With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, it’s critical that small business owners use this time to think about finding inroads into new audiences and pulling our existing audiences back to us with attractive offers that can compete with the big boys.
Last year, shoppers spent $7.4 billion, and $2.9 billion on smartphones. Web traffic increased 137% on Black Friday and 112% on Cyber Monday, over the previous year.
Despite a tumultuous year that included a pandemic, widespread protests and raging wildfires, the US economy is on the road to recovery. With unemployment hitting 6.9% and the stock markets on the rise, we may be in store for a monster holiday season in online sales.
That makes Black Friday a perfect time for small businesses to:
- Drive traffic
- Collect data to improve website performance
- Reduce excess inventory
- Meet customer expectations
- Build email lists
When thinking about the best way to do this, it is critical that you go through your Fall checklist before running any promotions. You will need to up your conversion rate if you’re currently having any issues getting sales on your landing pages.
Check out the fall promotion checklist on our Facebook group.
Looking for some great ways to promote using email, check these out:
1. Use Product Bundles
Product bundles are a great way to re-connect your existing users with product lines that are less popular or off-season. Create a catchy brand name and add items with sagging sales.
Bundling can also increase your average order value, which is great when looking at how much to spend to drive additional traffic to your pages through advertising.
2. Create an “Exclusive Offer”
Building an element of exclusivity is a great way to add value to your offer. There are a few different ways to do this:
Time
Limit the offer to a specific time period, like 24 hours, or 72 hours. Include a countdown on your landing page that adds a sense of urgency.
Channel
Make the offer only available online, on your website (assuming there are also other channels people can buy from you). This is a great way to drive traffic directly to you.
Membership
Limit your offer to members. This will only be relevant if you have a membership program that gives special discounts to your best customers (if you don’t have this, consider it.
3. Launch a Referral Program
In the season of giving, a referral program is a great tool for service businesses. Referral programs are a great way to increase brand awareness and earn new subscribers and customers. Tell your members that they can earn credits towards services by referring others to your business.
Friends will be happy to get the discount from your customers, and your customers will be happy to spread the love.
There are lots of other great ideas out there on how to promote, but these are some of our favorites.
Looking for more great tips on how to connect and grow online? Join our Facebook community and join the discussion!