Get ready for Black Friday

The importance of Black Friday is increasing throughout Europe, and the increase is more visible than ever in physical stores as in e-commerce. 

We have followed our customers throughout the last 4 years and experienced a development in different lines of businesses.  

So how are you able to exceed your competitors?

How do you prepare yourself for Black Friday?

And how do you get through without being in a pickle?

We do not have the right solution for your exact shop, but we are happy to share our knowledge.

1. Use last years data
2. Landing page
3. Is your server ready?
4. Set up your stock and prepare your employees
5. Market all the way! 
6. Optimize your returning process 
7. Lifeline – make sure to get through to your partners (Webshipper, webshop system, payment system)
8. FAQ

1. use data from last year 

If you have had your webshops for several years, you should use your former data to estimate visits on your website, expected revenue plus popular sales. 

Furthermore you can check:

• Which searches made people last year on your website?
• Which products performed well?
• Check Google Trends for search categories 
• Look out for your competitors 

2. Landing page 

Create a landing page in order to lead your Black Friday traffic in a safe and steady manner. In that way you will be able to control what your customer will be exposed to, by collecting all of your offers on one single page. This will create a perfect overview for your customers. Make sure to clarify your customers exact savings plus, which type of discount it may concern. (%, discount, variation of products)

3. Is your server ready?

Make sure that your server is able to accommodate visitors. No one wishes to wait for a webshop to open if a breakdown should occur – So please make sure to have enough server capacity.

4. Set up your stock and prepare your employees 

Make sure that your stock is acute and ready for all the orders that drop in – this also involves your stockstatus/ supply. The worst customer experience is to now have the products in stock. Let us please avoid this specific situation. 

Furthermore, it is important that your employees are thoroughly informed regarding duty schedules, breaks, procedures and routines in order to make the best experience for everyone. To make the day a bit more pleasant, you can spice things up by providing candy, beverage and so on. 

5: Market all the way! 

Make sure to be as visible as possible as opposed to your competitors. Use Facebook, Instagram and GoogleAds as far as possible in relation to your shop and target group. 

You can, with advantage, set up a facebook event for Black Friday 2-3 weeks in advance. In that way, you can collect leads in order to target your Black Friday campaigns. 

Be aware of the following when setting up your event:

1. A catchy title that describes how you are making something extra
2. Date and time
3. Type of offers (offers per hour or per day)
4. Special offers (free shipment, goodie bags for the first 100 or all customers)
5. Other practical issues (extended delivery can occur due to many orders)

6: Optimize your returning proces 

Is it possible to optimize your return flow, then do yourself and your customers a favor. the simpler it is for everyone, the better a customer experience you will offer. 

Should you for instance offer free returns potentially over a certain amount?

Should your customers receive a return label with their parcel, or should they collect it online?

Perhaps, your carrier has a solution to which your customers should not have to use a label but instead be content with a code. 

Furthermore, you need to keep track of your process within return labels, in relation to when your stockroom receives products in return.  

How fast should it be registered in your shop, enabling it to sell to a new customer? 

And how can you and your employees manage in a manner so you will not have your returns mixed with new products – and do not forget to check when it comes to claims.  

7. Keep track of your lifelines!

Should anything go wrong, contrary to expectations, make sure to keep track of your lifelines. 

Do you have a backup of your payment system if it should crash?

Unfortunately, it has occured that payment services have crashed, so make sure to have your contact information on the responsible service at hand. And not least, make sure to check up on in which span they can be contacted.   

the same goes for your other partners, if you have anyone to manage your webshop and website. Should the unfortunate happen, then be certain that you are able to contact your partners, and have a plan at hand if a crash or a breakdown should happen. 

Do yourself a favor and spend some time on creating an emergency plan and contact list. 

8. FAQ

Q: How do I make sure that my stockroom can keep track?

A: Set up one or more printing- and packing stations. In that way you make sure that your employees have enough space and do not have to wait on line to print out orders.

Q: Subsequently, my carriers have sent expensive bills, why?

A: Estimate your volume to your carriers, so you make sure to have the correct shipping prices. have a dialogue with your carriers in advance. In that way you will avoid unexpected bills.  

Q: What if anything breaks down or crashes?

A:  Webshipper supports your checkout, which means that you are not reliant on your carrier’s server. But make sure, as mentioned in section 7, to be in charge of your lifelines. 

Q: Can my webshop keep up?

A: We specialize in shipping and logistics, which means that we let your partner be a specialist within their field of expertise. Contact your partner early, so you make sure that your webshop is able to handle the Black Friday pressure. All webshops have been set up differently, so make sure that your webshop solution has been set up to your expectations.