How to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday: A Complete Guide

Online spending during Black Friday 2023 rose to approximately $10 billion. This increase is largely due to a shift towards e-commerce, as consumers preferred the convenience of online shopping over in-store purchases.

In the past, I’ve always found myself rushing at the last minute, either waiting on budget approvals or struggling to figure out what would attract our target market. This lack of preparation left me with little time to create compelling offers, and I missed opportunities to fully capitalize on the biggest shopping event of the year.

So, I learned the hard way that preparing early for Black Friday is key to a successful campaign.

Now, I see how starting early gives me a chance to gather insights, secure resources, and craft promotions that truly resonate with potential customers, ensuring we maximize our results. And I’m ready to share my best Black Friday business strategies from campaigns that were successful and some that failed.

Why Black Friday is Crucial for Your Business

While Black Friday offers aren’t a fit for all businesses, I’ll walk you through a list of the advantages of using these unique campaigns so you can decide if it helps with your overall goals:

• Increasing sales: Black Friday is known for generating a surge in revenue as customers are actively seeking deals. Many businesses see their highest sales volume of the year during this period.
• Bringing more customers: Black Friday promotions attract new customers who may not have engaged with your brand previously. Once they make a purchase, you can turn them into loyal customers through excellent service and post-purchase strategies.
• Boosting brand awareness: With increased traffic and attention during Black Friday, your brand can reach a much wider audience. Well-executed campaigns can boost your visibility and position you as a go-to for Black Friday deals and offers.
• Increasing your competitive edge: If your competitors are running aggressive campaigns, missing out on Black Friday will put your business at a temporary disadvantage.
• Strengthening customer relationships: Offering special deals to your existing customers during this sales event can increase their loyalty and engagement with your brand, ensuring repeat purchases.
• Testing new products: You can use Black Friday to launch or test new products with an eager audience, gaining immediate feedback and insights into their performance.

Apart from the benefits Black Friday can offer to your business, here are some interesting statistics that also highlight its importance:

Black Friday Preparation Strategies

Preparing for Black Friday should start as early as possible! And, no, I don’t mean working on the actual assets for the campaigns.

Instead, you’ll want to constantly gather customer data to understand what makes them postpone a purchase or buy something on offer. Likewise, I recommend keeping an eye on the Black Friday campaigns other brands in your space have and monitoring the engagement they get.

But if we’re talking about hands-on Black Friday preparations, here’s my suggested timeline that should give you enough time to gather intelligent data and generate campaign assets:

Let me give you some more details on a couple of Black Friday business strategies that could work for you:

• To avoid the biggest possible blunder, start by managing and tracking your inventory. Stock up on high-demand items in advance and prepare contingency plans for quick restocking or alternative products if your inventory runs low.
• With your products ready, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room: Pricing. Opt for competitive pricing by providing attractive deals that (very important!) don’t compromise your profit margins. Consider using dynamic pricing strategies or bundling products to increase your average order value.
• If you want to prioritize one key marketing aspect, focus on marketing campaigns across multiple channels to build excitement. Early access promotions for loyal customers and flash sales can create a sense of urgency.

💡 Note when a Black Friday might not be right for you: If your brand is known for sustainability, ethical practices, or quality over quantity, aggressive discounting might conflict with these values. Participating in Black Friday sales might seem inauthentic or inconsistent with your brand’s messaging. Likewise, for businesses heavily reliant on full-price sales to maintain profitability, the risk of revenue loss from steep discounts might outweigh the benefits.

To get your Black Friday offer out there, a robust online presence is crucial.

Use social media platforms to create buzz, run promotions, and engage directly with your customers. Turn to social media for teaser campaigns, countdowns, and behind-the-scenes content. Collaborate with influencers to expand your reach and enhance credibility.

Here’s an Instagram post example the Unblinded Mastery team used to promote a past Black Friday offer:

Instagram Black Friday offer post

Paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Google can drive more traffic on that specific day. Meanwhile, email marketing can help convert interested customers into buyers or at least grow your email list with people looking for a product like yours.

Let’s see some more good marketing practices in action!

Optimizing Your Website for Black Friday

To prepare your website for a surge in traffic during this shopping season, ensure your site is both robust and optimized for user experience. Have your developers conduct thorough load testing to identify and address potential issues that could arise under heavy traffic. This is mandatory as it will help you gauge how your website performs when hit with high volumes of visitors.

