Plotting Black Friday
By Karen J. Bannan
Every year on Black Friday my friend Lori wakes up at 4 a.m. and hits the stores. I think she's nuts, but then I value sleep more than a 50 percent off promotion. On Sunday, Lori asked me if I would send her a link to some of the Black Friday preview sites--the sites like Black Friday Ads that scan advance copies of store circulars and post them in a searchable fashion. While the average store or business owner isn't going to get their ad posted to a site such as this, there's plenty you can learn from the big box and department stores. Here are a few tips you can--and should--steal.
Create Buzz: Are the sales on Black Friday really that great? Well, in some cases they are, but I noticed that I did just as well at Target's three-day pre-Thanksgiving sale and I didn't have to wake up at an ungodly hour. Target and its competitors play on the fact that Black Friday is billed as THE shopping day of the year. You can create your own must-shop day with a little footwork and promotion. For example, do like the big guys do and created limited sales windows. Get in at 9 a.m., your ad might say, or miss out on the best prices.
Use Your Site: Companies that do the best on Black Friday don't just limit themselves to in-store deals. They allow consumers to purchase their special prices online or--even better--create Internet-only deals, which get consumers to shop online as well as in stores. Online shoppers care about Black Friday, according to a recent report from Hitwise. "Black Friday ads" searches have spiked 143 percent and traffic is up 45 percent year-over-year. They are up 954 percent since 2005, according to the study.
Invest in Pay-Per-Click Advertising. Black Friday has spawned Cyber Monday, which is the Monday after Black Friday. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc. estimates that Americans could spend $700 million on that Monday alone. Sure, Cyber Monday is yet another made-up marketing ploy (last year Cyber Monday was only the 12th busiest online shopping day, according to comScore) but if consumers think there are great deals to be had, many more may flock online this year. Heck, online spending is already up 17 percent year-over-year for November.
Put Coupons Out There: Many stores such as Macy's get customers into the store on Black Friday, and give them a reason to come back by printing out coupons that can only be used on future shopping trips. Macy's is giving shoppers a $10 off $25 coupon, for example. One of my favorite local toy stores, Fun Stuff Toys, sent out catalogs with a $10 off of $75 coupon. Did I use it? Heck, yes. Would I have shopped there normally? Maybe, maybe not.
While these tips may seem basic, few local retailers take advantage of them, thinking that they can't compete with the big guys. This simply isn't true. Give a potential customer a reason to shop, and they are going to shop. Black Friday or not.
What's your Black Friday strategy? Tell us more in the Comments section.
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