The opinions expressed by the associates of the entrepreneur are their very own.
Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — is the most important procuring day of the 12 months and the beginning of the vacation season, which for a lot of retailers can contribute as a lot as 30% of their annual gross sales. So it is a massive day. However if you happen to suppose Black Friday is simply in regards to the vacation season, you are flawed.
After all, the day is vital for holidays. Black Friday was the most important in-store procuring day within the US in 2022, reaching 72.9 million consumers, up almost 15% year-over-year. However it’s equally vital for after holidays. That is as a result of Black Friday is not nearly gross sales. It is actually in regards to the knowledge.
My smartest shoppers know this. Their precedence is to make use of Black Friday as a technique to gather as a lot info as attainable from everybody who enters their retailer. Why? As a result of the info they gather will assist drive gross sales lengthy after the vacations are over.
Retailers of all sizes face a big drop in gross sales after the vacations, and it is all the time troublesome to generate demand. But it surely would not should be that method. The information you collect from Black Friday visitors can enhance your gross sales in these sluggish winter months. So how do you do it? You want a purpose to maintain the client engaged.
To get began, gather your e mail at checkout. Asking for a “like” or a optimistic on-line evaluation is nice, however that is not the way you gather knowledge. E mail solicitation is a technique to management engagement. It is true that typically some folks do not wish to share, and that is okay too, as a result of folks have to decide on if you wish to market to them on-line. So encourage them. Inform them you’ll add them to your particular “VIP Buyer Membership”, which is able to permit them to obtain future reductions and particular promotions. Some retailers ask if the client would love their bill emailed to them, which is one other good technique to collect that info.
One other technique is to push guests to your web site. We hope that you simply promote your merchandise not solely in your retailer but in addition by way of an e-commerce platform. When you do not, you actually ought to as a result of my most profitable shoppers promote merchandise on a number of channels. On Black Friday, provide a particular promotion for patrons who select to buy merchandise on-line or particular online-only merchandise. When somebody buys from you on-line, you gather their info and may give them the choice so as to add their e mail to your VIP membership at checkout. At a minimal, you’ll gather bodily delivery/order info that can be utilized for future postcard mailings.
Take into account a raffle. It is easy and old-fashioned, but it surely’s an efficient technique to gather an e mail handle or a bodily mailing handle. Have them drop off a enterprise card or fill out a kind to get a services or products without cost and, after all, ask on that kind for permission to be added to your VIP membership. Your price of making a gift of free stuff is minimal in comparison with the advantages of utilizing that knowledge for future advertising.
A lot of my retail shoppers set up occasions. These are corporations that largely provide experiences or way of life merchandise and revel in in-store occasions to additional educate their group. The pandemic has taught us that these sorts of occasions may also work on-line. Schedule an occasion for January or February and advertise in your retailer. Folks would wish to join this occasion, so have an internet or bodily method to do that to seize their info.
Accomplice with others. All of the above actions might be repeated by your mates on Principal Avenue. By providing joint promotions with a few of them, you’ll be able to pool your assets and share your knowledge. This fashion you’ll be able to probably double the quantity of data you gather on Black Friday.
Lastly, use a loyalty program. The recommendations I made above would have minimal price. However if you wish to step issues up – and pay extra – you’ll be able to subscribe to retail loyalty platforms like Clutch, Recharge, Smile.io and others. These platforms—largely designed for cell use—permit your prospects to build up factors, acquire entry to present playing cards, belong to a recurring program, be part of sure membership ranges, and reap the benefits of VIP “unique” provides. They supply real-time knowledge evaluation of program utilization, might be custom-made and built-in with different software program.
These are all nice methods to collect the info you want. However what issues most is what to do with the info upon getting it. And for this you want a very good buyer relationship administration (CRM) program.
A CRM is only a database that can retailer all the data you get about everybody who has entered your retailer. Some loyalty platforms and most point-of-sale programs both provide this functionality or might be built-in with a stand-alone CRM system, and there are numerous platforms obtainable at an reasonably priced worth. You’ll use this database to construct demographics and gross sales historical past about your prospects.
When a CRM system is used correctly, no buyer – or potential buyer – falls by way of the cracks. Utilizing the info you collected on Black Friday and in the course of the vacation season, they need to obtain common (opt-in) emails or postcards from you about product provides, occasions or different actions at your retailer. You should utilize the info to focus on particular prospects primarily based on what they purchased from you. You should utilize the info to create comparable campaigns on Fb and Google, the place you’ll be able to goal on-line advertisements on to them. As you construct this database, you may construct a group of shoppers you’ll be able to return to 12 months after 12 months.
And that is a very powerful factor about Black Friday. It is not simply someday of gross sales. Additionally it is a day to gather knowledge for future gross sales. When you method it that method, you may see a rise in income that may final properly previous the vacation season.