Next, focus on mobile optimization.

Again, this is a matter your developers will handle to ensure your site is fully responsive and loads quickly on mobile devices. Adapting your mobile navigation, reducing load times, and ensuring that all buttons and links are easily clickable are three other aspects to check.

Example of a product category page that’s optimized for mobile devices

But besides the technicalities, here’s what you might miss out:

Simplify your checkout process by minimizing the steps required to complete a purchase and ensure your site is easy to navigate.

Use non-intrusive pop-ups where relevant, but avoid bombarding visitors with pop-ups as soon as they land on your site. Instead, I always use only exit-intent pop-ups to capture the attention of Black Friday shoppers who are about to leave, offering them a discount or other incentive to stay.

Exit-intent Black Friday pop-up example

Speaking of incentives, promotions such as limited-time discounts, free shipping, or bundle deals can significantly boost sales even when the offer’s already seemingly good enough.

Don’t forget to optimize your product pages and other landing pages. High-quality images, detailed descriptions, and real customer reviews help convince visitors to buy. This is a must since shoppers will likely consult all offers on your website, even if something’s not part of the special Black Friday campaign.

Marketing and Advertising Tips

Email is the first thing I work on in anticipation of Black Friday. I often start by sending teaser emails well before Black Friday, hinting at upcoming deals or products/features we’re working on.

Black Friday email sample from Bird & Blend Tea Co.

These help spark curiosity, but they wouldn’t work without proper segmentation. Always divide your email list based on customer behavior, purchase history, and preferences. You can then tailor your messages to each segment, offering personalized recommendations and exclusive deals that resonate with them.

I’ve also tried countdown campaigns in the past, but while they do increase urgency, I’m not a big fan of “forcing” this urgency onto my email list. I’d rather prolong the offer for a couple of extra days (your competitors probably won’t) or leverage existing abandoned carts to send reminders during the sale period.

💁 Learn how to sell courses effectively using email marketing.

For more credibility, consider working with micro-influencers. Compared to the bigger influencers, these have smaller yet highly engaged audiences. Their close connection with followers often leads to higher engagement rates, making their endorsements feel more genuine and impactful. These influencers can build authentic relationships with their audience, which can significantly enhance your brand’s visibility and trustworthiness.

In addition, collaborating with influencers for product reviews, unboxing videos, or tutorials can provide valuable social proof and effectively highlight your product’s benefits. Implementing affiliate marketing strategies by offering influencers commissions on sales through unique discount codes or affiliate links motivates them to actively promote your products.
Gymshark, for instance, partners up with influencers of all kinds every single year:

YouTube Shorts created in partnership with fitness influencers

With partnerships, though, you can expect higher costs. Besides the Black Friday offer you already have, you should allocate part of your budget to rewarding your promoters.

In fact, each offer an influencer shares with their own audience can be customized for their specific needs. This means you can consider:

• Flash sales and limited-time promotions create urgency with audiences, where impulse purchases can be promoted via email marketing, social media, or website banners.
• Bundle deals (offering discounts on groups of products or services to increase perceived value) can encourage customers to spend more and make faster purchasing decisions.

To increase the average order value, upselling and cross-selling are key strategies. Threshold discounts (e.g. 10% off when a customer spends over $100) motivate shoppers to increase their cart size.

Post-Black Friday Strategies

Of course, your efforts don’t just end on the big day. Post-Black Friday follow-ups and customer retention strategies are another big part of long-term business success.

Try following up with customers through personalized email campaigns, thanking them for their purchase, and offering exclusive deals. Here’s an example from the same tea seller brand I showcased above:

Bird & Blend Tea Co. email sent after Black Friday to tease upcoming offers

Engaging content, such as Christmas gift guides or tutorials on how to use their purchased products, can keep customers interested. Additionally, you can use social media to showcase customer testimonials or user-generated content to enhance brand loyalty and encourage repeat business.

Another critical aspect of post-Black Friday success is the analysis of sales data and customer feedback. Whenever I look at which products were most popular, I can tell:

• Which marketing channels drove the most traffic
• How customers interacted with my brand
• What I need to refine for future campaigns
• What opportunities do I have with the remainder of my offers

To ensure long-term success beyond Black Friday, consider implementing loyalty programs or offering post-sale incentives. Exclusive promotions for repeat customers or loyalty program members can further enhance customer retention, making them feel valued and more likely to return.

