The third in our series of blogs- Top Tips for High Street Business Survival- with expert Clare Bailey, AKA The Retail Champion. Referred to as a 'Walking Encyclopaedia of Retail', Clare is one of the most well-known and respected retail experts in the UK, with unrivalled knowledge on retail, high streets, and consumer matters.
Here, Clare outlines why all High Street Businesses can and should get involved with shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to make sure they don't miss out on potential sales...
Don’t assume that MAJOR shopping events are just for the big guys – you too can take advantage of the hype and help your customers to “bag a bargain” whilst boosting your sales in lockdown. But how?
In the last couple of blogs (Talk To Your Customers and Be Available and Findable) we’ve talked about the importance of continued communication and availability with your customers – and right now the best way to do that is via social and digital channels.
To capitalise on big shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, think about what promotions will engage your existing customers and potentially attract new customers too. They don’t have to be massive discounts, just great deals or things like bundles/kits that group several of your products together.
Shoppers will be looking for and expecting these sorts of special deals, especially as they want to tick off presents and save money on their Christmas shopping, so it’s a good to time to talk about your products as gifts.
If you have Christmas gifts/clothing/decorations and seasonal stock to shift, it’s a great opportunity for you to do this. Even if you own a High Street Business like a salon, you could sell a “gift experience” voucher for a pampering day, treatment or just a standard appointment at a special “reopening” price.
If you are more technically minded, and can create marketplaces on Amazon and eBay, it would be a good idea to do so. The simple maths is that the volume of traffic on those sites, especially around big shopping events, makes the likelihood of new customers finding you much greater, leading to new sales and securing customers you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
Whatever works for you, just try it! With Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the weekend in between and much of the week before/after, these events are easily bigger than the Boxing Day and January Sales now, so you cannot afford to miss out.
For more Top Tips to help High Street Businesses during lockdown and beyond- see Clare’s blog series here: www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/makeyourselfathome/high-street-business-survival along with recordings of Clare's recent webinars on how businesses can continue to operate during lockdown restrictions.