Friday offers is just the first half of the equation. To lure shoppers to your sale, writing persuasive copy that drives home the benefits of your promotions and creates a sense of urgency is just as crucial.
As more consumers choose to do their Black Friday shopping online rather than face in-person crowds, delivering a seamless online experience is key.
Get started with these website optimization ideas:
With retailers investing an average of $2.5 billion in holiday season advertising in the last few years, you’ll need a strong marketing strategy to stand out from the noise.3
Some must-haves in your marketing arsenal may include:
More orders being placed means an inevitable influx of help tickets and customer requests — with shoppers still expecting fast and personalized customer support.
To meet these demands, you’ll need to train staff to handle the increased load effectively. Consider filling the gaps by implementing live chat, chatbots, personalized support messages, and additional engagement channels.
Investing in a local SEO strategy can mean the difference between being a go-to destination for Black Friday shoppers and getting lost in the sea of competitors.
To attract more organic traffic, research Black Friday-specific keywords relevant to your industry and sprinkle them throughout your website. Even better, create a targeted Black Friday content marketing strategy that includes blog posts, shopping guides, or videos highlighting your unique offerings. It can take some time to rank for organic keywords, so plan your marketing strategy early.
Not sure how to get started with technical SEO? Use this checklist.
One of the worst things that can happen to any business on Black Friday is a malfunctioning website that prevents shoppers from placing orders.
So, before the big day, make sure to:
Whether or not shoppers camp out in front of your store on Thanksgiving, you’ll want to prepare your physical store for Black Friday by:
Black Friday weekend can be chaotic, and things may not always go to plan. Luckily, performance tracking and data analysis can help you significantly increase success.
Track your analytics (like website traffic, conversion rates, and sales numbers), and don’t be afraid to make real-time adjustments to your strategies as orders and new insights come in. For example, if you notice that a particular product is selling out faster than anticipated, you could adjust your marketing focus to highlight other attractive deals or bundles.
Don't let the momentum die down after Black Friday. After you give yourself a pat on the back, you’ll want to sit down and brainstorm ways to retain the new customers you've acquired.
Here are some popular customer retention strategies:
With these tips, you'll help boost your Black Friday sales and lay a strong foundation for your small business's future growth.
In partnership with three expert business owners, the PayPal Bootcamp includes practical checklists and a short video loaded with tips to help take your business to the next level.
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