Although many Americans look forward to Thanksgiving, many also look forward to shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving. They look forward to fantastic deals on holiday gifts for others or household goods for themselves. The weekend after Thanksgiving consists of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. For many businesses, Cyber Monday provides the most significant challenges and opportunities to come away with huge sales volumes.
Here are some Cyber Monday ideas for small businesses.
Ensure You Prepare
If you plan to run a Cyber Monday promotion, it's critical you fully prepare to meet demand. Failure to do so will hold back your Cyber Monday efforts and interfere with your plan to increase your sales for higher revenue. Many business owners find it helpful to create a checklist of all the tasks you must complete in the weeks and months leading up to Cyber Monday. One way to do this is by making separate to-do lists for various time intervals before Cyber Monday.
For example, you could have a to-do list for three months out that involves discussing your requirements with suppliers to ensure you will have enough goods and materials to meet demands. Your checklist for a month before Cyber Monday might include obtaining enough shipping supplies and scheduling more workers to meet these requirements. Many businesses must ask staff to work overtime, so be sure to account for overtime pay if you must do so.
By thinking ahead and completing essential tasks in the months leading up to Cyber Monday, you will set your company and employees up for success and avoid last-minute scrambling when the Cyber Monday rush hits.
Find Your Audience
Many large corporations can afford to send out widespread advertisements that announce their Cyber Monday deals. Small businesses don't have the resources to follow the same tactic. Fortunately, small business holiday marketing can offer a more personal touch that can help you cut through the noise of other promotions. To provide a more personal alternative, you must know your audience to understand what will resonate with them.
To do this, take a deeper look at the people you have been reaching in the past with your email marketing campaigns, social media channels, and other similar mediums. Social media and email analytics can give you a better idea of the age range your business attracts and additional critical information that you can use to target your advertising in the future.
Cyber Monday is a great time to reach out to past customers and offer them an exclusive deal to thank them for their past business. Add the recipient's first name to the email or even the subject line to give it a more personal touch. Adding this small touch makes your promotional email feel more like a conversation, especially from a small business rather than a large corporation. Email marketing campaigns can have an ultra-high return on investment when done correctly, and many people are actively looking for deals in the days leading up to Cyber Monday.
Stick With One Goal
It's easy for small businesses to feel caught up in the hectic Thanksgiving weekend, especially if they're balancing family and work life. They may stretch themselves too thin by preparing for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. But that is too much for most small businesses to handle efficiently. It's better to narrow your focus on which aspect your customers will be most excited about instead of trying to under-deliver for all parts of the holiday weekend. Think about which types of promotions have had the most success for your brand in the past.
Do your customers love physical coupons or coupon codes? Maybe your customers appreciate free gifts with orders over $50 instead. Take some time to think about who your customers are and what they care about most. Once you figure that out, focus most of your efforts on doing that part as well as you can. Narrowing your focus helps ease the stress that comes with this time of year, and it can make handling in-store and e-commerce inventory much more manageable.
Inform Customers Ahead of Time
No matter what you decide to focus on, no promotion can succeed unless you get the word out! There are several ways to promote your Cyber Monday offerings, including social media posts, targeted online ads, email campaigns, and more. It can also be helpful to check with local organizations to see whether they offer an online storefront for small businesses. These can be an excellent way for people in your community to find out more about what you offer and learn more about your Cyber Monday deals.
Cyber Monday Takes Planning and Effort, But It Can Pay Off Substantially
Cyber Monday requires a bit more effort on your small business's part, but it can result in significant revenue generation that will get your small business off on the right foot for the holiday season. If you're concerned or overwhelmed, you can work with a media partner to do the legwork for you. They have the expertise and resources to reach your customers, giving you the time to focus on the logistics of meeting customer demand.
