Black Friday 2024 is coming, is your strategy ready?
As a payment service provider, we are fully prepared to assist and advise our merchants during this peak season, and we look forward to discovering the new insights we will gain from the hottest time of the year.
Are you confident you’ve planned everything? If you’re still looking for ideas, here’s a list of strategies for success during Black Friday 2024, for both your ecommerce and physical shop. And, of course, with some tips to optimize your payment system!
Happy reading!
Prepare the ground with a world of offers
The marketing tips to maximize Black Friday opportunities are limitless. In a previous article, we highlighted 12 strategies, but this time, we’ll focus on essential tactics every business should plan in anticipation of the peak shopping season.
Kick off special offers: This is your chance to get creative! Consider flash sales lasting a few days, week-long promotions, or exclusive product editions. You can also boost sales with deals like "buy two, get one free," personalized offers based on customer purchase history, or limited-time discounts. The key is to plan your promotions in advance.
Choose the right medium: Email marketing is a game-changer! With a low budget, you can launch effective campaigns to inform customers about your offers. Utilize engaging newsletter templates tailored for the occasion, and create gift guides for Him, for Her or for the kids.
Don’t forget about social media: it’s a powerful platform for reaching your audience. Collaborate with influencers and content creators who can showcase your products in action. Additionally, consider targeted ads to amplify your offers.
If your budget allows, invest in advertising banners in popular shopping areas or high-traffic locations, such as metro stations.
Harness the power of messaging: Want to encourage quicker purchases? Use SMS and messaging apps like WhatsApp to share exclusive offers with your most loyal customers. With mobile shopping on the rise, leverage channels that facilitate quick transactions and provide convenient payment options, such as digital wallets.
Keep Christmas in mind: One major reason to plan your Black Friday strategies carefully is the proximity to Christmas. Consider extending your offers and discounts for a few weeks, or launch a Christmas edition of your product alongside your Black Friday promotions. You won't regret it!
One final, crucial point: prioritize consumer privacy! Share information about your Black Friday offers exclusively with users who have opted in to receive emails and commercial messages. Always ensure compliance with GDPR regulations concerning user privacy.
Plan in-store promotions
If you own a physical store, it’s essential to plan specific strategies for Black Friday 2024 that engage customers in-person. Here are some ideas:
Coupons: An effective way to draw customers into your store is by offering exclusive in-store coupons for your Black Friday deals. Once they’re there, they’ll likely be tempted to “explore more” and make additional purchases.
Product testing: Consider inviting your most loyal customers (or even everyone on your mailing list) to experience your products at the store. This approach works particularly well for tech or clothing retailers. If you run a Food and Beverage business, you could host a special tasting event featuring Black Friday offerings.
Gift packages: With Black Friday coinciding with the holiday season, many customers will be looking for gifts. Take advantage of this by creating attractive gift packages that include some of your best-selling items at a special discount. We’re confident these will fly off the shelves!
Fundraising: Customers appreciate the opportunity to contribute to a good cause. Consider offering promotions that include a donation to a chosen charity. Set up a dedicated corner in your store to showcase the products related to the initiative and display a video about the organization, helping customers feel more connected to the cause while they shop.
Super discounts on unsold items: If you have leftover stock from previous seasons, now’s the time to offer super discounts! Present these items in appealing packaging and create a designated area in your store to highlight these special offers, ensuring they catch customers' attention.
Optimize your checkout for a smooth experience
Especially during peak sales seasons like Black Friday, it’s crucial to provide a perfectly optimized and frictionless checkout process. This not only facilitates sales but also encourages customers to return to your site. Here are some key strategies to enhance your checkout experience:
Integrate checkout into your site: Customers appreciate a seamless payment experience without being redirected elsewhere. By integrating the checkout process directly into your site, you can make it faster and smoother, which boosts user confidence. Consider implementing a dynamic checkout that displays the most suitable payment methods for each user based on their location or the specifics of their transaction. This tailored approach can significantly enhance your conversion rates.
Offer a variety of payment methods: Every customer has unique preferences when it comes to payment. A well-optimized checkout allows users to pay using their preferred methods.
Include multiple options in your payment mix, such as credit cards, digital wallets, and Buy Now, Pay Later solutions. If you’re targeting international customers, enable cross-border sales by offering popular payment methods specific to those markets. A diverse array of payment options can greatly increase both your chances of success and customer trust.
Let your customers pay in their preferred currency: Enable your customers to pay in their home currency, alleviating concerns about currency conversion fees. A reliable payment service provider (PSP) can help you eliminate this barrier to purchasing through multi-currency tools and a wide selection of available currencies. For instance, our merchants can process payments in 37 different currencies, with the option to add more upon request. This solution doesn’t require any commission fees for customers, streamlining the management of international revenues and cross-border sales.
