What should you do, and avoid doing, in order to set your business up for success? We've spoken to our community to share their expert tips.
DOs
Dapper:
Focus on quality over quantity.
"Rather than giving deep discounts, we usually focus more on how and where our products are manufactured and what value they give to the customer year-round. We show the customer that if you purchase a razor from us, it will give you joy for many years to come, and most likely save you some money since you don't need to buy another one next year.
Customers are increasingly thinking about the environmental impact of Black Week, so don't feel like you must join the craziness just because everyone else does it.
If you do go for big discounts, make sure that you have enough people in the warehouse. With Pio, this is much less of a challenge than with a traditional warehouse, so hopefully you might get time for that coffee break even on Black Friday."
Famme:
Keep it simple, and test things out.
"Be sure to test your offer before Black Friday so you know it works. The simplest offer is often the best."
Ko:Ko:
Make a clear plan for both before and after Black Friday.
"Make it very clear to the customer what’s discounted. In other words, be sure to have already discounted items in the online store. Inform when the discount ends and use a countdown if you can. We recommend campaigns on individual categories before Black Friday—so the sales don’t stop the week before. Make plans for good promotions after Black Week. There is no point in having good Black Week sales if the weeks before and after are bad."
Vakre Vene:
Prioritize your customer experience in every way.
"Prepare well in advance by setting up a landing page for SEO. Build customer lists on e-mail, customer club, and social media. Have enough people at work to handle the flow of goods and customer service. Make it easy for the customer to find return policies and exchange rules/deadlines."
DON'Ts
Dapper:
Don't try to trick your customers with pricing ploys.
"Increasing the prices in the weeks leading up to Black Week and then running discounts that aren't really discounts is a tactic that many small and big retailers have utilized over the last years. Be honest and just don't do this. If you can't afford huge discounts, then rather explain to your customers why your products bring them value at the regular price."
Famme:
Avoid discount codes.
"Discount codes never work as well as discounting the item."
Ko:Ko:
Once again—just don't use discount codes.
"No discount codes—there will be many emails and a lot of work for us afterwards from customers who forget to enter the code at checkout."
Vakre Vene:
Don't overcomplicate the offer.
"Don't make the offers too complicated."
