B2B Black Friday Deal
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you will know that Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, is now one of the highlights of the shopping year. Consumers flock to find the best deals on the high street or online, tempted by great discounts on a wealth of products throughout the Black Friday sales.
However, the spirit of Black Friday – a specific day (or in many cases a few days to a week) where unique sales opportunities are available need not only apply to those with consumer-facing businesses. At this time of year, many businesses to business organisations are taking advantage of the Black Friday craze and offering specifically tailored deals to appeal to their business customers.
So how can you come up with a Black Friday B2B strategy?
Isn’t Black Friday just for retailers?
While it may well have started out as a sale for shoppers, many service-based and b2b business owners are now starting to offer Black Friday deals for both existing and potential new customers.
The lure of Black Friday always lies in the fact that offers are both fleeting – they have a time limit, and they tend to offer excellent value for money.
Of course, if you have a business model that includes long consideration periods, putting together a Black Friday promotion may not be the right path. One must also remember that Black Friday deals are designed to generate income – not offer discounts to existing customers. However, with some savvy Black Friday deals, you can seek to increase brand awareness, get more value from existing customers and generate an income which may not have been available to you.
Black Friday Deal Ideas for B2B company’s
Unlike the obvious appeal of discounted prices on consumer products, business who work with other businesses may need to put a little more thought into their Black Friday offers. For many, offering a discount isn’t realistic, so it’s wise to think about what you can offer which adds value to your customers without dropping prices.
Some examples include:
Discounted upgrade of services for a certain time period
If you offer tiered services, such as a range of packages for your clients, or a SaaS solution, offering a limited period upgrade to the next level can be a win-win for both you and your clients. Your client gets to try an enhanced service at no extra or low cost, while you get to show off your talents and sell the benefits of your upgraded service.
Added training, support or workshops
You may well work in an industry where extra support is extremely valuable, and offering your knowledge can be a great way to help your customers. Is there a training need or a specific area on which you can offer support to your existing customers, and if so, why not offer it as a Black Friday deal?
Collaborate with others
Do you work closely with other businesses who you could team up with to produce a great Black Friday promotion? Working with other businesses to create offers has a number of benefits – you can share costs of promotion, and also gain access to an audience you may not otherwise be able to reach. For example, do you offer graphic design, and could pair up with a copywriting agency? Or what if you’re an accountant and a solicitor could complement your offering? By collaborating with others, you can come up with some extremely enticing deals that are beneficial to both parties.
How to promote your B2B Black Friday Deal
Of course, it’s all well and good coming up with a cracking offer, but if no one is aware of it, you’re unlikely to get any takers. However, unlike retailers who entice customers in by showing their deals in their shop windows, you may need to get tactical when it comes to promoting your B2B deals. While as a small business, you may not want to spend a huge amount, there are always easy ways to promote your offer. Here are some ways you can put in place a marketing strategy to spread the word about your promotion.
LinkedIn is the go-to B2B social media platform, and if your business already has a great presence on the site, it can be an excellent place to talk about your Black Friday offers. Consider using not just your company page, but if your team are LinkedIn users, why not get them to spread the word to their relevant connections too.
If you haven’t quite been keeping your LinkedIn page up to date, there are also social ads options that will allow you to reach a targeted audience to tell them about your deal.
Email Marketing
Consider sending out an email to your customers and contacts explaining what you are offering and of course, the benefits of your promotion. If your deal is to existing customers, this can be the perfect way to get them on board. If you are offering a Black Friday promotion to new customers only, why not throw in a referral reward for any existing client who gets a new customer on board?
Word of mouth
When it comes to B2B marketing, recommendations and word of mouth marketing have stood the test of time. Make sure that all of your client-facing teams are aware of your offer, and talk about it when dealing with your clients.
Website
If you have a great Black Friday deal, you need someone to explain it! Your website is one of the easiest places to show exactly what’s on offer. Consider creating a dedicated webpage that explains what’s included, what the benefits are, and how long the offer will run for.
Make sure that you show the deal on the pages that your existing and potential customers use the most – so think about including banners or images which link to your offer.
Whatever your business, it’s highly likely that a well-considered Black Friday deal can help to increase your revenue, get you sales that you may not have otherwise had, and reach new customers.
