How to Market for Black Friday if You’re Not a Products-Based Business

While some brands now stretch out the discounts to include all of Thanksgiving weekend, Black Friday is still one of the biggest shopping days of the year! Consumers flood local shops, now starting as early as the day before Thanksgiving, line up for early morning store hours and doorbusters, and altogether, do their best to hunt down bargains on the latest products. While this holiday may be much simpler for product-based businesses to market, it becomes more difficult for those that are based more on services. 

For those businesses not based on products, you’re not alone in the struggle to figure out Black Friday! Deals and discounts can seem like simple solutions, but to really catch consumers’ attention, you can be taking much more advantage of this holiday. Check out a few ways how below:

1 – Offer refreshments! It may seem silly, but even spreading the word that your business will have some drinks and cookies set out for Black Friday shoppers is a cheap but potentially popular idea. Offer customers a chance to relax, unwind, and refuel in your office. This step can get them through your door and interested in your offerings, which is a big first hurdle.

2 – Consider using special business hours! If you can manage opening a bit earlier in the day, you may be able to catch the attention of those that have been up since the crack of dawn, out and about! These shoppers are ready to make a day of being out and about, and you can provide them a good opportunity to stop in before regular business hours.

3 – Give back! Start focusing on the gifting idea of the coming holiday season early by giving back to the local community. Whether you do so directly or by partnering up with a local non-profit, be sure to spread the word what your plan is for the day! Whether you can offer a ‘buy one, donate one’ service, pledge a portion of the day’s proceeds, or even if you’re just hosting a space for them for the day, people can be drawn to the idea of spending money in a way that will help a cause. 

4 – Offer deals on social media! Deals are the theme of the day, so be sure to take advantage of marketing any discounts across your social media accounts to draw in the customers. People are hunting for bargains– so convince them that now if the best time to take advantage of what your business can offer! It’s a great prompt for social media posts, and you can even have some fun with it by asking for updates on what deals your customers are finding, how early they woke up that morning, etc to work on your engagement. 

It’s time to start thinking about your marketing for Black Friday– start strategizing now! Even if you’re not a product-based business, it’s a holiday that’s still worth taking advantage of and there are a lot of different opportunities to do so. To learn more or for help working on a Black Friday strategy for your business, give i3 a call!