6 levers to create a memorable Black Friday

6 levers to create a memorable Black Friday

Black Friday has become an unmissable event for consumers looking for good deals.

But for brands, it is increasingly difficult to stand out among the jungle of promotions.

In 2023, online sales jumped by 12% in Europe during Black Friday.

The bar is high for 2024!

What are the levers to take full advantage of Black Friday?

To stand out from the crowd, it is no longer enough to slash prices. The challenge is to focus on original differentiation levers that will mark the minds of your customers.

Here are 6 inspiring ways to create a memorable Black Friday that will delight your buyers and boost your sales.

1 - Surprise with exclusive offers

You know as well as we do, during the Black Friday period, consumers are overwhelmed with promotions of all kinds. To stand out, you need to surprise your customers with offers they won't find anywhere else. The idea? Focus on exclusivity and rarity to create a sense of urgency and exception.

Here are some suggestions for designing unique offers during Black Friday:

• Create limited edition products, numbered or signed, that will give your customers the feeling of owning a rare and precious object. For example, an ultra-limited edition pair of sneakers, an engraved watch, a perfume signed by its creator...
• Design new packs and gift sets combining your bestsellers. The ideal is to combine complementary products (for example, a cream, a serum and a mask in a facial care set) or to assemble your iconic products in an exclusive format (for example, a best-of makeup set).
• Offer exclusive services: free express delivery (even on small amounts), extended warranty, priority access to customer service, personalized coaching...
• Give early access to your new products. Why not offer your new products as an exclusive pre-launch during Black Friday, before opening sales to the general public? Your customers will be flattered to be the first to discover them.

The challenge, with this approach, is to create a feeling of privilege and exception with offers that cannot be found elsewhere to both surprise your buyers and stimulate their desire to buy.

2 - Adapt the design of your marketing materials

To put your Black Friday offers in the spotlight, you need to adapt the design of all your marketing materials. The objective is twofold: dress all your channels in Black Friday colors to create a festive and event-like atmosphere, and emphasize your best deals so as not to drown your customers in promos.

Here are some ways to "Black Friday-ize" your communication:

• Dress your e-commerce site, your emails, wallets and push notifications in Black Friday colors: black, gold, red... Change your graphic charter during this key period to instill a memorable atmosphere. For example, you can add banners, visuals or gifs on the Black Friday theme.
• Create impactful visuals highlighting your best offers. The idea here is to design specific creations on your e-commerce site, in your emails, your advertisements that emphasize your star products and your most attractive discounts. Some tips: use a punchy tone ("Hurry, only a few hours left!"), flashy colors and impactful typography.
• Take care of your homepage with a counter, banners, pop-ups. Don't forget that your homepage is your best weapon to attract attention and create a sense of urgency. You can add dynamic elements such as a countdown, scrolling banners or pop-ups with your shock offers.
• Facilitate the user journey with categories dedicated to Black Friday. Your goal? Allow your visitors to easily find the good deals. To do this, you can create exclusive categories ("Our Black Friday Offers", "Up to -70%"...), streamline your navigation, add special filters (by discount level, by price category).

The key is the user experience. Your design must both immerse your visitors in the Black Friday atmosphere and allow them to easily access your gems. One tip: go to the essentials, focusing on your most desirable offers. Too much choice kills choice!

3 - Involve influencers

Influencers have become essential distribution vectors in 2024\. They can prove to be valuable allies to spotlight your Black Friday offers. By partnering with the right influencers, you can expand your visibility and capture a new clientele during this key commercial period. But be careful, leave nothing to chance and choose your influencers carefully.

To succeed in your Black Friday special influencer marketing campaign, you must:

• Identify influencers in line with your values and your target. It is essential to select influencers whose universe is consistent with your brand and whose audience corresponds to your potential buyers. For example, if you sell organic cosmetics, collaborate with beauty influencers known for their green and ethical approach.
• Collaborate on a capsule collection or a co-branded product. To create the event, why not design an exclusive line of products with a key influencer? This is an opportunity to combine your expertise to imagine ultra-desirable and time-limited pieces.
• Offer influencers exclusive promo codes to share. A classic... The idea is to offer partner influencers unique discounts to share with their followers. This helps create a feeling of privilege and stimulate sales through their networks. You can also use an affiliate system to further align your interests with those of the influencers.
• Create fun and offbeat content to animate your social networks. Ask influencers to share stories, posts, or videos dedicated to your Black Friday offers. Think of playful content: unboxing, challenges, contests...

Surrounding yourself with partner influencers will allow you to multiply the reach of your Black Friday and reach new customers. We recommend that you brief the influencers well in advance on your expectations - while leaving them latitude to express their creativity. The more authentic the content, the more impactful it will be.

