Black Friday Marketing Strategy: Guide for Small Businesses

Key takeaways:

• Businesses that plan ahead, maintain consistency, and optimize their websites for speed, mobile responsiveness, and user-friendly navigation are best positioned to turn traffic into sales.
• AI is changing consumers’ shopping experiences and search engine results.
• Shoppers respond best to practical strategies, such as limited-time deals, product bundles, and gift guides.

Black Friday shopping has rapidly shifted from crowded store aisles to digital carts. In 2024, U.S. shoppers spent nearly $10.8 billion online for Black Friday. For small businesses, this statistic opens big opportunities for success, but it will all depend on how early and how well you prepare your holiday marketing strategy.

Alicia Pringle, Senior Director of Network Solutions’ Marketing Team, emphasized how important it is for small businesses to prepare well ahead before the holiday shopping season begins. “Holiday shopping starts earlier every single year. Customers are researching gifts in September and building their carts in October.”

However, limited resources and competing priorities can make Black Friday preparedness a real challenge. Yes, businesses that start early have a better chance of maximizing sales when demand peaks, but how do you stay competitive when resources are tight?

This guide will walk you through practical steps to help you plan winning Black Friday marketing strategies, even on a limited budget.

Why Black Friday matters for small businesses

For many small businesses, the holiday season is one of the most profitable times of the year. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey found that 70% of small businesses say the holiday season is essential to their overall profit.

But competition continues to grow. Big-box retailers and eCommerce giants dominate ad space, offer deep discounts, and flood every channel with aggressive promotions. For smaller brands, it’s easy to feel overshadowed, especially when resources are limited.

However, Black Friday still matters to small businesses and here are the reasons why:

Consumer expectations are higher than ever

Still, Black Friday in 2025 brings new opportunities. Consumer expectations are shifting with shoppers now starting to browse earlier, expecting personalized offers, and valuing convenience and authenticity over rock-bottom prices.

This plays directly into a small business’s strengths—its ability to offer more personalized service, close-knit connections, and niche expertise that big brands can’t easily replicate.

Early planning drives ROI and operational efficiency

Early planning also pays off. Businesses that start organizing campaigns and managing inventory months in advance can see better ROI, smoother operations, and less stress as the shopping weekend approaches.

Preparing early gives you the time to optimize your campaign and build momentum through your marketing channels ahead of your competitors.

Small businesses vs. Enterprise: A different playbook

Unlike large enterprises that rely on heavy ad budgets and automated campaigns, small businesses can compete through personalized experiences and genuine customer relationships.

Black Friday still matters for small businesses because it’s your chance to reach new audiences and close the year on a high note.

Black Friday marketing strategies

Small businesses often struggle to juggle limited resources. But if you want to succeed, you need a clear, well-timed strategy that plays to your strengths and connects with your audience.

We’ve set the stage for how to help you create the best Black Friday marketing strategy. We divided the whole campaign into three parts:

• Pre-planning campaign strategy
• Black Friday campaign execution
• Post-campaign strategy

Each stage requires careful planning and is tailored to small businesses with very limited resources.

So what are we waiting for? Let’s see what each stage entails.

Pre-campaign planning  

Every successful Black Friday campaign has a solid pre-launch strategy. The businesses that win big on Black Friday spend weeks, if not months, preparing for their holiday campaign.

Here’s what you need to do before the campaign proper:

• Set clear goals
• Analyze last year’s performance
• Build your promotional strategy
• Get your operations ready
• Create your marketing calendar

Let’s examine these pre-planning strategies for Black Friday.

Set clear goals

It’s important to define what you want to achieve this Black Friday before diving into any promotions or spending on ads. Setting clear, measurable goals will guide your every decision—from the offers you create to the channels you invest in.

For small businesses, your goals might include:

• Increasing total sales revenue
• Boosting average order value
• Acquiring new email subscribers or first-time buyers
• Clearing out slow-moving inventory
• Growing social media engagement or traffic

To make your goals more actionable, use the SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This approach removes vagueness from your objectives.

Also, you don’t need to chase every objective at once. Focus on one or two of the most impactful ones based on your size, resources, and past performance.

Examples of goals are:

• Increase total revenue by 20% over last November
• Get 100 new customers through referral traffic
• Clear out 75% of last season’s inventory

Once your goals are clear, you’ll be able to run your campaigns with purpose. It also provides a framework for measuring success after the sale ends.

