Preparing For Black Friday 2017!
Black Friday. It’s a day that either brings huge glee or strikes huge fear to every American’s (any international consumer at this point) heart, depending on what side of the bridge you fall on that day. Consumers are usually ecstatic about the blow-out sales & promotions that businesses are offering during this time and on the other side, businesses are hustling & bustling to meet the demand of their customer base.
It’s a hectic time on both sides, and as both an entrepreneur & a “product hunter” myself (shout-out to Product Hunt) I think it’s important that you #PREP for the coming season on BOTH sides. Here are 3 tips for entrepreneurs & 3 for “Product Hunters” to maximize their potential during holiday season:
Entrepreneurs
1) Develop A Plan
The first mistake most businesses make when trying to prepare for anything is failing to PLAN. The first thing that any entrepreneur needs to think about when thinking of his/her business is the schedule or sequence of events that needs to happen & WHEN they need to happen.
2) Listen To Your Customers
Use social media, customer feedback, polls, and any other type of research you can find to effectively gauge what it is customers are looking for most out of your product line and gear your promotions toward that understanding!
Social listening is a simple tactic most don’t utilize and is an easy way to get a better understanding of how you need to position yourself as a business!
3) Create S.M.A.R.T Goals To Achieve Something Tangible.
Create your promotional objectives & utilize S.M.A.R.T goals to get closer to that goal day by day! For example, if your goal is to get _ amount of customers to your Black Friday event, you should be messaging X amount of people, posting Y times a day, and e-mailing Z amounts of people to get individuals to your event.
Ultimately success in executing any holiday campaign comes down to putting it down on paper, giving tasks their due diligence and BEING CONSISTENT!!!
Product Hunters
1) List Out The Things You THINK You Need.
The first rule of a product hunter is to know what it is you are looking for. Make sure you know exactly what models of tech you’re looking for, where to find them, and the prices you’re looking for to maximize your deal getting potential out in those streets come Black Friday!
2) Find 2–3 spots for you to grab your finds.
It’s Black Friday, the day when capitalism comes to a head & you know what that means: COMPETITION! Make sure you’ve identified at least two places for a product because let’s face it, if you’re not the first person in line, nothing’s guaranteed!
3) Online Shopping Is Your FRIEND!!!
It kills me to know that sights like this were possible even two years ago:
If one can avoid it, I would do my best to stay out of the fray that is Black Friday shopping completely. It’s simply safer, more efficient, and easier to do your Black Friday shopping from home & let the chips fall where they may — though I do understand that sometimes online retail does not subsititute the in-store experience. Yeah, I think I’ll hold off on that myself.
Here are a few sites that may help you in your Black Friday shopping endeavors online:
General Black Friday Details
Fashion
^^^ (Not Updated For 2017 YET)
Tech Deals
Pricing Sites
Have fun, be safe, and most importantly #StayPREPPED this holiday season however you choose to spend this holiday season!!!
