3 Tips to Reach Buyers this Black Friday
Often scarier than Halloween, Black Friday is nearly upon us. The emails and ads have started already, filling in-boxes and creating noise. For even the savviest of buyers, navigating Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals can feel like a chore. According to YouGov, although around 1 in 3 Brits are likely to take part in Black Friday, there is a growing fatigue around the big sales, as more than a third of buyers are starting to lose interest. So, how can you reach buyers at this crucial time of year? How can you cut through the noise and make a difference?
- Make it easy for customers
YouGov notes the key reason for a lack of interest in Black Friday is misleading discounts. There is nothing worse as a buyer than thinking you’re getting a great deal, only to find out that it has changed by the time you check out. Delivering clear messaging across your creative and knowing who your target audience is vital to creating impact over this period. Building in easy links across paid social or stories, priming buyers with the right message at the right time and focusing on deals that are easy to understand at speed can give you cut through. Even consider a teaser campaign to make a difference. Don’t make buyers do the hard work!
Glossier is a great example of a brand that keeps it simple and easy for customers. Their Black Friday and Cyber Monday offering focuses on clear percentage off offers, and early access for loyal customers. As they run limited sales across the year, customers look forward to the discounts and never feel misled. GymShark also helped make shopping Black Friday easy for buyers with a wish-list system. Ensuring customers could find the products that they wanted without the hassle, they directed them through guides on how to create wish lists. This built up hype before the event and kept GymShark top of mind for many buyers.
2. Make it Authentic
Black Friday has become a bit of a battle ground between brands that participate and those who opt out. However, whatever brands choose to do, they have to do it with authenticity. Amazon has long been the champion of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and executes their campaigns with polish. Teasers, reminders, surprise deals and a clear drum beat of noise fits within their brand personality and ethos.
Opting out doesn’t mean staying silent. Ikea focuses on ‘Green Friday’, promoting the circular economy. They offer to buy back and resell furniture, with customers receiving a gift voucher with no expiry date. The outdoor clothing brand REI closes their shop doors on Black Friday and encourages buyers to get outside and make the most of the great outdoors.
Staying true to your brand values is critical to making this buying season work for you. If you opt out, ensure you can use the noise to make a difference to others or to a cause close to your brand.
3. Make it Count
Brand loyalty is difficult to cultivate, but doing the right thing by your existing buyer at this time of year can pay off in future purchases. This doesn’t mean cutting off all targeting to new audiences, but pushing some perks, extra days or even extra discounts can help make a difference and ensure that your devoted buyers feel looked after during the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Papier ran a ‘Secret Sale’ for their members with password access to the sale site. There were personalised product recommendation, giving a new meaning to VIP pre-sale. Nike also focused on offering exclusive and personalised offers to their Nike Plus members. Members were given an early access code to find deals that were tailored around their previous purchases.
Black Friday is an opportunity to make connections with buyers, whether you opt in or opt out. It’s all about the execution. Focus on making it easy, making it authentic and then making it count. What you do in these one or two days could mean connecting with a wave of new buyers, or putting them off for life.
