Black Friday and Cyber Monday have grown like foam globally. In just 5 years, they have become the most important dates in the promotion calendar for both e-commerce and point of sale. Prepare to be immersed in a whirlwind of unmissable opportunities. We'll explore how these days have revolutionized the way we buy and sell in the contemporary era, as well as discover how your brand can greatly benefit from joining this season of unbeatable visibility. Welcome to the stage where possibilities and visibility converge!
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To understand this phenomenon, we have to go back to its birth. Ready?
How was Black Friday born?
The tradition of Black Friday begins in the United States in the 60s. To understand it better, we must place ourselves in the American context. Black Friday is celebrated on the fourth Friday of November, after “Thanksgiving” day. The businesses accumulated several weeks in negative figures until the arrival of this day in which the sales trend changed from “red” to “black”. Encouraged by discounts, Black Friday managed to position itself as the commercial date that kicked off the Christmas campaign of promotions.
How did cyber monday come about?
The term "Cyber Monday" was coined by Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman of the National Retail Federation (NRF) in 2005. They noted a noticeable increase in sales. online sales the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. They attributed this increase to people returning to work after the long weekend and the convenience of shopping online from their office computers. This marked the official start of a new online shopping tradition.
How did Black Friday come to Spain?
Although already in 2010 Apple internationalized this sales season in its E-commerce (also in the Spanish market) we had to wait until 2012. This year the sales periods were liberalized and the main brands began to join the discount party. In its first editions, the celebration of Black Friday was practically associated with the technology sector. However, very quickly, other sectors, in need of a sales boost, joined the event. Specific, In 2015, the Inditex group joined Black Friday with offers.
Why has it succeeded so quickly?
Analyzing the success of Black Friday, marketing consultants also draw interesting conclusions when defining a commercial action. Why did he win so quickly?
- The economic situation. The campaign reached a Spain shaken by the economic crisis. Brands needed to encourage consumption. Consumers, get offers and discounts for Christmas gifts.
- The date. Traditionally, the month of November has always suffered in sales due to the proximity of the Christmas campaign. Most consumers left purchases for December.
- The business concept. Black Friday is a broad promotional concept that allows very different sectors to develop price action under this idea.
- Limited duration in time. The feeling of "opportunity", in addition to the discounts, is accelerated by the few hours that the event lasts, which causes anxiety in the consumer about "missing" an opportunity and, as a consequence, drives the purchase.
- The push of the big brands. Giants of electronic and traditional commerce such as Amazon, Media Markt o Zara They have been the anchor for this commercial date to be consolidated in the calendar.
How far in advance do I need to plan my Black Friday strategy?
To maximize the success of your strategy, it is advisable to start planning with at least 2 to 3 months in advance. This proposal will depend on the size of your organization and the scope you want to have. Large companies, of course, plan their next Black Friday season up to a year in advance. Here's a breakdown of how you might structure your planning:
- 3 Months Before (August/September):
- Define your objectives: Set clear and specific goals, whether it is increasing sales, attracting new customers or liquidating inventory.
- Analyze past data: Review sales statistics and consumer behavior from previous years to identify patterns and trends.
- Design your offers: Decide which products or services you will offer at a discount and how you will structure your promotions.
- Evaluate your stock: Make sure you have enough inventory to meet the demand generated by the offers.
- 2 Months Before (October):
- Create a marketing strategy: Plan how you will promote your offers, whether through social networks, email, online advertising, etc. At this point you must also mark the digital advertising strategy, either in search engines (SEM) such as Google or social networks.
- Design promotional material: Prepare images and attractive visual content for your ads and publications.
- Optimize your website: Make sure your website is ready to handle an increase in traffic and that offers are clearly visible.
- 1 Month Before (November):
- Start the previous promotion: Start generating expectations among your followers and subscribers, anticipating the offers that will come.
- Set up the sales system: Make sure that your sales platform is running smoothly and that discounts are applied correctly.
- Train the team: If you have staff, make sure they are familiar with the offerings and prepared to handle customer service.
Nowadays nobody questions the success of Black Friday in Spain. Nor can we deny the change in consumer behavior. The customer now looks for offers, discounts and promotions in practically all sectors. And it is that defining a differentiating promotional strategy has become a vital issue for all businesses. Do we do Black Friday?
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