Give Meaning to Your 2018 Black Friday Promotions.

Last year, Splio published this infographic, discussing the incredible growth of Black Friday for European retailers and e-tailers. The 2017 edition of Black Friday was a real success in Europe, but it doesn’t follow the same format or have the same objectives as in the U.S. Here, we’ll take a look at what conclusions can be drawn regarding 2017, what the plans are for 2018, and which strategy to implement for November.

Black Friday 2017 – Drawing Conclusions.

European brands have successfully capitalized on Black Friday, and you’ll need to keep these points in mind for your 2018 strategy:

• Does Black Friday only take place on November²³? Last year, the sales lasted 8 days across all retail channels!
• Online or offline? Both! Black Friday is omnichannel. Retailers and e-tailers can direct traffic to just one of their sales channels or to both their website and physical stores. The website Black-Friday.sale reported a 30% increase in online sales and a 33% increase in total sales for the 2017 event.
• Black Friday for brick-and-mortar retailers and Cyber Monday for online retailers? The one and only seasonal event for everyone! Black Friday has overtaken Cyber Monday, creating a week-long sales event.
• Just another promotional week? Not quite. Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to kick off the end-of-year sales season on the right foot. You just need to incorporate it into a clear sales funnel leading up to the 2019 winter season.

2018 Black Friday rule: “Surprise me!”

"Promotion" isn't necessarily a bad word, and it doesn't have to involve over-the-top sales tactics. In Europe, Black Friday isn't synonymous with all-caps headlines, spam, and fluorescent yellow billboards. It's up to you, marketers, to create your own Black Friday, to take it to the next level, and to craft a seasonal event that makes sense for your brand, your customers, and your prospects.

Give your promotions meaning! Black Friday is a seasonal event that attracts customers primarily because it revolves around promotions. But what kind of experience do you want to offer your customers during this period? Your strategy this year should be to give your promotions meaning by communicating your positioning and philosophy regarding Black Friday: create an event— one that’s uniquely yours.

1. What is your client’s approach to Black Friday? Don’t forget that it takes place right after Thanksgiving in the U.S., a time for family gatherings. Is this the right time for your clients to enjoy the holiday? To surprise their families? To start thinking about Christmas so they can make this time even happier and more meaningful?
2. What is your brand’s positioning? Is it time for you and your brand to highlight a value you care about and use Black Friday as a platform?
3. What if you focused on giving back and doing good deeds during Black Friday 2018? As we know, Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving. But it also takes place just one month before Christmas. To give your Black Friday a meaningful purpose—while still capitalizing on its sales potential—you could consider making small donations and partnering with NGOs. A socially conscious Black Friday or a charity-focused one? That’s a commitment that’s sure to resonate with Millennials and give you the chance to launch a PR campaign.

What's the strategy for November: promotions or emotions?

Gain or retain customers with Black Friday? Both ! Make the most of Black Friday by launching both a loyalty campaign and an acquisition campaign, using these two segments to target your database. Use a transactional tone of voice when communicating with prospects and a more personal tone when communicating with loyal customers.

• A campaign visual that grabs your readers’ attention, an overarching theme, and a personalized message tailored to each individual. Then, by leveraging your understanding of your customers and using personalization, you can use this event to invite your loyal customers to your physical store or online shop and offer them a promotion on a product they’ve previously shown interest in.
• Special offers for everyone and personalized attention for your loyal customers and brand advocates, thanks to the buzz you’ll generate around Black Friday, the unique experience you’ll provide on your e-commerce website, or the retail entertainment events you’re organizing at your busiest store.

So what’s the schedule for Black Friday?

Start your communications in early November, right after Halloween, and implement a regular omnichannel communication strategy, beginning with a weekly email campaign, in line with the special strategy you are planning for Black Friday. 

1. First week:
   • Starting November⁵, get your clients and prospects excited by announcing Black Friday week and what you’re planning to do on November 23.
   • An email with a real-time countdown (which updates every time the recipient opens the email) would be a great way to pique your readers’ curiosity.
   • This might also be a good opportunity to explain your philosophy regarding this busy time of year: is it a time to enjoy yourself, or to make the people you love happy?
2. Second week:
   • Customize your messages based on your knowledge of your customers and the analysis you conducted after your last email campaign.
   • Offer seasonal recommendations, suggest a gift they might like based on their purchase history, and recommend a great deal for their relatives.
3. Third week:
   • Analyze the open and click-through rates from your previous campaigns and highlight the top 3 products your customers are interested in with the promotion they deserve.
   • Think about gifts for loyal customers—a little Black Friday bonus.
   • Encourage visits to the website or in-store!
4. November²³:
   • Today's great deals.
   • Share updates about your event online or in-store!
5. Until Cyber Monday, let your customers take advantage of the last great deals.

Black Friday could be the perfect opportunity for your brand to stand out in a competitive market while keeping your conversion, loyalty, and sales goals in mind.

Have a great sales period!