Black Friday growth hacks 2023: The ultimate guide
Black Friday is an annual shopping extravaganza that presents a massive opportunity for businesses to boost their sales and profits. To make the most of this frenzied shopping event, you need a strategic plan in place. In this listicle, we’ll explore 10 Black Friday growth hacks that can help you maximise your sales and ensure a successful shopping season. From creating a sense of urgency to leveraging the power of email marketing, these tips will help you stand out from the crowd and drive more customers to your store.
What is Black Friday?
Before diving into the Black Friday growth hacks, let’s briefly explain what Black Friday is. Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It’s a day when retailers offer significant discounts and promotions to lure in shoppers, both online and in physical stores. Over the years, Black Friday has evolved into a global shopping phenomenon, attracting millions of eager consumers seeking the best deals on everything from electronics to fashion, making it a crucial date on the retail calendar.
These are our top Black Friday growth hacks to increase sales:
- Create a sense of urgency
- Maximise your email marketing
- Work on your SEO in the build-up to Black Friday
- Offer exclusive deals to loyal customers
- Set up an Instagram shop
- Start a referral scheme
- Abandoned cart emails
- Create gift packages or sets
- Make your ad design pop
- Remarketing campaigns
10 Black Friday growth hacks to maximise sales
1. Create a sense of urgency
One of the most effective Black Friday growth hacks is to create a sense of urgency among your customers. Shoppers are more likely to make a purchase when they feel that time is running out. Here’s how you can do it:
- Limited-time offers: Promote flash sales, hourly deals, and limited-time discounts to encourage customers to act quickly.
- Countdown timers: Use countdown timers on your website to visually remind visitors of the limited time left to grab the deals.
- Stock alerts: Inform customers about low stock levels to create a sense of scarcity, motivating them to make a purchase.
2. Maximise your email marketing
Email marketing remains a powerful tool for reaching your customers during Black Friday. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Segment your email list: Divide your email list into different segments based on customer behavior and preferences. Send personalised offers to each segment.
- Pre-Black Friday teasers: Send teaser emails before Black Friday, giving your subscribers a sneak peek at the upcoming deals.
- Mobile-friendly emails: Ensure your emails are mobile-responsive, as many customers will be checking their emails on their smartphones.
- Abandon cart emails (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).
- Hire an email template developer to create stunning and engaging emails.
3. Work on your SEO in the buildup to Black Friday
To capture a larger share of online shoppers during Black Friday, you need to optimise your website for search engines. Here’s what you can do:
- Keyword research: Identify the keywords and phrases that shoppers are likely to use when searching for Black Friday deals in your niche. Alternatively, you can hire an expert to do the keyword research for you.
- Optimise product descriptions: Update your product descriptions to include Black Friday-related keywords, and ensure they are informative and appealing. Working with a copywriter can help you create truly engaging descriptions.
- Create dedicated landing pages: Build landing pages for Black Friday promotions and make them SEO-friendly to attract organic traffic.
4. Offer exclusive deals to loyal customers
A Black Friday growth hack that is often ignored is engaging your existing customer base. Rewarding your loyal customers with exclusive deals is an excellent way to boost customer retention and drive sales. Consider these strategies:
- Loyalty programs: Offer exclusive early access to loyal customers or provide them with a special discount code.
- VIP membership: Create a VIP membership club where members receive exclusive deals not available to the general public.
- Personalised offers: Tailor your Black Friday offers based on each customer’s purchase history and preferences.
5. Set up an Instagram shop
Social media platforms play a significant role in Black Friday growth hacks. Instagram, in particular, is a visual platform that lends itself well to showcasing products. Consider these Instagram growth hacks:
- Create shoppable posts: Enable the shopping feature on your Instagram account, allowing users to make purchases directly from your posts.
- Utilise Stories and Reels: Utilise Instagram Stories and Reels to showcase your Black Friday deals with engaging and creative content.
- Collaborate with influencers: Partner with influencers to promote your products and create buzz around your Black Friday sales. If you need help finding the right influencers for your brand, you can collaborate with Influencer Marketing experts on PeoplePerHour.
6. Start a referral scheme
Leveraging the power of referrals can help you grow your customer base and sales. Here’s how to do it effectively:
- Incentivise referrals: Offer discounts or rewards to customers who refer friends and family to your store.
- User-generated content: Encourage customers to share their purchases on social media and tag your brand.
- Track and reward: Use referral software to track referrals and ensure that both the referrer and referee are rewarded.
7. Abandoned cart emails
Recovering abandoned carts is a crucial part of e-commerce success, and Black Friday is no exception. Use abandoned cart emails to re-engage potential customers:
- Send personalised reminders: Remind customers of the items left in their cart and offer an additional discount or incentive to complete the purchase.
- Highlight scarcity: Use phrases like “Limited Stock” or “Almost Gone” to create a sense of urgency and prompt action.
- Showcase related products: Suggest complementary items to entice customers to make a larger purchase.
8. Create gift packages or sets
Black Friday shoppers are often looking for bundled deals and gift sets, making this an excellent Black Friday growth hack:
- Curate gift packages: Combine related products into attractive gift sets, which can be offered at a discounted price.
- Highlight savings: Clearly communicate the value and savings that customers will receive when buying the bundled products.
- Offer customisation: Allow customers to customise their gift sets by choosing specific items or colours.
9. Make your ad design pop
The internet is saturated with ads during the Black Friday period, so it’s crucial to make your ad design unique and loud:
- Eye-catching visuals: Use vibrant colors and high-quality images to capture attention. Hiring a freelance graphic designer is a great option to produce the images you need.
- Clear messaging: Ensure your ad copy is concise, compelling, and highlights the main benefit of your offer.
- A/B testing: Experiment with different ad designs to determine which ones resonate most with your audience.
10. Remarketing campaigns
Remarketing is a powerful strategy to re-engage potential customers who have previously visited your website. Here’s how to use it effectively:
- Create segmented lists: Segment your audience based on their behavior on your site, such as pages visited, products viewed, or carts abandoned.
- Tailored ad content: Show personalised ads to each segment, highlighting products or offers that match their previous interactions.
- Dynamic remarketing: Utilise dynamic ads that automatically display products the user has shown interest in, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
- Setting up remarketing campaigns can be complicated for someone with no experience. On PeoplePerHour, there are hundreds of qualified remarketing experts who can help you get the most sales from your campaigns.
Black Friday offers a unique opportunity for eCommerce businesses to significantly boost their sales and revenue. By implementing these Black Friday growth hacks, you can not only attract more customers to your store but also increase the chances of turning them into loyal shoppers. Remember, the key to success on Black Friday lies in planning, creativity, and providing real value to your customers. So, start implementing these strategies and make the most of this shopping extravaganza.