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Business Marketing

5 Tips for a Successful Black Friday

The holiday season is here and businesses everywhere are gearing up for the busiest shopping day of the year- Black Friday. Over 74 million Americans shop on Black Friday (if they were to form a country, it would be the 20th most populous on Earth!) Is your business ready?!

With so many stores offering huge deals on Black Friday, it can be difficult to stand out against all the noise. However, incorporating a few simple strategies can help your business provide an excellent Black Friday experience and leave a lasting impression on your customers.

Staff well

The crowds….the lines. We all know what this national shopping day is like. Make sure you have plenty of staff to get your customers through the checkout lines quickly. If your store is understaffed, it will be a very long and frustrating day. Black Friday shoppers are expecting lines, but your store can offer a refreshing experience by being extra organized and efficient.

Make it fun

Black Friday is a long and busy day for your staff, so make it fun by bringing in lots of snacks and goodies for the break room. You can even offer contests and prizes for meeting goals at the end of the day. Making it fun for your employees will help to create a positive atmosphere which will translate to a great customer experience with your store.

Keep your store looking extra special

According to a recent study, foot traffic to big box stores is expected to increase by 34% this year. Many small and medium retailers located near these stores could expect a spike in traffic as well. It is important for your businesses to prepare for this additional traffic by making sure your store looks in tip-top shape. Bringing out your latest merchandise, sprucing up your window displays and keeping things in order throughout the big day will be sure to leave a great impression on your customers.

Don’t try to compete with the big box stores

Let’s face it, the retail giants will always be able to offer bigger and better deals on Black Friday. Trying to compete with the big stores will only hurt your business by eating up all your margins. Instead, your business needs to focus on what those box stores can’t offer- a personal experience. As a smaller business, putting community and family values first is essential for generating loyal customer relationships. So, don’t bother opening on Thanksgiving because your customers will appreciate your businesses more for staying closed on the holiday.

Offer coupons with future dates

With the influx of traffic to your store on Black Friday, it is important to implement a strategy to encourage those shoppers to keep coming back. A great way to do this is by handing out coupons to customers at checkout. Be sure that those coupons are dated for a week or two in the future. This will bring shoppers back to your store during a less rushed time and could lead to long-term customer relationships.

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Business Digital Marketing

5 Quick Tips for Mobile-Friendly Email Campaigns

If your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to engage your subscribers and drive conversions. A recent study shows that 67% of all emails are now opened on mobile devices. In order to grab the attention of the modern day consumer, it is imperative to tailor your emails for smaller screens and scrolling fingers. Check out these key tips to ensure your emails are optimized for mobile viewers.

1. Short Subject Lines

47% of email recipients decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone. If the subject is too long, it can get cut off on a mobile screen and disrupt the opportunity to connect with your reader. A mobile device only shows 25-30 characters of an email subject line, so it is imperative to be concise with your wording.

2. Single Column Layout

On a mobile device, multiple columns in an email often look too busy and can be confusing for the reader. Using a single column template will simplify your design and highlight your important content. It also makes the email easily scrollable, keeping your call-to-action in direct line of sight.

3. One Clear Call to Action

Emails that contain a single call to action (CTA) can increase clicks 371% and conversions 1,617%. To receive the maximum amount of clicks on a mobile device, it is important to keep a CTA to 2-4 words, use a higher contrast button color, place CTA towards the top of the email, and size the button to at least 44 x 44 pixels.

4. Concise Copy

Too much copy in an email can be overwhelming and boring to look at, especially on a mobile device. Use bulleted lists and short paragraphs to create easily scannable content for the reader. It is also important to increase the size the text to avoid people needing to zoom in to read the information.

5. Space to Click

Mobile screens get crowded quickly. If you stack links and CTA’s too close together without leaving enough space around them, recipients can accidentally click the wrong link. To keep this from happening, make sure to leave plenty of room to click, keep links to a minimum, and avoid stacking them.