Black Friday is over and for customers and business there might be a question of what to do. While today is Cyber Monday, it is the ‘end’ of major deals for the Holiday shopping season. That doesn’t mean that the work is over. In fact for entrepreneurs, now can be even harder. How do you go about getting customers to return and how can customers really support the movement?
One of the best things you can do as a customer is to actually use the items you may have purchased. If you purchased them as a gift, maybe include a little card that says where you purchased the item. It would also be helpful to leave a review on the company’s website if available or here at Buy Black Main Street. These gestures are critical for small businesses and help others to gain trust in them.
The next best thing you can do as a customer, is buy again! One of the more frustrating things that I see as an observer is people looking for the same types of Black-owned Businesses over and over. It tells me either you didn’t shop in the first place; you’re not serious; and you just want attention and to have businesses compete for your business in an untoward and egotistical way.
Businesses have a duty to provide a good product or services, so I don’t want that to be the take away at all. I do notice how some people treat the idea of shopping with Black-owned Businesses online and they have to earn and compete with one another for your dollar more than they should and in ways they shouldn’t. Competing on price and quality is fine, but having to keep coming to your Facebook or Twitter threads for me, is a step too far; especially when you can easily go and be active in how you look for businesses.
So support these companies, and if you like the products or use them regularly, make it a habit. As a consumer base, black customers are known to be much more loyal to their brands. Make sure that this continues to be the same for when you shop Black-Owned. We need to be showing our friends/followings that we have brands that we like- the same way so many try to become Fashion Nova partners by buying repeatedly and sharing that in the form of “Hauls”.
Business owners, check out your mailing lists and see if they have grown. Now is the time to go and create some campaigns and follow up with people who may have abandoned their carts or who just signed up for future deals. Some people were overwhelmed and some were just browsing, but now is the time to retarget these customers, especially as time gets closer to Christmas. Package some deals and set them up so you can ship them quickly. Offer rush shipping. Have your best marketing available. If you can, get some creative designs for your newsletters to draw attention to your deals.
But also remember, bring some value to your marketing and get your year planned out. This is a great time to make some major moves to set yourself up for the next year and get yourself onto the consumer’s minds. Black Friday is not the ending, it is just the beginning
