Actions are (usually) following decisions.
Decisions are (usually) taken after having thoughts or impulsively after a trigger.
Being in the online sales for many years, I have learned that it is great to have a strategy and proceed to specific actions, measure them and then adjust the strategy accordingly.
However there are sometimes that you have to act right "on the spot" and take advantage of chances as they come.
Today is the day when we are literally BOMBED with emails, social media & website ads and offers about special discounts regarding products / services and goods.
Why? Because every year, the day after the Thanksgiving Holiday is regarded to be the official first day of Christmas shopping. Therefore - wherever buyers may exist, there will always be sellers that are supposed to make special offers to help buyers buy. And the name of this day? BLACK FRIDAY
And if you are wondering why it is called Black Friday and if this is a positive or negative term, you can read more here
The thing is that sometimes, these offers are tremendously GREAT! I just had an offer in my mailbox where a set up of a 189Euros cost, costs only for today 1Euro! Cool, right? Will I buy? This time not, but I am sure that many will.
Which brings me to a thought. If a shop or a business did not want to set up an offer, is there enough time to set it up now? Is it better to make a 'hasty' offer or not to bother?
I believe it is better to 'take chances'. Whether it is for sales, or for personal reasons.
You cannot say, "Oh, ok.. I did not try so never mind now"
It is best if you have tried. Even if something fails, it gives you extra knowledge for next time.
So I have come up with a few tips that someone can do RIGHT NOW, if they want to take advantage of this day's extra buying power.
First Step: Think of an offer that you can do for your customers.
Usually the offers being displayed are 50% discount or even more. Sometimes this offer stands only for the date of Black Friday, but you can extend the offer, as Cyber Monday follows :)
Tip: Take a sneak peak at your competitors and if they participate, make sure to make a better offer.
Second Step: Writing the text & Making the visual - graphic.
You can try online tolls such as Canvas to create your design. Make sure to include special dimensions if you will use the images for social media.
Recommended: Facebook post / offer / Cover and posting in any other social media platform you manage.
Third Step: Prepare an email and send it to all your contacts / subscribers.
(You can use mailchimp or any other platform. Mailchimp is easy to set up, is immediately verified and you can send up to 2000 emails free of charge)
Fourth step: If your page includes a chat box, make sure you keep it open and be online for people who visit your website.
Make sure to be there to answer any questions about the products / offers that your customers may have.
Fifth step: Check what some of your competitors have done, write them down, measure their social media movement & customer engagement and keep these records safe for next year's reference.
This will give you plenty of time to prepare your 2018 Black Friday strategy and make sure you will make the most of it!
Remember: It is never too late, as long as you start!
And this is a general rule, applying in all aspects of our life!
Thank you for reading!
P.s I am not sure if this is an article suitable for steemit, but sometimes it is very important to express yourself in written without very strict rules, without thinking of the outcome, without having the anxiety of being rated.