- 31.9% of consumers who are in your store will conduct research to compare prices, gather reviews, and find online coupons from their smartphones while shopping.
- You shouldn’t only be focusing on driving in new customers, but also bringing in already existing customers, keeping your audience small and valuable.
- With the continuous advances in technology, online shipping has almost taken over from shopping in-store, which is partly why Cyber Monday has become as big as it has.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are the three days that kick off the holiday shopping season every year and they have arrived!
Black Friday
According to last year’s Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation’s (NRF), the top consumers on Black Friday are usually women under the age of 25. These women are young and usually on a budget searching for the best deals around. It is important for a company to be promoting Black Friday coupons and promotional ads throughout all sources of social media and not just designating it to one source, such as your website. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all other digital platforms your business can be found on should be overflowing with Black Friday promotions. 31.9% of consumers who are in your store will conduct research to compare prices, gather reviews, and find online coupons from their smartphones while shopping.
Black Friday is also a great time to have contests throughout the store that provide special discounts for the people who win. These contests are a great way to drive more traffic into your store and they create even more opportunities for customers to make impulse days. Lastly, Black Friday should be used to advertise any promotions you might have for Cyber Monday. Including an online code with every Black Friday purchase is a good way to draw shoppers back for Cyber Monday.
Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is the perfect way to thank and acknowledge your local community for helping you become the business that they love. Small Businesses can sign up to participate in Small Business Saturday by visiting this page over at American Express. On this page, you can request free marketing material for both print and digital advertising. You want to cater to your loyal customers by providing deals through email blasts, Facebook posts, Twitter, and also direct contact. Add the hashtags #Shopsmall, and #Smallbizsat to posts on your different social media accounts.
You shouldn’t only be focusing on driving in new customers, but also bringing in already existing customers, keeping your audience small and valuable. Use this day to engage with your community, telling the story of your business, or by offering free tours and samples. Alternative ideas include extending your store hours, giving a percentage of sales to a community charity, and offering thank you gifts for a purchase over a certain amount. Use these tips to build an interaction with consumers in a positive way for both them and also your business.
Cyber Monday
Since it had its start in 2008, Cyber Monday has skyrocketed in terms of popularity among shoppers. With the continuous advances in technology, online shipping has almost taken over from shopping in-store, which is partly why Cyber Monday has become as big as it has. In Prosper Insights & Analytics for NRF, they found that females over the age of 35 are the top buyers on Cyber Monday. Besides finding a great deal, another key component getting shoppers to click that purchase button is free shipping. Consumers are looking for free, or even a discounted shipping to go along with their purchase.
Just like for Black Friday, any promotions, sales, and discounts should be advertised among all social media platforms. You could set up reminder emails to be sent out to customers who left items in their online cart and may have forgotten about them. The biggest and most important thing to do when participating in Cyber Monday is to make absolutely sure that your website is running on all cylinders. Spending the extra money to ensure that your site will run as smoothly as possible is a must because you could not only lose sales throughout the day, but you could potentially be ruining your brand image.
Whether you’re preparing for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday, always remember that consumers are looking for the satisfaction of knowing they have found a good bang for their buck.
