Bizsuccess

Friday, October 30, 2009

By: Susan Gunelius

It’s November, which means the biggest retail shopping day of the year, Black Friday, and the biggest online shopping day of the year, Cyber Monday, are coming.  Is your small business ready?  Are your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaigns prepared, and are you ready to promote them heavily?

Following are 5 tips to help you get your marketing campaigns ready for a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

1. Choose your promotions.

What do you want to achieve on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?  Set specific, attainable, and measurable goals and then create marketing promotions such as special discounts, new product announcements, product tie-ins and more.  The economy is still weak and consumer spending is down, so make sure your promotions are exciting and truly motivate consumers to take out their hard-earned money and purchase from your small business.

2. Spread the word.

Getting the word out about your Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions is more critical than ever.  During a time when many businesses are cutting back on their advertising and marketing communications, you can leverage their absence to your advantage and attract the attention of more consumers simply because there is less clutter.  Do some local advertising, participate in local events, send a postcard to your mailing list, and do anything else you can think of that can get the word out about your promotion.

3. Generate an online buzz.

The Internet is a powerful place where word can spread faster than you can imagine!  Write blog posts on your business blog and on other blogs related to your business where your consumers might spend time.  Post comments in forums and on other blogs.  Promote your campaign on Twitter, Facebook, and so on.  And don’t forget to use email!  Get an account with an email company like Constant Contact (you can follow the link to read about email companies), and start sending weekly emails to your email contact list.  Build excitement and boost the messages as Black Friday and Cyber Monday get closer.

4. Pick up the phone.

In today’s Web-based world, we often forget one of the best ways to communicate with consumers is verbally.  Pick up the phone and call your best customers to tell them about your promotion.  Offer them added incentive to take advantage of your Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion or to help you spread the word about it such as an additional savings or referral bonuses.

5. Follow up.

Once Black Friday and Cyber Monday pass, that doesn’t mean the opportunity they presented for you to market your business are over.  Follow up on the communications you sent and remind consumers about your business.  Use “in case you missed it” hooks and offer Rain Check discounts.  That’s just one more way to extend the hype of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.