The 2020 sale season is full steam ahead with the busiest shopping days of the year just around the corner. There has truly never been a better year for small businesses to hop on the Black Friday bandwagon. With record numbers of consumers now shopping online, there is currently a huge opportunity at play for Australian small businesses to capitalise on the frenzy and generate a spike in sales writes Caroline Swarbrick, Senior Director of Marketing, Sales & Experience at  Vistaprint Australia.

The challenges of 2020 will no doubt alter the traditional Black Friday shopping experience, transforming jam-packed physical stores into online queues. Cyber Monday was originally brought to life in 2005 as Black Friday’s digital sister. However, this sale season will transform the two, as the majority of consumers will take a digital path to purchase this year. Small businesses, who may have in past years relied on the charm of their stores to draw consumers in, will now need to lean heavily into the digital landscape in order to truly benefit from this digital spike.

Every business no matter the size will take a different approach this year. However, the most important piece of advice I can provide to small businesses looking to capitalise on sales traffic, is to create a solid strategy across both the digital and print landscapes. The effectiveness of your marketing strategy can directly impact sales so it is extremely worthwhile to your business to dedicate adequate time to the planning process – and it’s not too late!

Top 7 tips to help small businesses prepare for Black Friday/Cyber Monday

1. Run a teaser campaign

Ahead of November 27^th create a teaser campaign to let your audience know they will be the first to know if they sign-up to email, follow you on Instagram or like the Facebook page now!

2. Boost social posts

A small budget certainly goes a long way. Target your existing audience and similar people to grow your audience across Facebook and Instagram to increase digital visibility to your offers.

3. Have a store? Maximise print signage

The power of clear price messaging in the window is strong. Make sure these offers are advertised well in any physical spaces. A helpful hack – the ‘% OFF’ should typically be the biggest message on the signage.

4. Encourage a second purchase after the sale

Add a flyer into the bag or online packages with an incentive to shop again. This will capture your consumers’ attention and encourage repeat purchases long after the sale season has ended.

5. Start a countdown clock

Use countdown clocks on all of your various sale offers. It is important to remind customers just before the sale ends across various channels including email, on social and on the website!

6. Identify first-time customers

Big sales are a great way to attract new customers – why not try printed loyalty cards to encourage these shoppers to come back later.

7. Follow up post-sale season

Keep your brand top of mind with the new customers you attracted over Black Friday and Cyber Monday by creating a welcome campaign via email – a personal introduction to your brand and your best selling products is a great way to start.

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