But how do you prepare for such an event? Where do you even start? Black Friday is kind of like a chess game. The more you play, the more you get used to winning. Where most online businesses just plan to survive these Holidays, we are going to show you how to thrive.

These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself over the coming weeks. If you’re a first-timer, Black Friday can be extremely overwhelming. It’s always good to have a plan well in advance, especially if you’re in the retail sector.

To help you refine your plan, we’ve identified 10 Black Friday tips to save you time and convert more customers in 2019:

1. Get Your Discounts Right

“You can’t go into Black Friday and put 15% off, 20% off and expect to do well. Everything comes down to your offer, it’s the one time out of the year you can lower your prices without feeling like you’re losing brand integrity,”

Chase Fischer, Founder & CEO of  Blender’s Eyewear

Blenders are very well known to take things to the next level when it comes to Black Friday offers. They have gone on record to go as deep as 55% off all sunglasses sales, and it has paid off. The company tends to see massive rises in sales year-to-year. Every Black Friday sale seems to outperform the last.

On an overall study carried out by the team here at Krepling, it was discovered that discounts tend to get deeper every year across all product categories, averaging 49.6% off versus 45.5% in 2017.

How do you play on this trend? Well, it’s actually quite simple. Taking into account Blender’s philosophy, it may be far more profitable and engaging to offer category-specific sales, as opposed to discounting your entire store.

Using category-specific sales actually accomplishes a lot of things, such as:

• Allowing for more incremental sales with higher margins
• Attracts more email subscribers and keeps visitors engaged for longer time periods.
• Helps you better manage your inventory, ordering, and future promotions

 It’s almost a given certainty that your competitors will be aiming to go deeper than you when it comes to discounts and offers, no matter the industry you are in.

So what do you do? You go even deeper. Don’t be afraid to offer discounts beyond the 65% region. Just always remember to keep your brand’s exclusivity, and perhaps keep any discounts beyond 50% exclusive to your long-time members or email subscribers.

Without a doubt, your discount plan is crucial to your business thriving on BFCM. Make sure you get it right.

2. Know The Right Marketing Tactic

“Black Friday and holiday-themed advertising declined from last year between October 1 and November 22. Retailers spent an estimated 16% less on broadcast, digital, and mobile ad campaigns surrounding their Black Friday and general holiday shopping events.”

Numerator

Experts here at Krepling believe this is kind of shift is primarily due to the fact that consumers now tend to shop year-round for holiday gifts, and thanks to new events like Amazon Prime Day, July shopping has now become an ever so growing trend. in July.

Does this mean you shouldn’t be running ads during BFCM? No, this just means that you have to play your cards right.

Start off by building anticipation. This can easily be done through your social media accounts.

Start by pulling on the emotional strings of your customers through inspiring imagery and testimonials.  Giveaways are often the best way to nail this.

Part of getting your marketing tactic on point is to make sure you begin targeting your emails. You are most likely going to see a higher open rate during the holiday months, especially leading up to BFCM, so make sure you don’t waste those opportunities. Include great offers and deals that would get your customers excited.

For those who tend to just ignore your emails, try enticing them with free shipping or a complimentary gift with purchase.

3. Optimize Your Website For Mobile

U.S. consumers now spend more time on their mobile phones than watching TV. And that is a fact!

If your mobile site experience isn’t up to par with your competitors, they’ll be spending that time elsewhere.

Don’t get this data wrong though, customers to tend to still check out their desktop while using their mobile to browse. You can boost your likelihood for mobile shopping success by improving your site navigation for all devices (including tablets) and offering one-click purchases to mobile-first customers.

4. Reduce Abandoned Carts. Do Whatever It Takes

Shopping cart abandonment is amongst the highest it has ever been with an astonishing 75% worldwide, according to Statista.

While many retailers still use email marketing to rescue abandoned carts, new automation solutions are becoming more important for millennials, such as MailChimp.

5. Get Your Customer Support In Check

A working customer service portal that responds to ALL concerns is critical during high volume sales times like Black Friday. It really can make the difference between getting a quick one-time sale and gaining a long-time customer with an enormous lifetime value.

Providing quality customer service not only requires a knowledgeable team but one that has good morale and high energy. This can be particularly difficult during the holidays when your team might have to work extended hours with a higher than normal volume of requests.

You can help keep morale and energy high by providing simple extras like snacks and drinks, or by conducting competitions and fun games. This might add minimal costs to your operations, but the benefits of a happy customer support team will be well worth it.

If you’re worried about handling sales volume, consider strategies for growing your team temporarily. You may be able to hire reliable teenagers or friends of your employees to take on tasks that require minimal training.