From the second I launched The Flourish Market — a boutique that focuses on promoting clothes, equipment, and items which have an even bigger goal — I knew that we would want to consider our vacation promotions in a different way.
On condition that many of the 200+ manufacturers we companion with are B-corps or honest commerce firms, our margins are already tighter than the typical retailer. I felt the most important low cost we may afford to supply vacation customers can be 20% — which isn’t very thrilling when the large field shops and even smaller boutiques would offer 40-60% (or extra) off.
I’ve at all times been an enormous believer that when you’ll be able to’t compete, you get artistic. So I thought of what we needed to provide. I thought of what aligned with our firm mission. I thought of what can be thrilling to our clients. 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, we now have our large promotion weekend when, as an alternative of providing reductions, we provide 40-60% of the shopper’s buy again in free items. At totally different tiers of spending — $40, $75, $150, $250, and $500 — clients get a unique reward, plus all of the items from the cheaper price 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 achieved 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 individuals are zagging. Whereas I’m not saying it’s important to do that actual promotion, I need to share why it really works for us and our clients in hopes of encouraging others to assume in a different way about vacation offers this 12 months, or for years to return.
We found out the best way to 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 shopper.
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 shopper 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 cost items, it might go shockingly far. For example, final 12 months clients spending $150 obtained a free bracelet, a pair of artisan earrings, and a comfy winter scarf.
As a result of we’re shopping for these items 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 increased than the $30 a buyer may save with a 20% low cost — if clients have been shopping for these merchandise off our cabinets, they’d price $80 or extra. However, maybe extra importantly, the perceived worth is increased.
Our clients get so excited by the truth that, whereas they’re doing their vacation procuring, they get further items for individuals on their listing or to maintain for themselves as a deal with.
We get clients 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 procuring weekend.
I at all times thought it was bizarre that Small Enterprise Saturday is the day after Black Friday. My considering is that, should you really need individuals to assist small companies, that you must get in entrance of them earlier than they spend all their cash on the main retailers.
In truth, quite a few clients thank me yearly for working such an awesome promotion early, earlier than they’re tempted to make use of their buying energy on much less significant items from bigger companies.
This has the facet 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 fingers on deck.
We cut up up work Thanksgiving week so that each one of my workers 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 will’t compete with the large field shops and that we hope they give the impression of being round at our artisan merchandise and discover items for the individuals on their listing anyway.
Plus, we will at all times encourage them to join our e mail listing in order that they’re notified about Gray Friday subsequent 12 months.
We construct loads of pleasure round it and at all times ship
So how can we promote Gray Friday to develop our gross sales every year? After all we do all of the basic advertising and marketing ways. We tease that our large promotion is arising on social media and do an enormous reveal of the free items.
We e mail our listing very first thing that Friday to allow them to know the doorways are open, and ship them a final name e 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 loads of pleasure within the retailer to attract in downtown foot visitors, enjoying vacation music and providing free drinks for customers.
However the largest cause our numbers develop a lot 12 months after 12 months is that we actually ship on the shopper expertise. I’ve observed two large drivers for our gross sales progress. The primary is that current clients 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 consider it’s true.
As soon as they notice that we actually aren’t messing round with the free items, they plan their vacation procuring round it the subsequent 12 months, and spend triple or quadruple what they did earlier than. The second progress driver is new buyer acquisition by means of phrase of mouth. Gray Friday is nearly just like the best-kept procuring secret that individuals love sharing with their pals and family.
We attempt to hold this buyer pleasure going by making our items even higher 12 months after 12 months. For example, final 12 months we created a customized product with one among our companions in order that one of many items was one thing you actually couldn’t get anyplace else.
In the end, 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 exhilarating expertise to our clients whereas sending our artisan companions a heck of loads of work.
As an alternative of simply providing a reduction and taking a monetary loss as a enterprise, we’re capable of go that cash alongside to assist different companies succeed. Having the ability to place orders for tons of or hundreds of items is life-changing for a lot of of our companions.
And we at all times make certain to share that affect with our clients—together with the affect on our personal small enterprise—in order that they’ll 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 could sound odd: In the case of creating your finest vacation promotion, don’t go searching at what others are doing. As an alternative, take into consideration what can be thrilling to your particular clients and what you may have the ability to ship this vacation season, then discover the overlap.
The reality is, you’ll get some gross sales should you do a typical low cost for Black Friday or Small Enterprise Saturday. Nonetheless, you would be doing triple or quadruple that quantity should you get artistic in delivering one thing that creates much more worth in your clients.
