Black Friday: How Brands Can Get It Right

Is it right for your brand?

Despite the popularity of Black Friday (Brits are predicted to spend £3.95 billion this year across Black Friday and Cyber Monday), it may not be right for all brands. 

Some brands, like Patagonia, don’t subscribe to the idea of peddling discounted items for environmental reasons. 

Some keep prices the same (or even raise them), but then give the profits from Black Friday to charitable organisations. 

You need to be sure that your decision stays true to your brand values and those of your customers.

Make your discount count

Average discounts across the UK last year were 24%. Realistically, most eCommerce deals need to be over 10% to have an impact.

Reframe the idea of Black Friday as an opportunity to generate new customers, not just to make one-time profits. 

Some brands will even take a hit on profits and focus instead on the lifetime value of the customer.

To define your strategy make sure you are clear on the reasons behind your offer and what you are trying to achieve.

Keep it simple

From a customer point of view, a flat discount across all products is the easiest to communicate and understand.

That said, reducing a single product range is a valid strategy if you’d rather focus on increasing brand awareness over the long term.

Whatever your involvement in Black Friday, be clear what success looks like, and don’t jump on the bandwagon without understanding your KPIs.

Make sure your messaging is tight

Get your creative right and keep it consistent across all your channels. 

It goes without saying, but your social ads, emails, display ads, and website need to sing from the same hymn sheet – Black Friday is no exception.

By all means differentiate the campaign from your normal activity, but keep it consistent with your overall brand message.

Remember, you want to be recognised as you, not every other Black Friday sale.

Consider all your channels

If you’re going to do Black Friday, don’t half-ass it. Once you have your creative, commit to it on every channel.

That means hero image, site content, emails to current customers, and organic social media all need to inform your current customers of the offer.

Paid media, like social ads, PPC, display etc will also drive new customers and let them know about your plans in the run up.

We recommend a teaser campaign. A good rule of thumb is to start the campaign four weeks ahead of Black Friday, then up the frequency when you’re two weeks out.

Get data

Black Friday is not just a sales tool, but a way to grow your audience and continue to talk to them.

Use the campaign to increase your social following, collect email addresses, and grow your email list.

Increased traffic is the perfect way to understand how customers behave and optimise your website and product offering down the line.

If you need any support to plan your Black Friday campaign, don’t hesitate to get in touch – we’re more than happy to give you some free advice.