4 - Create immersive in-store experiences

During Black Friday, consumers are also looking for fun and conviviality. Beyond the good deals, they want to live memorable experiences that will change them from the stress of everyday life. And for that, your stores are great playgrounds to dazzle them and create a strong emotional bond with your brand.

Here are some suggestions to transform your physical points of sale into real living spaces during Black Friday:

• Organize festive events, whether tastings, mini-concerts or fashion shows. Anything goes to create an enchanted interlude and make your customers vibrate. You can also partner with artists to add value to these ephemeral events.
• Offer practical workshops: beauty diagnosis, cooking classes, yoga initiation... This is an opportunity to share your expertise and create value around your products.
• Set up cocooning spaces. There is no shortage of ideas! It can be a nail bar, massages, a daycare, a tea room... Pamper your buyers by offering them bubbles of relaxation in the heart of your store to encourage them to take their time, immerse themselves in your universe... and consume more!
• Use immersive technologies (virtual reality, interactive terminals, connected mirrors...) to immerse your customers in a stunning experience, stimulating their senses. Some suggestions? A VR headset to test your furniture in situation or a smart mirror to try looks without changing!

Your challenge, you will have understood, is to re-enchant in-store shopping by offering strong and engaging experiences to your customers.

5 - Leverage artificial intelligence to personalize the experience

Personalization of the experience is a fatal weapon. Consumers want to feel unique and recognized, through ultra-relevant recommendations. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes into play. Thanks to its ability to analyze masses of data in real time, AI allows you to create tailor-made experiences adapted to each customer.

But how to concretely use AI to boost your Black Friday? The possibilities are endless. Here are some ideas:

• Use AI for ultra-targeted product recommendations. Based on each customer's browsing and purchase history, AI can predict the items most likely to appeal to them and make hyper-personalized suggestions at the right time. Ideal for stimulating additional sales!
• Set up an AI chatbot to manage the flow of customer requests. During Black Friday, your customer service will be overwhelmed with questions. AI can be of great help here, via an intelligent conversational agent capable of handling a large part of basic requests (order tracking, product availability...) to relieve your teams.
• Create personalized offers based on purchase history. AI can identify the preferences and average basket of each customer to concoct tailor-made promotions. For example, an exclusive discount on their favorite brand or a voucher corresponding to their usual spending.
• Optimize your prices in real time thanks to predictive AI. AI can finally be used to continuously adjust your prices based on different factors: customer behavior, competitive offers, stock level...

Want to dig deeper into the subject of AI? We have concocted a complete article on the subject: "Artificial intelligence at the service of the marketing team". We present the main marketing use cases of Artificial Intelligence with Actito.

6 - Add a service dimension

To create a truly unforgettable Black Friday, focus on service and customer care! Because beyond the products, it's the overall experience that will make the difference and set you apart from the competition. Understanding this is fundamental.

But how exactly do you inject service value into your Black Friday? Here are some ideas:

• Offer delivery, even on small purchase amounts. It's Black Friday, it's time to be generous and spoil your customers by offering free delivery, with no minimum purchase! You can even offer express delivery for those in a hurry or delivery to pick-up points for the flexible ones. However, be careful to properly evaluate the ROI of this type of action which, obviously, has a cost.
• Give privileged access to your customer service. Why not set up a VIP hotline for your Black Friday customers or develop a priority chat service to answer their questions? Your buyers will be reassured to be able to reach you easily and will feel treated like kings.
• Offer a personalized diagnosis or coaching. Whether you sell cosmetics, furniture or electronics, your customers always appreciate getting expert advice to choose the products best suited to their needs. You could set up individual appointments by video or in-store to support your customers in a tailor-made way.
• Offer a subscription or an extended warranty. To extend the experience, why not offer your Black Friday customers a free subscription (for example, a one-month subscription to your beauty box) or an additional warranty? That's another track...

Key learnings

To succeed in your Black Friday in 2024, dare to think outside the box. Rather than focusing solely on promotions, activate original levers that will surprise your customers. Let's recap our 6 tips:

1. Surprise with exclusive, rare and ephemeral offers.
2. Adapt the design of your media to Black Friday colors.
3. Involve influencers to increase your visibility.
4. Create immersive experiences at points of sale.
5. Leverage AI to personalize the shopping journey.
6. Add a service dimension to make a difference.

The ultimate goal? To make your customers live a unique and unforgettable shopping experience, in line with their expectations. By activating these 6 levers, your brand will gain in sympathy capital, differentiation and preference. Enough to boost your sales during Black Friday, but also to generate engagement and customer loyalty in the long term.

So, ready to break the codes in 2024? At Actito, we have all the solutions to help you make the most of this key commercial event. From targeting offers to personalizing the journey, including influencer campaigns, we support you from A to Z to make your Black Friday a memorable success.

Want to know more? Let's take 30 minutes together to study your project!

Discover our solutions to boost your business during Black Friday