Checklist: How to Plan for Black Friday and Cyber Monday Promotions

While Black Friday has always been associated with shopping, Cyber Monday now holds its own as a sort of counter-event.

Black Friday is typically the day after Thanksgiving when retailers offer massive discounts on their products to kick off the holiday shopping season.

The term “Black Friday” was coined because many stores would have started making a profit for the year by this point in time, thus allowing them to be back in the “black.” Black Friday became so popular that it started being offered earlier and earlier.

These days Black Friday kicks off online sales promotions for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday began as an effort by retailers to encourage consumers to do their ‘Cyber Shopping’ on websites after Black Friday.

Black Friday is no longer just confined to the day after Thanksgiving but runs for several days – Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are both great opportunities to increase your sales and grow your customer base.

They’re a time when retailers focus on promotions and entice customers with Black Friday coupons and Cyber Monday deals. However, planning ahead will help you prepare for Black Friday instead of scrambling at the last minute.

Here’s a checklist going over some important components that go into planning effective Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions. Make sure to use an online task planner to keep track of all the changes you want to make and follow through on.

Get the word out early

In October or earlier, shoppers begin researching and arranging deals on their favorite items. By planning ahead, you can get the news about your Black Friday specials out to your consumers as early in the season as possible.

The earlier they learn about your discounts, the better positioned they’ll be to leverage them – and the more money you’ll end up making.

Give Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions a unique touch

You can appeal to your customers by offering Black Friday discounts that extend beyond just the Black Friday weekend.

For example, offer Black Friday coupons for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, or give your customers an extra day’s reduction on your products in addition to Black Friday sales promotions.

A little extra effort will generate more interest in special sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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Offer bundles with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals

Combine two related items at a lower price than when offered individually.

Customers like it when they get more ‘bang for their buck!’ This is especially effective if you’re selling multiple items that work together in some way. Keep them connected and save them money!

Offer Black Friday freebies or Cyber Monday free shipping

Offering Black Friday freebies is a great way to wow your customers and incent Black Friday shoppers to get in on your special promotions.

Black Friday coupons for Black Friday deals are an excellent way to offer Black Friday discounts without reducing the value of your products.

Another option is offering Cyber Monday free shipping. When you combine these two offers, you attract even more interest!

Have Cyber Monday and Black Friday price matching policy

You can also attract additional customers by having a Black Friday and Cyber Monday Price Matching Policy in place.

By doing this, the customer will be sure they’re finding the best deal out there.

In addition, by having a clear price match policy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, you avoid being accused of price gouging.

Make Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals easy to find

Don’t make Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers dig for Black Friday coupons or Cyber Monday deals.

Be sure to highlight them on your website so consumers can easily see your Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials.

Putting these offers in a prominent location will ensure they don’t get lost amidst the rest of your site’s content.

Make Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales easily shareable

You can encourage Black Friday sales by making your Black Friday promotions easy to share on social media.

For example, you could create a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale page that includes a special offer for their Facebook friends. You can also go through some good poster design ideas for your black Friday sale, and make a poster that’s super eye-catchy to get more conversions under your way.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers like to tell others about the best Black Friday coupon sites they find. Make it easy for them!

Be flexible with Black Friday and Cyber Monday coupons

Offer Black Friday coupons so customers know they’ll get good deals even if items sell out quickly during the Black Friday weekend.

Also, consider having some other kinds of goodies such as free shipping or $5 off $25 in addition to your actual discounts just to entice Black Friday shoppers to buy from you.

Be sure your Cyber Monday coupons are flexible so shoppers can take advantage of the deals they want even if the items they’re shopping for have already sold out for Black Friday weekend.

Also, offer discounts that aren’t directly tied to Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales promotions such as free shipping or a $5 coupon off a purchase of $25 just to generate online traffic and intrigue Black Friday and Cyber Monday buyers about your store in general.

Keep track of what’s selling during Black Friday and Cyber Monday

In order to prepare for future Black Friday specials, you’ll need to learn from your past promotions’ successes and failures.

By tracking which specific products sell more often than others during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can plan your discounts for products that consistently sell well.

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Offer good-enough stand-alone deals for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Offering Black Friday sales is a great way to increase Black Friday sales but Black Friday prices must remain reasonable even if the customer doesn’t have a coupon code for Black Friday or cannot take advantage of Cyber Monday free shipping.

You should price-match competitor promotions without reducing the value of your product so customers will trust you during their Black Friday shopping experience.

Of course, you should also be offering Black Friday Coupon Codes which allow shoppers to get your products at an even price than other online shopping sites.

Give Black Friday shoppers a Black Friday code

Encourage Black Friday sales by using Black Friday coupons on blackfriday.com that are easy to share with others.

To entice Black Friday visitors, include some form of Black Friday freebies in addition to the actual BlackFriday discount percentage offered on your Black Friday promotional page.

You can also encourage them to shop early encouraging people to start lining up Black Friday deals before Black Friday!

Remember that Black Friday and Cyber Monday Black Friday discounts must be good deals; customers should trust you during their Black Friday shopping experience by knowing that your Black-Friday products’ price hasn’t been reduced as a result of offering Black Friday coupons on BlackFriday.com.

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Make sure your checkout process is super smooth

Have you ever arrived at the check-out stage after a tedious but successful hunt for a bargain only to encounter something go horribly wrong?

Maybe you’re getting an error message, the site is slow, or the page is crashing after you’ve submitted your data. It’s your duty to ensure that this doesn’t happen to your consumers.

A difficult checkout experience is likely to result in cart abandonment, with consumers substituting you with your rivals.

There will be a plethora of deals to choose from, so make sure your customers stay for yours. A chaotic and perplexing checkout page is a turn-off.

Make certain that buttons are clearly visible and accessible. Make sure that only the necessary form fields are included on the page, so as to allow customers to complete their purchase.

Use every marketing channel to your advantage

In most Black Friday and Cyber Monday online Black Friday deals promotions, social media will play a vital part in your success.

Make sure that your Black Friday and CyberMonday BlackFriday discounts and BlackFriday ads on BlackFriday.com are widely publicized on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Pinterest to maximize customers.

Use promotional videos

People spend more time watching videos than reading text online nowadays; this is why video marketing is an excellent way to improve Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

You can create your own promotional videos or hire a professional videographer with adequate expertise in video editing to make it interesting and appealing.

Make sure you choose a catchy music track that complements your video’s theme. Black Friday promotion clips should be short and snappy, yet attention-grabbing.

Post your promotional video on YouTube to further boost its popularity. You can always share it on your other social media platforms to increase sales.

ALSO READ: 10 Ways to Create Product Videos for eCommerce

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Black Friday deals should feel exclusive

“Free Cyber Monday Deals” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? To get more customers shopping during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, offer some other kind of deal in addition to the major Black Friday discounts offered on your site, such as free shipping.

Ensure the deals you’re offering are not the regular deals you offer when it’s not Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Include Live Chat Support with “Click to Chat” buttons on your Black Friday and Cyber Monday landing pages. 

Black-Friday and Cyber Monday promotions bring out stress in customers as they try their best not miss some good deals.

Black Friday deals aren’t as appealing if you know that the best deals are not available because of a customer support issue; this is why it’s essential to offer your customers round-the-clock assistance during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

You should ensure that you add Live Chat Support to your Black Friday and Cyber Monday landing pages, including an invitation for them to click there and chat with someone immediately if they require help or want more information about any Black Friday and Cyber Monday related issue before making a purchase decision.

Conclusion

Planning for Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions can be tough, but it will be even tougher if you forget to keep track of what works well during these sales events!

Use this checklist to make sure you are prepared when customers start making purchases.

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