Black Friday for Pet Businesses: You in or Out?

We all know the world goes mad on Black Friday.

Even in the UK ​where Nic lives now, the Black Friday Plague has begun to seep in and infect the general population. But… is it actually that awful? Is Black Friday a day to roll our eyes at and ignore? Sure, there is some bananas behavior that occurs (a shocking amount of which happens at stores with ‘mart’ in the name!) but whether you opt-in or opt-out (or #optoutside) there is a lesson to be unlocked in days like this, that are subject to so much chatter online, in the media and certainly amongst businesses. The lesson is this:

If there is something big happening…
Find a way to use it to your brand’s advantage.*

*Especially when you can see it coming!

Let’s dig into why events like Black Friday are worth embracing.

Nic defines marketing as ‘starting conversations and creating conversions’ – which essentially means that you have two big challenges when marketing your business:

1. ​Starting Conversations
2. Getting Conversions

Guess what – Black Friday (and its buddies ‘Small Business Saturday’ ​’Cyber Monday’ and ‘Giving Tuesday’) are HUGE tidal waves of BOTH conversations AND conversions! Why on EARTH would you pass up an opportunity to ride a wave where much of the work is already done for you?

Now, we know what you’re thinking…

• I don’t want to cheapen my business by jumping on the black friday bandwagon
• I don’t want to do a promotion or crazy sale
• I don’t have anything to sell on Black Friday
• Ugh the whole thing is so gross – I don’t want to be associated with it
• I’m into it but I have no idea where to start – it’s so overwhelming!

Any of this sound familiar?

This is what we hear ALL the time when we start this conversation – but DON’T WORRY – the best part about being a brand is being authentic to what make sense for YOU and your AUDIENCE. You don’t have to jump on any bandwagons or do anything you think is ‘icky’ or even promote or sell anything at ALL to benefit from the Black Friday wave.

You can simply opt-out of Black Friday all together if that’s your jam – just make sure you TALK ABOUT IT!

If your reasoning is aligned with your brand, tell your audience WHY Black Friday isn’t your thing and what you’ll be doing INSTEAD the day or weekend after Thanksgiving. Use the conversation (and the chaos) to create kinship and connection with your people who probably feel a lot like you about the day. Create a rebellious hashtag, go offline for the day, make a point that you’re actively NOT ENGAGING in the day – and that can be JUST as interesting as a great deal.

But if you DO want to make some money…

There is no better time of year than (ok, Mother’s Day is a good second, but seriously end of November is prime time!) The answer here is to simply find a way to give your audience what Nic calls a:

 No-Brainer Deal.

You need to find the intersection of something they want and are willing to pay for, and the compelling reason (offer, gift, deadline, excitement) that makes them buy it NOW instead of waiting.

There is a definite art to this, but ANY BUSINESS can do it. Seriously, even your local service business. You just have to be willing to put together a few steps (a sales page, a ‘buy now’ option, and a way to push it out to the world) and you’re set.

Need Help?

Join Nic’s 7 Day ‘Last Minute Quick-Cash Challenge’

Get step-by-step instructions to create and launch a promotion in the next week. There’s still time to do something before Black Friday and Nic is giving away all her genius (for free!) to help you do it…

But whatever you do, may we suggest picking creativity over cynicism? As business owners, we can’t afford to let opportunities as ripe as Black Friday pass us by without at LEAST giving it (and our audience) a nod.

We’d love to see what you’re up to – let us know if you’re going to use Black Friday to build affinity (bond with your audience) or make money (no-brainer deal) and share your promotions with us over on our Facebook Page – we’d love to see!!