Turn Black Friday Sales into Long-Term Customers

The four-day Black Friday weekend is known as the biggest shopping time of the year. In 2016, it brought in $655.8 billion in sales. And in 2017, it's estimated that sales will be around $682 billion – that's about $967.13 per person!

While Black Friday typically tends to focus on fast money – the most amount businesses can make in a short space of time – business owners should also take the opportunity to create revenue in the form of slow money. In other words, using Black Friday as the first step in creating repeat customers.

‍Fortunately, this is actually pretty easy, because people are already expecting to spend money on Black Friday. All you need to do is set the stage for the same person to continue spending money with your business long after Black Friday has come and gone. Here's how.

Use Black Friday as a preview of a product or service.

Take advantage of Black Friday by offering deeply discounted prices on trials. For example, if you run a membership site, Black Friday is an ideal time to drop the price of membership on a trial basis. This way, you entice people to try a product and increase your chances of having them pay full price later on.

Have a solid follow-up system.

There's a reason people say the fortune is in the follow-up. After someone purchases from you on Black Friday, make sure you have a solid follow-up system in place. This could include having automatic email responders that check in on how a customer's experience is going, offer sales, or share resources that they may find helpful.

If you'd really like to make some money, consider a follow-up within 60 minutes of someone making a purchase. Research shows that companies who do that are seven times more likely to have meaningful conversations that lead to more money.

Anticipate their needs with upsells and downsells.

The best way to ensure you turn Black Friday customers into long-term customers is to anticipate their needs with different products or services. This is what's known as a sales funnel. If you've been in business long enough, you probably know what is going to come up for customers after they purchase something from you.

Perhaps they have a new problem they need resolved or want to take things to another level. This is where having products that address these needs can yield more revenue. Since those customers have already purchased from you once before and got results, they'll be more likely to buy again.

Go above and beyond with customer service.

You could have the greatest product on the planet, but if the customer service experience is subpar it won't matter. Enhance this aspect of your business by keeping communication lines open, over-delivering value on the product or service, and making sure any problems get fixed quickly. While Black Friday is an incredible chance to increase revenue during a weekend, it's also a good opportunity to start building a long-term relationship with a customer. By implementing these strategies, you can turn that one sale into many.

‍How do you create repeat customers in your business? Share in the comments below!