Black Friday is experiencing an increase in its popularity with every passing year. With the biggest possible discounts on top brands, the South African market has also been under its influence. People eagerly wait for this particular time of the year to stock up on their favorite products. Along with the buyers, this sale also has a huge impact on the retailers and their daily functioning.
Not just opportunities, this sale has also brought some challenges for the retailers and the eCommerce market. The Black Friday Sale has helped retailers build a strong bond with their customers and increase their annual sales volume. On the negative side, it has led to an increased number of expectations from consumers and has caused bottlenecks in logistics with a surge in demand.
If brands and small businesses wish to thrive during the Black Friday Sale, they need to have a well-defined plan that covers inventory management, courier solutions, and the marketing of their products.
Key Strategies For Businesses To Make The Most Of Black Friday Sale
Early Planning and Realistic Goal Setting
Black Friday Sale comes with months of advanced planning. It is more than just a one-time event. The retailers in South Africa start preparing their plan three to four months in advance. Any business should ask the following questions before planning their sale-
Are you planning to clear your old stock or promote a new one?
Are you making use of historical data and customer trends in order to forecast your sales?
Does your strategy go beyond the Black Friday Sale and focus on long-term goals?
If the answer to these questions is a yes, the business will be able to generate a good revenue during the Black Friday Sale. Good planning will allow the business to allocate its budget, train its employees, and be on track with its marketing campaigns.
Choosing The Right Courier Delivery Service
If a company wants to make the most of Black Friday Sale, it must not overlook this crucial aspect of the customer experience. Courier services can make or break the company’s reputation with the way in which it delivers its product/ service to the customers. Here are some tips to choose the right delivery partner:
- Choose reliable courier companies that will be able to deliver high volumes of your order. You can choose from Aramex, Fastway, The Courier Guy, etc, that cater well during high-demand periods.
- Give your customers multiple delivery options to choose from. They can opt for same-day delivery, standard delivery, or even click & collect delivery.
- Always communicate with your customers regarding the delivery timelines in the most transparent manner.
- You can insure your goods to protect them from damage, theft, which becomes fairly common during high-demand periods.
- To reduce complaints, give your customers real-time tracking updates.
Only if you are able to invest in a reliable and efficient delivery system, will you be able to gain the support of customers and secure your goodwill in the long run. You will also be able to avoid challenges like delivery in remote areas and load-shedding during transit.
Delivering The Best-Possible Online Store Experience
With the changing times, the expectations of consumers are also changing. They now want their deliveries to be seamless and secure. A company can ensure this by having a user-friendly website that can cater to seasonal spikes. To avoid downtime during peak hours, you should test the bandwidth capacity and the site speed. You should also ensure complete mobile optimization, as more than 60% of buyers are now shopping online.
By implementing multiple payment options and secure gateways, you will be able to retain customers and also secure new ones. If you streamline your checkouts, you will also be able to avoid cart abandonments.
Marketing Strategy for Black Friday Sale
Consumers start receiving the promotions of the Black Friday Sale at least a month before the sale actually happens. Therefore, it becomes important for brands to stand out with their marketing strategy and generate the most revenue during this high-demand period.
By providing certain early bird offers and VIP mailing lists, the businesses will be able to attract more customers. By running targeted social media campaigns with short videos and engaging visuals, you can garner more attention. The companies can also make use of billboards if they are planning on a high-budget marketing strategy.
A company can only survive in the competitive market when it has a good presence on social media. To achieve that, a company can partner with some local and popular influencers. It will help them improve the reach and the visibility of their product.
How Can You Ensure Supply Chain and Inventory Management?
A customer can only be satisfied when he/she has a ready stock of their required product. Therefore, a company needs to plan a stock audit and timely refill its high-demand products.
To handle increased demand, the companies should work in close proximity with the suppliers. The store inventory is closer to the major hubs such as Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. This will help in ensuring a quick delivery to the customers with real-time tracking and fewer delays.
How Can an Organization Prepare Its Team For Black Friday Sale?
To ensure smooth operations, your staff will play a critical role in the user experience. Your staff members, including the delivery drivers, warehouse packing staff, and customer support teams, should be motivated and well-trained. To prepare them for peak demand, they should be given pre-Black Friday stimulations. They should be given sufficient training related to handling returns, complaints, and refunds. They should even be incentivised with seasonal bonuses, which will help them improve their overall performance and reduce bottlenecks.
Final Thoughts
It will always be the service quality that will make the customer come back, and not just the discounts offered by a company. Therefore, Black Friday in South Africa is not just an annual frenzy. It has become an opportunity for brands to expand their user base, strengthen their brand visibility, and test their logistics capacity.
A business is required to plan months before the actual sale, prioritize its customer experience, and make the best use of the available courier solutions. In this way, they will be able to use Black Friday as a catalyst for growth. If they give more importance to customer retention than short-term sales, they will be able to have a strong footing not just in the local economy but also in the global market.
