Black Friday: Why Your Business Can’t Afford to Miss It

Black Friday has continued to grow in significance in Australia, jetting across from its origins in America to become the biggest day of retail sales in the country. We have concrete proof that Australians have not only adopted America’s post-Thanksgiving bargain hunt but that it’s become an expectation from consumers for companies to put together attractive discount offers of their products. For you and your business, it’s a necessity to meet this expectation, so you’re not left behind.

Consumers are ready to spend on Black Friday.

Because Black Friday has become a pillar of the consumer experience, customers are now saving their money in the preceding months, waiting to spend it across the sales. This is great news – it’s a business’ dream to have motivated shoppers who are ready to spend! It was estimated in 2020 that Australians would spend $5 billion during the four days of Black Friday sales, up from an estimated $3.9 billion in 2019. The reality of this motivated spending is harsh – depending on your preparation and campaign, it’s either you or your competitors who get that revenue.

Competitors will leave you behind.

Every year businesses are getting better prepared in their strategies for Australia’s biggest day of shopping. Constructing enticing deals and marketing them across the right platforms means customers are adding to their cart as soon as the sales go live. If your business is behind the eight ball in putting a strategy together, a lack of customer awareness may result in fewer sales than your competitors (no matter how great the discounts you’re offering are).

Are you ready for Black Friday?

Okay, so what do you need to do to be ready?

1. Crunch the numbers.

Before implementing any strategy for your business, you need to sit down and methodically calculate which of your products are best suited for the Black Friday sales. For example, do you have high quantities of certain items? Is there older stock you want gone? Or is the mark-up higher on certain products, allowing for greater discounts?

After you’ve got an idea of the best-suited products, work out how much you’re willing to discount them. Following this, consider what your ‘hero’ product of the sale will be – what item is the most eye-catching and memorable in your marketing collateral.

2. What advertising platforms will you target?

The next step is either engaging an advertising agency ­– who specialises in honing your message and targeting the right audience – or working on gaining this extensive knowledge yourself. This is one of the critical components of the process ­– no matter how much money you spend on advertising or how great your creative content is, you’re not going to see a return if it’s misplaced.

What’s your Google Search strategy?

When it comes to colossal shopping events such as Black Friday, Google Ads is the king of kings. With millions utilising the search platform to peruse and compare deals, your position in Google Adsdetermines how many eyes see your offer.

Unify’s Performance Director, Oliver Notley, says that for business owners, the key is to be prepared, “While Black Friday comes and goes in the blink of an eye, success is defined in the preceding weeks. Therefore, businesses should have their strategy in place and taper their ad copy to ensure consumers are aware of their deals long before they go live. Our analytics make it clear that customers search for Black Friday deals in advance; you can capture this audience with early implementation of your strategy, creating motivated consumers for when your discount offers drop.”

An area that gets overlooked, Oliver points out, is Google Shopping, “While Google Shopping won’t be the ‘do or die’ for your business, it’s an effective tool in generating awareness of your Black Friday offers. You can embed promotional extensions into your products on the platform, so if a potential customer views your products, this merchandise will follow them across a range of sites. This means that when you add that promotional extension, it will pop up with your products, making customers aware of your deal and motivating them to purchase.”

What’s your Facebook Ads strategy?

Advertising on Facebook is critical to maximising positive outcomes for your business during the sale period, says Oliver, “Facebook is a ‘push’ platform, meaning that it puts your brand out to customers who aren’t necessarily looking for your products or services. Everyone loves a deal, and there’s no better way of getting new customers onboard than an attractive Black Friday offer. Facebook takes your business to new markets and audiences.”

Now you may or may not have heard of CPMs (cost per thousand). If you haven’t, Oliver says it’s imperative to know how they’re impacted by the spike in advertising of Black Friday, “The two things that impact your CPMs are the quality of your advertisement and how much competition you have for advertising space. Because Black Friday creates exponential growth in advertising and increases competition, your CPM is going to increase regardless of if you promote special offers or not. So you’ve got to play ball or pay the price for your indifference.”

3. Send out an electronic direct mail (EDM).

We’re all the main characters of our lives, and even on a subconscious level, we want others to perceive us this way as well. By making your customers feel valued and important, you build up loyalty; one way of doing this is by sending out an electronic direct mail (EDM). Sending an email to your subscriber base, personally telling them about your Black Friday deals, allows you not only to target a motivated audience, but it strengthens your connection with the customer. So when they’re choosing who to spend their Black Friday budget on, you’re the first name that comes to mind.

It’s important not to leave your EDM too late ­– customers will receive an abundance of emails and yours may be lost in a sea of others if you wait too long. You could also consider starting your sale a few days earlier for your subscribers, rewarding them for their patronage. Alternatively, you could provide them with a catalogue that outlines your impending sales, giving them exclusive knowledge that puts them ahead of the crowd.

You make the rules this Black Friday.

We talk about Black Friday as if it’s a solitary day ­– it’s not. Black Friday has increasingly become sales that can last up to two weeks, with companies starting a week before and continuing for a week after. How your business decides to approach Australia’s biggest spending spree is entirely up to you. If you’ve prepared well and implemented an effective strategy, then why not maximise your success?

Get excited!

Most of all, get excited for Black Friday! It’s a retail event with wins for both businesses and consumers. Feeling like your business needs a Black Friday shake-up strategy? Unify can take the reins for you and maximise your profits this spending season.