From the second I launched The Flourish Market—a boutique that focuses on promoting clothes, equipment, and presents which have a much bigger function—I knew that we would want to consider our vacation promotions otherwise.
Provided that a lot of the 200+ manufacturers we associate with are B-corps or truthful commerce corporations, our margins are already tighter than the common retailer. I felt the largest low cost we might afford to supply vacation consumers could be 20 %—which isn’t very thrilling when the massive field shops and even smaller boutiques would offer 40-60 % (or extra) off.
I’ve all the time been a giant believer that when you possibly can’t compete, you get inventive. So I thought of what we needed to supply. I thought of what aligned with our firm mission. I thought of what could be thrilling to our prospects. And I got here up with the thought for Gray Friday.
The gist of Gray Friday is that this: The week earlier than Black Friday, now we have our massive promotion weekend when, as an alternative of providing reductions, we provide 40-60 % of the client’s buy again in free presents. At totally different tiers of spending—$40, $75, $150, $250, and $500—prospects get a unique present, plus all of the presents from the lower cost tiers.
I had this concept mere months earlier than my first vacation season as a store proprietor, and I made a decision to launch it on a whim. It was a powerful success, and we’ve finished it yearly since then—and yearly, even throughout COVID, we’ve grown our complete income that weekend by 40-50 %.
I like inspiring enterprise homeowners to zig when different persons are zagging. Whereas I’m not saying you must do that precise promotion, I need to share why it really works for us and our prospects in hopes of encouraging others to suppose otherwise about vacation offers this yr, or for years to return.
We discovered how one can create extra worth with much less
One thing that always surprises individuals about Gray Friday is that it prices us the identical from a enterprise perspective as providing a 20 % low cost—however creates far more worth for the client.
Let’s say a buyer is spending $150 that weekend. If we did a 20 % low cost, we’d lose $30 as a enterprise, and the client most likely wouldn’t really feel like they obtained an particularly nice deal. However, if I take that very same $30 and consider it as my funds without spending a dime presents, it will possibly go shockingly far. For example, final yr prospects spending $150 obtained a free bracelet, a pair of artisan earrings, and a comfortable winter scarf. As a result of we’re shopping for these presents in bulk from our artisan companions and our buying timing usually aligns with promotions they’re doing, we’re capable of get an awesome worth, which permits us to supply a lot.
The precise worth of those merchandise is larger than the $30 a buyer would possibly save with a 20 % low cost—if prospects had been shopping for these merchandise off our cabinets, they’d value $80 or extra. However, maybe extra importantly, the perceived worth is larger. Our prospects get so excited by the truth that, whereas they’re doing their vacation purchasing, they get further presents for individuals on their record or to maintain for themselves as a deal with.
We get prospects earlier than they’ve blown their vacation funds
One other key think about Gray Friday’s success is that we maintain it the Friday earlier than the foremost vacation purchasing weekend.
I all the time thought it was bizarre that Small Enterprise Saturday is the day after Black Friday. My pondering is that, should you really need individuals to assist small companies, it’s good to get in entrance of them earlier than they spend all their cash on the main retailers. Actually, quite a few prospects thank me yearly for operating such an awesome promotion early, earlier than they’re tempted to make use of their buying energy on much less significant presents from bigger companies.
This has the aspect profit of constructing the vacation season far more nice for my workforce. We’re nonetheless open on Black Friday and Small Enterprise Saturday however, as a result of we’ve already completed our main weekend, we don’t open early, and I don’t want all arms on deck. We break up up work Thanksgiving week so that every one of my staff get some significant time with their households.
After all we get individuals who come into the shop Black Friday weekend and are confused by the truth that we aren’t providing a particular. We by no means apologize, and as an alternative use this as a second to share what we stand for, explaining that we are able to’t compete with the massive field shops and that we hope they give the impression of being round at our artisan merchandise and discover presents for the individuals on their record anyway. Plus, we are able to all the time encourage them to join our electronic mail record so that they’re notified about Gray Friday subsequent yr.
We construct a whole lot of pleasure round it, and all the time ship
So how do we promote Gray Friday to develop our gross sales every year? After all we do all of the basic advertising ways. We tease that our massive promotion is arising on social media and do a giant reveal of the free presents. We electronic mail our record very first thing that Friday to allow them to know the doorways are open, and ship them a final name electronic mail on Sunday (one thing I missed within the early years and now drives about 20 % of our gross sales for the weekend). And we construct a whole lot of pleasure within the retailer to attract in downtown foot visitors, taking part in vacation music and providing free drinks for consumers.
However the largest purpose our numbers develop a lot yr after yr is that we actually ship on the client expertise. I’ve observed two massive drivers for our gross sales progress. The primary is that present prospects spend extra. If a brand new buyer has by no means skilled Gray Friday, they usually spend round $75 as a result of they nearly can’t imagine it’s true. As soon as they notice that we actually aren’t messing round with the free presents, they plan their vacation purchasing round it the subsequent yr, and spend triple or quadruple what they did earlier than. The second progress driver is new buyer acquisition by way of phrase of mouth. Gray Friday is nearly like the very best stored purchasing secret that folks love sharing with their mates and family.
We attempt to hold this buyer pleasure going by making our presents even higher yr after yr. For example, final yr we created a customized product with one in all our companions in order that one of many presents was one thing you actually couldn’t get anyplace else.
Finally, like so many issues in our enterprise, this vacation promotion was by no means nearly rising the underside line. Our coronary heart behind Gray Friday is to have the ability to ship an exciting expertise to our prospects whereas sending our artisan companions a heck of a whole lot of work.
As an alternative of simply providing a reduction and taking a monetary loss as a enterprise, we’re capable of move that cash alongside to assist different companies succeed. Having the ability to place orders for a whole lot or hundreds of items is life-changing for a lot of of our companions. And we all the time be certain to share that affect with our prospects—together with the affect on our personal small enterprise—in order that they will really feel much more excited in regards to the purchases they made.
After sharing all these particulars on Gray Friday, my recommendation to different enterprise homeowners might sound odd: In terms of creating your finest vacation promotion, don’t go searching at what others are doing. As an alternative, take into consideration what could be thrilling to your particular prospects and what you have got the ability to ship this vacation season, then discover the overlap.
The reality is, you’re going to get some gross sales should you do a typical low cost for Black Friday or Small Enterprise Saturday. Nevertheless, you could possibly be doing triple or quadruple that quantity should you get inventive in delivering one thing that creates much more worth in your prospects.
