Thursday November 25, 2021

Black Friday

Black Friday isn’t a MUST for all brands and businesses and here’s why.

This Friday is Black Friday, the hugely anticipated day of knock-down prices, big deals and tempting offers to make you part with your money. Its growing popularity has meant it is often a whole week of hard-to-resist offers, or are they?

It started in America and the date corresponds with Thanksgiving and family gatherings. It was identified as an opportunity for the feel-good family vibe to overflow into consumerism, a popular holiday past time. This winning combination presented an ideal chance for stores and brands to shift their old stock at slashed prices, create a furore and entice people to start to feel festive and buy their Christmas presents. It also provided a perfect marketing incentive and boost to late November retail sales, as they often slumped before the December big spend.

But be warned!
You do need to check the deals are as good as they claim. 

You need to ask yourself; do I really need this item – reduced prices for something you need is a deal but unwanted items, no matter the cost, are wasteful. 

Can you really afford the item, regardless of the saving you are being promised?

Business advice:
Small businesses often cannot afford to compete but feel compelled, they shouldn’t.

If you are a small business and you think by reducing your prices people will love you more, buy again and support you. You are wrong. Discount hunters will only ever be reduced price customers.

There are times when it is advantageous to offer a discount to targeted customers but please make sure whatever the offer is, that it aligns with your most valuable customer profile and there is something in it for you. Rewarding loyalty and showing an appreciation for purchasing high value products may warrant a thank you discount on occasion. However, offers or discounts must be in exchange for something of value to you, an email address, a verified service/product recommendation, a multi-product purchase, or an early bird offer, for a truly limited time, to encourage a purchase or commitment for a big value item.

But if you are just cutting a price of a product because you think you should – you could be slowly undermining your services, your perceived value and reducing your business profit. Because, if you are always running deals, full paying customers might become resentful at having paid the full price. Or more damaging you might find your revenue streams start to slow down, as customers wait for the next deal. And guess what, you panic and offer another deal, and the perpetual problem keeps on occurring.

Offers and deals need to be earned and exclusive, don’t just give them away. Rewarding positive action is a great business growth tool.

Here's a solution:
If you want to offer a deal, why not create a specific product for this sole purpose? That way it doesn't harm your business model, it's a stand alone and can be seasonal, a mini product or introduction to a service that leads a customer gently into purchasing a bigger and more expensive item. 

I know many big brands that will never embrace Black Friday and they are happy to tell you that. You might even spot them on social media tomorrow shouting it from the rooftops! As a customer I am reassured buying from these businesses and brands because I know I will never feel disappointed that I didn’t get the product or service cheaper if I had waited.

If you have old stock you want to shift, yes put it on sale or reduce the price. But don't then sell it later at full price. Be true to your business.

Please value your business, your time, your products, and services and align your business with your ideal customer who understands the true cost of excellence.