Black Friday is considered the start of the Christmas business

Black Friday is considered the start of the Christmas business
 

Every year, on the fourth Friday in November, Black Friday is on - in 2022 it will be November 25. On this day of special discounts day consumers are able to seize attractive promotions, especially in the technology segment.  Originally, Black Friday was dedicated to the start of the Christmas business.

It was invented in the United States, but now Black Friday has established itself as a global week of promotions. It all begins with Cyber Monday, the Monday following Black Friday and it ends on the subsequent Friday after a consistent week of special offers.  Especially online retailers use this week to draw attention to themselves with certain products and extreme discounts.

In 2020 in Germany, the promotion campaign days, according to Statista generated around 3.8 billion Euros in online and offline sales. Even though sales in 2021 were not as strong according to various surveys, the economic relevancy of Black Friday is still very much in evidence.
 

Study: Black Friday also pays off in B2B
 

Although Black Friday originated in the consumer segment, B2B companies can also use the day and the subsequent week for sales. A week of these promotions can significantly boost sales. Berlin-based Hopp Marktforschung conducted a B2B survey among 100 online retailers about Black Friday as early as 2018. The results are clear: 70 percent of the study participants indicated that they were able to gain new clientele thanks to discount promotions. Of those surveyed, 57 percent were able to significantly boost their sales. About a third of the retailers have also identified Black Friday as an opportunity to reach out to customers who could not be reached via other marketing channels.

Given that Black Friday and Cyber Monday in recent years have come even more relevant, the experiences will hardly have changed to the opposite these days. This is not surprising since business customers are also consumers and they are particularly aware of such discount promotions during these campaign days. Hence, it is certainly worth a try to also discount products or services from the B2B sector.

For instance, wholesalers could compose Black Friday campaigns based on the bestselling items of the year prior. They also have the opportunity to reduce inventory through discount programs, which attract particular attention during this timeframe. Customized discounts for existing customers are even more promising, if they are concisely aligned with these customers' needs.

Discount promotions generate less competition
 

It is equally important to promote the special Black Friday discounts. Given the fact that there is less competition in the B2B segment to stand out with such promotions, respective communicative measures through newsletters and social media channels should be initiated.

Last, but not least: Companies should technically prepare their websites for a temporary increase in customer activity. Using a check-up tool, if necessary through a third party service provider, it is possible to verify whether the system is capable of handling traffic peaks on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Make sure that your website doesn't get overloaded. And of course, you will have to make sure that your customer support staff is well prepared to reasonably handle all inquiries. If shoppers have negative experiences during this time, this may affect all other Christmas business.

By the way: If Black Friday and the subsequent Christmas business call for an increased supply in materials that cannot be covered by your regular suppliers, the leading B2B-platform europages offers numerous alternatives.