Black Friday Sales: Emails Reign Supreme As Most Popular Promotional Strategy

As a part of the 2021 SavvySME Seasonal Marketing Report, SavvySME researchers examined which promotional trends small businesses were most likely to use leading up to Black Friday Sales.

While usually embraced by digital advertisers, several aspects of the widely-accepted holistic digital marketing approach won't be used by the vast majority of businesses this Black Friday.

Only 2.8% of business owners acknowledged they'd advertise on social media, while an even smaller 1.3% indicated they'd use some influencer marketing.

This trend continues with 3.0% of advertisers researching paid search and 10.1% of small businesses looking into content marketing.

But why?

Why are these typically highly prioritised methods of marketing seemingly being abandoned this Black Friday?

SavvySME's Top Influencer in Digital Advertising, Renee Rollestone, indicates a rise in advertising spend might be the culprit:

"If your ad is running during major retail events, ie. Black Friday they are going to be more expensive and frankly not perform well. Many industries reported in 2019 and 2020 that their campaigns had major dips in impressions and clicks during this time. If you are not a retailer or have a Black Friday deal, it may be worth switching them off or setting them to the minimum spend. And don't get worried if your results are lower than usual!"

And, while more traditional strategies will be utilised than the previously mentioned digital strategies by advertisers this Black Friday (like traditional advertising with 16.2% and traditional sales strategies with 6.3%), SavvySME Digital Marketing Expert Travis Longmore reminds us that with any strategy, it's important to lean into the Black Friday spirit, and offer discounts: 

"Don't discount the discount. Reward your regular customers and give them an offer they can't refuse. With return customers a priority and customer retention far cheaper than customer acquisition (5 times cheaper), offers and discounts should be a part of your overall marketing strategy. To go one step further, include an offer that involves a customer bringing along an extra friend or family member. That way, you get your business in front of more people and increase the chances of hitting that magical three visit number."

With that said, not all businesses are abandoning digital marketing. 10.9% of small business owners indicated they'd use some form of digital marketing, including 14.1% focusing on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and 13.3% looking into PR campaigns to spread the news about their Black Friday deals.  

Top SavvySME Public Relations Influencer Celia Harding recommends planning ahead when promoting big holiday and public events:

"Year in and year out, there are events and days of the year when the media are guaranteed to cover, from Australia Day to R U OK? Day, The Melbourne Cup, Halloween, Black Friday and heaps of others in between."

"Rather than realising it's Mother's Day at the last minute and it's too late to make the most of the opportunity, it pays to be organised.

At the start of the year, take a holistic view of what's happening and plot out key events that are a natural fit for your brand on a calendar, so you don't miss the boat."

While the previous strategies mentioned above will be used for Black Friday by marketers, none will be as widely utilised as email marketing, with 21.9% of small business owners using this method. 

Email marketing is widely seen as the best way to share deals and promotions directly with your customer base. This makes it the ideal and most cost-effective method for marketers to ensure the highest percentage of conversions. 

Top SavvySME Influencer in Email Marketing, Daniella Pozzolungo recommends taking a step first and improving conversion rates by using segments in your email marketing strategy: 

"By using segmentation, you're more likely to get the best value out of your list. This should make it more reasonable to offer discounts where they're going to be most valuable. Think of offering discounts and promotions as an investment into the future life cycle of your customers (and the referrals they'll bring to you)."

Whether you decide to use a wide-ranging approach to promote your Black Friday promotion or focus on a single platform, asking for guidance from a digital marketing professional is your best bet to maximise your Black Friday sales potential.

Top 10 Black Friday Sales Promotion Strategies

(Most Searched in the Last 30 Days)

Email Marketing 21.90%

Advertising 16.20%

Search Engine Optimisation 14.10%

Public Relations 13.30%

Digital Marketing 10.90%

Content Marketing 10.10%

Sales Strategy 6.30%

Paid Search 3.00%

Social Media Marketing 2.80%

Influencer Marketing 1.30%

Source: SavvySME SavvySME Seasonal Marketing Report 2021