The month of November commences the holiday shopping season following Halloween. Black Friday is almost here followed by Christmas, boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. For businesses, it is the most important and busiest time of the year with millions of customers looking to find the best deals online and offline. With this said, businesses need to devise workable strategies to keep up with the market and at the same time run smooth operations. Here are 10 game changing strategies you can implement at limited cost to capitalize on this year’s Black Friday. Besides, if you do well, you’ve got the whole month of December customers if your marketing is effective from the start.
1. Psychological Pricing
We all know that during the month of November leading to Thanks giving and Black Friday, low prices triumph. So, your prices should be set in such a way that they attract customers and at the same time do not result to loss. Low profit margins give you better value in the long run with the newfound brand recognition and improved database. More importantly, how you place these prices may also determine your success. You could use charm pricing which ends in 9 or 99 so products that cost .99 sell better than a bland price of 0. Another great way to execute effective pricing is by spicing up your buy one get one free deals with different value upon complete purchase of the major product. For example, coffee mate gave out free coffee mugs on a purchase of their product.
2. Digital Marketing
According to research, over 60 percent of sales are now online so basically, some of the shopping stampede simply changed into online traffic on e-commerce stores. Digital marketing is the future of marketing with traditional channels still efficient but not completely effective or affordable. We cannot all have our products on bill boards or on TV but digital marketing ensures that you don’t really need to be. You can create exclusive social media landing page or website for the Thanksgiving weekend and merge with systems that support marketing strategies like flash sales, promo codes, lead generation, text blast, gifts, and more. Also, ensure that your site is mobile friendly as most shoppers now browse online straight from their smart phones especially when on the move.
3. Audience Segmentation and Targeted Marketing
Market research and consumer behavior is as important as your sales especially for startups looking to grow and expand. Audience segmentation allows you to organize your database according to preference, gender, age group, demographics, purchase history and any other factor relevant to their business. By doing this, you can send out organized campaigns using effective channels. These campaigns will now be according to those specific customers and will definitely have better response rates as compared to before.
4. Incentive Based Marketing and Referral Programs
Referral marketing is a prime example of low budget marketing which is usually the case of,” you scratch my back I scratch yours”. You can offer loyal customers additional incentives to serve as influencing motive to get more customers in return for value in the form of discount, freebies and gift cards. These customers would now serve as marketing ambassadors of your organization and build trust in new customers. An existing customer using your product or service has a better chance than marketers to get customers. The marketer usually lists out the benefits of your product whereas a customer shares their experience with your company.
5. Countdown Flash Sales
Hourly special countdown sales do wonders for your business as customers perceive it as products of value that you cannot get after that specific time period. This has a psychological effect on customers who think of the product as must have. For example, during the wedding season, you could find hundreds of brides to be standing outside of stores waiting in line for last minute discounted flash sales.
Source: https://topsitenet.com/article/127077-10-black-friday-marketing-tips-to-boost-sales/
