Companies and customers all over the world are hot in the trails of the much-anticipated marketing honeypot that is Cyber Monday. Each year, e-commerce and marketing companies notice a huge spike in their bottom-line as customers and consumers look to retailers to provide them with the very best sales that money can buy – companies plan for this months in advance – and so should you.
It’s shopping time. Have you prepared?
Cyber Monday has been stated as being a cultural phenomenon and whether you sell exclusively online or not – it is a phenomenon that you should take advantage of. Big or small, you may not be able to compete with the large chains such as Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart (ASDA) or Tesco – but smaller retailers are proving that regardless of size, customers will be drawn to deals like fish to water.
It is worth noting that, good business, big or small, know what to sell and when to sell it. That is why this phenomenon provides ample opportunity to build a strategy that informs your customers that this event is happening in a business near them – vis-a-vis, jump on the bandwagon whilst you can, but have a clear idea of when you are going to jump.
Chances are, that your customer will know of the fabulous savings to be had on Cyber Monday. Whether it is household deals, mobile phone sales, technology freebies – you can shape the phenomenon to fit your business’s needs. The key here is to try and build upon your customer base, by offering them something that they can’t get anywhere else.
For example, everyone needs household appliances this time of year – with Christmas looming, families like to have new appliances to make the Christmas holidays that little bit easier. Household deals like microwave ovens, pots and pans, television and audio appliances – whatever it is, household products will, more often than not, go down well with budding deal hunters, scouring the aisles (virtual or not) for that measure of their loyal custom. You can help customers by marketing the phenomenon as a way of freeing up those household bills, as this time of year, household bills are a worry for people.
Buy one, get one free, 2 for 1, 3 for 1, cheapest item free, extra gift free – whatever hook you choose to use within this ever-expanding market; Cyber Monday allows you to re-brand your offers, for one day only. It is worth noting, however, that Cyber Monday does attract the ‘one-timers’ – those being the conscientious customer who will only be drawn to your offers, only for the offer itself, whilst not choosing to stick around for the off-season.
Whatever your business, get creative!
I myself have seen bars and restaurants take part – by offering free wi-fi for the day and printing out pamphlets with the best savings of the day to surf for. Salons have offered their customer’s electronic products like hair dryers, curlers and tongs for one-day only (with a hair-cut of course). Masseurs have offered various electronic devices on Cyber Monday to convince their customers that they have their best interests at heart. Even coffee shops can take part by offering free Kindle downloads with every cup of coffee bought (think about it, what do people enjoy with a good cup o’ joe?).
The point is – it is the one day of the year where you can get creative and experiment with your sales strategy; the result of which may prove successful.
Experts are predicting that this will be a bumper day for Cyber Monday, as recent figures suggest that ‘Single’s Day‘, provided businesses with an unprecedented spike in sales. The old bank holiday sales and end-of-season clearouts are now being transposed to Cyber Monday and retailers are taking more notice of this worldwide phenomenon – and don’t be fooled into thinking that you can’t take place. Everyone can take part, everyone can profit and there are numerous examples of how businesses have prospered by planning ahead and implementing something new.
Watch what others do
At the very least, it is a good opportunity to look at how competitors use the event – take heed of how others are strategizing and try to replicate their successes or learn from their failures. Even if you are worried about overstocking, there are plenty of opportunities over the coming weeks to attach products to already tried and tested marketing plan.
They key term here is ‘try a little different for a change’ – a strapline of my own making, feel free to pinch. Speculation is the name of the game and be sure to ‘smell what sells’.
Conclusion
The fun thing here is that you can stay on brand whilst ‘ushering’ in a different mode of operation – you don’t have to take drastic measures by any means. But it is the one day where you can challenge your own tropes and look to be a little different for the day.
Whatever you do – have fun and enjoy!