A little more than a week from now is the most famous International Sales Day in the world. For your business to be successful, it’s important to make the most of Black Friday. Flash sales are a good way for eCommerce stores to get customers in the door and get rid of old stock.
Flash sales have many good points. But you should also think about some cons. Because of this, we made this guide. We’ll show you some good business practices and marketing strategies that you can start using right away.
Why offer a Flash Sale for BFCM?
First of all, what exactly is a “Flash Sale”?
When you have a “flash sale,” you sell items at big discounts for a short amount of time.
Most of the time, Flash Sales are used to boost eCommerce sales, but you should always keep in mind that the goal is for your store to make money.
Also, you shouldn’t rely on the money you make from selling these super-discounted items as your main source of income.
When working on your Black Friday Flash Sales, you should try to:
Orders to upsell and cross-sell; new customers who come back.
Even though there will be a lot of Flash Sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there are many good things about them. Among these are helping you get rid of old stock, boost sales during slow times, and raise the visibility of your eCommerce.
The PROs
But let’s talk in depth about all the pros and cons.
There are a lot of good things about BFCM Flash Sales. If you run a successful sale, you can:
Sell excessive or leftover inventory, while making new items that people want but haven’t sold as well as expected in the past;
Create Visibility for your store, The more your store shows up in your customers’ feeds with great products at reasonable prices, the more likely they are to buy from you;
Increase Sales Numbers in Slow Season, Even people who don’t want to buy from you could be persuaded to do so by good deals;
Boost client retention, A prize is a great way to thank your most loyal customers.
Collect New Leads, Bring in new customers and make them more loyal to your store over the next year.
The CONs
If you offer big discounts, you might:
Get Lower profits, Flash sales are a good way to make money in the short term, but they don’t work in the long run.
Get the Wrong type of client, Flash sales should lead to more repeat customers instead of just one-time buyers;
Push too hard and get bad results, The key is to find a good balance, because if you send too many emails or overwhelm your customers with too many updates, they might not buy from you.
Get a Bad Reputation if you Mishandle your Sales offers, be sure to set clear rules and clearly indicate when the promo ends and the conditions.
BONUS TIPS: Always be available to answer your customers’ questions, and make sure you’re giving them the best customer service you can.
Steps for creating Perfect Flash Sales
Now that we’ve gone over the pros and cons of a Flash Sale, you can decide if it’s a good idea for your store and start putting together your offer.
Read on for some tips on how to make your Flash Sales the best they can be. Keep in mind that these types of promotions are different from others because:
Go above and beyond your usual discounts; the shorter they are, the better;
Find a good balance and set up your eCommerce Store’s sales in different categories;
Flash Sales are Limited in Time
The time frame is what makes or breaks a flash sale.
The client should be able to get the product they want at a lower price during a Flash Sale.
But only for a certain amount of time.
A flash sale shouldn’t go on for more than 24–72 hours, at most.
Experian did a study on Flash Sale Emails and found the following:
Email open rates are 14% higher than average when running a 2-hour flash sale and 59% higher when running a 3-hour flash sale.
Why does the length of your flash sales matter? Because you want to make your customers feel like they need to act quickly.
You want them to do something right away, before they can do more research or change their minds.
Drive Sales with Urgency
Have you heard of shopping on the spur of the moment?
Every day, Online Shopping gets more and more popular and easy to use, and so does impulse shopping.
Your conversion rates can go up if you buy things on the spur of the moment.
So how can we make sure people buy on impulse? Simple, by making it feel like time is running out and adding a few small steps:
Use social media and talk to your customers;
When your flash sales are over, send or post reminders;
On your website, use countdown timers;
Put the percentage off in the subject lines of your marketing emails;
Work on making your writing shorter, just a few lines that get right to the point.
Daily Deals Flash Sales
Maybe the most important thing about a Flash Sale is that it only lasts for a short time. This is done to encourage FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out.”
By putting limits on how long your discounts last and how many products you sell. Putting together Daily Deals is a good way to do this:
Set up sales that will only be available on that day;
On different days, you should promote different items or categories. Don’t just change the products, though; you should also make different kinds of offers.
Use fixed prices, like “$20 for all shoes” or “$5 for socks”;
Offer Discounts on High Margin Products
Black Friday has become so popular because stores with physical locations offer huge discounts on high-profit items.
You use the same concept and translate it on online store by:
Getting people excited about high-priced items; giving bigger discounts on expensive items;
Getting people to come to your store and persuading them to buy cross-sell and up-sell products;
Providing free shipping when a certain amount is spent, like “Free Shipping on orders over $69.”
Create Customer Loyalty with Flash Sales
BFCM Sales can bring more people to your store and increase the number of sales you make. But how can it help you build a customer base that sticks with you?
If you want your store to be successful in the long run, you have to figure out how to keep the customers coming back. The best way to get them to buy from you again might be to give them a bigger discount on their next purchase.
You can do this easily by putting a “Thank You” card or a discount card with a code that can be used in your store inside the packages you send. These cards will not only make your customers more loyal, but they will also make them happier. People who buy from you will think, “Wow, another sale? Can’t pass this up!”
Get your Shipping Strategy in check for BFCM
During Black Friday, one of the most common mistakes eCommerce owners make is not keeping up with the fulfillment. If you don’t plan for and keep track of your orders, bad things can happen.
Even if you offer “Free Shipping” on orders over a certain amount, you will still have to pay the shipping costs.
BFCM is a great time to make sure your shipping rates are up to date. Prices for online shopping and shipping are both going up. During this time, shipping costs could go up from one day to the next, so you need to keep track of them to make sure you get good margins and don’t risk losing money. Getting in touch with your supplier is the best way to do this.
Let me say that again: During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, almost everyone buys something online.
This means that there is a lot of business going on between continents and even within the same country. Since there are only so many planes and couriers, this extra traffic could cause your packages to be late.
This is one reason why the months of October through December are called “peak season.” Make sure you let your customers know about any possible delays if you want them to be happy with your business. Give honest delivery times. Also, because delays are likely, give a few extra days for packages to get to your customers on time.
Products could run out of stock quickly or the price could change if you ask for a lot of them, so it’s best to buy a stock so you can keep track of your inventory and costs.
If you want your eCommerce business to be a long-term success, you need to find a supplier who can help you as you grow.
Many online stores get their goods from China or sell things that were made there, but as we all know, the quality can vary. If you want to keep your return rate low, the quality of your products is very important.
You need to find a supplier who can help you find high-quality products at B2B prices and set up their shipping in bulk or dropshipping to their final destination.