Make Every Day A Black Friday!!!!

Tomorrow you will see another side of retail and of people. Queues in stores will be streaming out the doors, people will be setting their alarms to get into stores or get online as early as possible, to ensure they grab, what they believe, will be the biggest and best deals of the year. There will be pushing, shoving and eager aggression to save BIG. E-commerce stores will see their sales soar to greater levels than their Boxing Day sales, with this being one of their biggest trading days of the year.

So what is Black Friday and why all the hype?

“Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States (the fourth Thursday of November). Since 1952, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., and most major retailers open very early (and more recently during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales.” Wikipedia.

So let me ask you how it would feel to reach Black Friday sales in your business every day? Is it not strange that we all refer to many Mondays as a “Blue Monday” when in reality there should also only be one blue Monday a year! 

“Blue Monday is a name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) claimed to be the most depressing day of the year.” Wikipedia.

Why is it that we are so easily attracted to negative rather than positive trends? Is it just because it is easier to go with the flow of negative influences in the market rather than trying to turn things around in a positive way? Or is it as a result of us constantly looking for excuses or someone or something to blame for our poor results?

What if you planned your sales ahead of time, focused on who and how you could reach new and existing customers with compelling deals and offers. I am not saying start discounting and marking down your services and products on a daily or weekly basis, but ask yourself where your business would be if your customers believed every day was a Black Friday?

Believe me, I love a deal and I am often drawn to the big “SALE” signs but why is this the case? Is it a result of me not seeing value in goods or services at the standard prices? Is it the thought of getting an advertised deal that excites me? Why will I buy three items of the same product, when I originally only planned to buy one? I believe there are a host of emotions that make me and many others crazy sale shopper. 

So how can you create that excitement in the life of your customers every day? How do you upsell and get them to want to buy more from you? These are questions you should be asking yourself every day. We all know that getting a new customer into your business is a costly process, so holding onto your customers is the key to continued sales success. You want and need your customers to do your marketing for you, bringing their friends, family and Facebook tribe into your business.

Here are a few tips to help you get this right

• Show your customers the value in your product or service - it is not always all about the price, it is more importantly to know and understand what you get for your buck!
• Be willing to back your product and service - if you are not confident in your goods or services how can you expect others to support you?
• Make your customer "King" - This should be the most obvious one, remember there is always someone else out there willing and fighting to try win your customers over.
• Make it easy - Look at ways of easing the sale process, many online retailers have achieved this with easy to use mobile apps, if it is difficult to buy from you, your customers will find someone who will take the pain out of the sale.
• Focus on after sales service - This is the key to retaining customers and getting repeat business as well as referrals. If you are looking for quick sales and have no intention of looking after your customers someone else will.
• Understand what your customers want and need - People buy for one of two reasons either they need something or they want something, (This is a debate for many woman. Is 50 pairs of shoes a need or a want?) If you cannot fill a "need" or create a demand i.e. a "want", you will be out of the game.
• Get into the hearts of your customers - Get people to love you and your brand, once you own their "share of heart", they will be brand loyal and the referrals and resultant sales will stream in.
• Become a customer-centric business organisation - What does this mean? Everyone in the business needs to focus on customer service, and I mean everyone , not only your sales and marketing teams, it should be from the front desk to the accounts office, focus on customer service, and understand the value of your customers.

Will these tips guarantee many "Black Fridays" for your business? Well, that is entirely up to you. What I can guarantee is that with on-going planning, improved customer service and focusing on the value of your customers' feedback, it certainly will reduce the number of "Blue Mondays".

For assistance in developing a successful marketing strategy and growing your business revenue as well as developing your team, contact me on [email protected]