If you’re like me, you may have been overwhelmed by the amount of email traffic which is generated during November in response to the sales tactics of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Cyber week. Do you wonder how to react, or do you consider joining the discounting frenzy? I strongly advise my clients not to become involved with it. Black Friday is a phenomenon which has reached Britain from the U.S., whereby firms, which may have been operating at a loss all year until Thanksgiving, hope to take in sufficient cash in a single day to move their accounts from being in the red to being in the black for the first time that year. Therefore, any firm which publicises its involvement in Black Friday offers is advertising its own inefficiency! A correctly drawn marketing plan would avoid the need for Black Friday, because the firm would not be operating in the red. It came to England in 2013 when amazon used it to boost their online sales.
Business can learn an important lesson from whales: too much noise has damaging effects, in business and in nature. There was a mass beaching of whales and dolphins during cyber week in New Zealand. Experts believe that marine noise pollution affects the navigational sonar of dolphins and whales, they become disorientated, lose their way, and lose their lives. Don’t let your business be another casualty. Don’t let the noise of Black Friday knock you off course. What is your pricing strategy? How do you normally use price offers to attract customers?
How to avoid your business from becoming beached:
- If you have a well considered, strategic marketing plan drawn up, you will be at less risk of being knocked off-course. You will have a clear grasp of your pricing strategy, you will not accrue debt during the year, and you will not be tempted to follow the crowd into the discounting frenzy.
- If you run your business with a pure-marketing mindset, which puts the customer’s needs first, you will know not to risk that relationship by advertising extreme discounts. I collected some feedback about Black Friday from the Facebook group Social Mums, from which the overwhelming view about it was that “it’s a con”; the promised savings aren’t genuine. My personal experience this November has been to the detriment of a previously preferred supplier, Vistaprint, which is where I have sourced my printing needs to date. However, having been bombarded with news of discounts from them for weeks, I will not pay the list-price again. In future, I will search for a current discount code prior to placing an order; their Black Friday activity has been an own goal.
If you don’t already have a considered, strategic, marketing plan written, please consider working with me to prepare one. You can book a session with me from as little as £15.