Capitalize on Mobile with digital wallets: If you want to boost mobile purchases, it’s essential to add Google Pay and Apple Pay to your checkout process. Digital wallets are known for providing a fast and frictionless payment experience, which is increasingly valued by smartphone users. During Black Friday, don’t miss out on potential sales by failing to offer these popular, speed-enhancing payment methods.
Want to learn more about creating a faster-than-light checkout? Check out our key strategies for Black Friday 2023!
Integrate the right tools to increase your conversion
Black Friday is a fantastic opportunity to boost your results and enhance your brand visibility. Your payment provider can help you integrate essential tools that not only increase conversions but also encourage repeat purchases. Here are some effective tools we at MultiSafepay recommend to our customers in preparation for peak seasons:
Tokenization: What better way to satisfy your customers than by offering them a secure payment experience? Tokenization allows credit card data to be stored securely as an alphanumeric code, which can be reused for next purchases with a single click. This not only protects consumers (and you) from data breaches but also offers a faster, frictionless purchasing process. Additionally, tokenized data can facilitate recurring transactions, providing a powerful tool to extend your success well beyond November 29.
Second Chance Emails: It’s frustrating when customers abandon their shopping carts just before completing a purchase. One of the most effective ways to recover these sales is through Second Chance emails—personalized reminders automatically sent to users who did not finalize their transactions. This simple yet impactful reminder can significantly boost your conversion rates.
Payment links: Looking for a quick solution to receive payments? Consider using payment links! You can easily send your customers a payment link via their preferred channel, whether it’s email, SMS, or WhatsApp. Generating and sending the link takes only seconds, allowing you to receive immediate payment for orders. This convenient tool is particularly effective for telephone orders, as many of our customers have found.
Allow easier and faster in-person purchases
While Black Friday may seem far off, now is the perfect time to prepare for the influx of customers eager to buy. Consider expanding your range of POS terminals with mobile devices designed specifically for the retail sector. This approach empowers your staff to handle payments anywhere in the store, rather than being confined to the checkout counter.
Not only will this help reduce queues, but many modern payment terminals—like our P3 MIX—offer advanced features, such as displaying promotional items. This can be particularly useful for promoting products that may be temporarily out of stock.
In addition to streamlining operations during busy times like Black Friday, our SmartPOS terminals provide secure, fast payments and a wide range of payment options. They also enhance your ability to manage your point of sale more efficiently, allowing for easy refunds and effective stock management. We’re confident that these versatile tools will soon become indispensable to your retail operations.
Harness the power of data to get to know your customers better
Do you own multiple online and offline points of sale? If so, nothing pairs better with Black Friday than a real omnichannel set up, and it all boils down to one key factor: the power of data.
Imagine having a system that integrates and unifies information from all your touchpoints, especially data about your customers and their transactions. Such a system would provide a comprehensive overview of your business performance and enable more effective customer profiling. Here are some key advantages, particularly during events like Black Friday:
Customized promotions: By understanding your target audience in depth, you can send tailored and strategic promotions based on their previous purchases. This personalized approach increases the likelihood of conversion.
Consistent customer journey: A unified system enhances the customer journey by ensuring consistency across all sales channels. This is increasingly important given today’s cross-channel shopping habits—consider customers who buy online and pick up their purchases in-store.
Performance monitoring: A 360° view of your business allows you to monitor the effectiveness of your promotional campaigns, providing valuable insights for optimization. This data-driven approach helps you make informed decisions that can enhance your overall strategy.
Monitor your campaign
The success of a promotional campaign hinges on many factors, and at the end of Black Friday, it’s important to evaluate your results. If your business goals were achieved, congratulations on a well-done job! However, if the outcomes fell short of your expectations, don’t despair—now is the time to ask the right questions. Were the products suitable? Did you choose the right channels to convey your offers? Do you truly understand your target audience?
These challenges can be addressed. First and foremost, it’s wise to have a Plan B ready to correct any missteps during the campaign. Monitoring every aspect of your efforts is crucial to identify areas for improvement and to plan more optimized actions for the future.
In this regard, our merchants consistently find value in utilizing our dashboard, especially during Black Friday. It helps them avoid mistakes by monitoring payment status in real time and keeping an eye on overall business performance.
What do you think of our strategies?
If you don’t feel completely ready for Black Friday yet, reach out to our Sales team to explore the best solutions for optimizing your payment system and achieving outstanding results this peak season. We’re excited to assist you!
Contact us and get ready for Black Friday 2024