I’ll be honest: Everyone’s inboxes are spammed that day, so sometimes your Black Friday won’t work instantly. I’m used to sending limited-time offers or flash sales in the weeks following Black Friday to keep a brand top-of-mind as customers continue their holiday shopping.

Leveraging Technology and Tools

Now that you have the strategy, it’s time to set up your first campaign. There are three types of tools you absolutely must get before Black Friday:

An Online Course Platform to Create, Market & Sell Courses

By providing key functionalities catered to both eCommerce and educational products, LearnWorlds establishes itself as a robust platform for businesses looking to leverage Black Friday campaigns and beyond, particularly in the education sector.

LearnWorlds offers a comprehensive platform for businesses focused on educational products with features designed to create impactful learning experiences:

• AI Assistant: Supports you through course creation and management, enhancing educational delivery.
• Interactive video and live sessions: Engages learners with rich multimedia and real-time interaction.
• Course and assessment tools: Allows you to create flexible courses with robust assessment options to provide a rounded educational experience.
• Marketing and sales tools: Integrates powerful marketing engines to sell educational products through subscriptions and bundles.
• Custom branding: Offers a powerful Website Builder and Mobile App Builder to help you maintain and enhance brand identity.
• Comprehensive support: Customer-centric support and adaptable integrations cater to varied educational needs.
• Pop-up Builder: Create powerful pop-ups to capture leads, grow your email list, and expand your customer base.

LearnWorld’s offers a variety of pop-up templates

E-commerce Platforms

An e-commerce platform provides a single go-to system to manage high traffic, streamline transactions, and enhance customer experience. It can also support your marketing efforts with tools for email campaigns, social media integration, and promotional features like discount codes and bundles.

Two common options here:

• Shopify: Shopify Email lets you send customized special offers to capture customer interest. Extra promotional strategies such as gift cards, product bundles, and gamification can keep shoppers engaged. The platform supports you with mobile optimization, ensuring quick load times and appealing designs. It also integrates with social media platforms like Facebook for marketing and offers guidance on setting up early promotions, including teaser campaigns and pre-sale offers.
• BigCommerce: BigCommerce can help you handle the Black Friday rush by emphasizing SEO and site performance through high traffic, ensuring the store remains functional and appealing during peak periods. It also lets you implement pop-ups and add-ons and more tactics to boost sales.

Email Marketing Tools

Here are three tools I recommend based on different core priorities:

• Mailchimp: Comes with all the automation features you need to segment your audience and send personalized email campaigns. I suggest using its ready-made Black Friday templates for your promotions but always make sure to adapt the branding and offer.
• ActiveCampaign: Better suited if you need advanced segmentation and automation tools that can provide detailed insights on customer behavior for targeted email campaigns.
• ConvertKit: Focused on creative marketing tactics and promotions, even outside peak holiday periods.

Next Steps to Prepare Your Business for Black Friday

Start preparing for Black Friday as early as possible by setting clear goals, securing your budget, and conducting market research. Early planning allows for the creation of effective promotions and ensures you have sufficient inventory and resources.

Using the right tools and platforms can speed up your operations, enhance your marketing efforts, and provide a seamless customer experience during the busiest shopping time.

Platforms like LearnWorlds offer comprehensive solutions for businesses, especially those offering educational products. With features that enable you to create promotional courses or bundles, optimize your website for high traffic, and implement effective marketing strategies, LearnWorlds can be a game-changer for your Black Friday campaigns.

Ready to elevate your Black Friday or Cyber Monday success? Start your free trial with LearnWorlds and unlock the tools to maximize sales and customer engagement this holiday season.

Further reading you might find interesting:

• How to Start a Profitable Online Course Business From Scratch
• How to Create and Sell Profitable Online Courses: Step-by-Step Guide
• Knowledge Economy: How to Sell Knowledge Online
• How Much Money Can You Make Selling Online Courses?
• 183 Profitable Online Course Ideas With Examples
• Sell Digital Downloads: The Complete Guide for 2024
• Make Money Selling Coaching Online: Your Guide to Success

Alexandra Cote

Alexandra Cote is a SaaS growth marketer and online instructor who's worked with dozens of brands in the MarTech, HR tech, and productivity space. She's also a strong supporter of staying happy at work and choosing a healthy career path.