Analyze last year’s performance

If you’ve run Black Friday promotions in the past, now is the time to learn from your data. The insights you gather will help you focus on what worked and avoid wasting your resources on what didn’t.

You don’t need fancy analytics technologies to get started. Just analyze the numbers by asking a few key questions:

• Which products sold best? These might be your new lead offers or bundle items.
• What was your top-performing marketing channel? Was it email, social media, paid ads, or something else?
• Where did the traffic come from, and what converted it? Prioritize channels that drive visits and lead to sales.
• What didn’t work and why?
• Did a promo flop? Were you out of stock too soon? Did a discount hurt your margin too much?

If this is your first Black Friday, you can analyze recent campaigns like a fall sale or product launch.

Your analysis grounds your Black Friday marketing strategy in data-driven insights, not guesswork.

Build your promotional strategy

Your promotions don’t have to revolve around deep discounts. Many successful small businesses offer creative, value-based incentives that protect their margins while enticing their audience.

Here are a few promotion types to consider:

• Tiered discounts. Spend $50, get 10% off. Spend $100, get 20% off.
• Product bundles or kits. Combine bestsellers into themed sets (e.g., holiday gift box or starter kit).
• Free gift with purchase. Add a low-cost item (under $2–$5) to orders over a certain amount.
• Flash sales or timed offers. Create urgency with 24-hour deals or hourly countdowns.
• Exclusive offers for subscribers or VIPs. Give early access to email or SMS subscribers.

Choose a few core promotions and execute them well. You don’t need 10 different offers running at once. That will overwhelm you and may confuse your team.

To make running these promotions easier, create a table or chart for your planned offers that includes:

• Product
• Discount or incentive
• Start and end date
• Channel (email, social media, or in-store)

This will also make building your marketing calendar and content around each specific offer easier.

Get your operations ready

Your company must be able to handle the surge of orders when it comes. For a small business, this means preparing your inventory, online shop, and fulfillment systems to manage the sudden influx of customers.

Here are some tips on how to prepare:

Inventory management

• Stock up on your bestsellers based on past trends or early demand signals
• Identify any low-stock or discontinued products ahead of time so you don’t promote them by accident
• If offering bundles, prepare and account for the components ahead of time

Website preparation

• Test your entire checkout flow. Check if:
  • Coupon codes apply correctly
  • Load times are fast (especially on mobile)
  • Links are not broken
  • Confirmation emails are working
• Add trust signals, such as secure checkout icons, clear return policies, and social proof.
• Make sure that your website is ready to handle increased traffic and deliver a seamless shopping experience.

For a deeper dive into best practices, check out Network Solutions’ guide to eCommerce management. It covers everything from inventory control to customer support and site performance.

Mobile optimization

Over 70% of Cyber Week traffic comes from mobile.

Make sure your:

• Web pages load fast on phones
• Product pages are easy to navigate
• Add-to-cart buttons are prominent and static
• Popups don’t block an entire screen of content on small displays

Shipping and fulfillment

• Set a clear cutoff date for guaranteed delivery
• Offer local pickup or curbside options if you’re a physical store
• Prepare your packaging materials: tape, inserts, thank-you cards, or promotional flyers

Customer support

Expect more questions, returns, or order updates than usual.

• Set up automated replies for common questions
• Use chat tools, if possible, even only during peak days
• Have alternative contact methods clearly displayed

Being prepared for the holiday surge helps you stay focused on serving your customers instead of scrambling to fix last-minute issues.

It gives you and your customers a much better experience throughout the busy weekend.

Create your marketing calendar

A marketing calendar helps you stay on track and coordinate marketing activities for a particular campaign. It must consider every aspect of your campaign, from the big picture to the specific details.

This doesn’t have to be complex. However, it should include:

• Key dates and deadlines (start and end of sales, early access periods, flash deal windows)
• Content release dates (emails, social media posts, blogs, SMS)
• Ad campaign timelines
• Design and asset deadlines (banners, product photos, popups)
• Prep windows for packaging, inventory, shipping setup
• Follow-up events like Small Business Saturday, which immediately follows Black Friday and deserves its own mini campaign

With everything planned on time, you’ll be able to execute your campaign effectively and make timely adjustments as needed.

Black Friday campaign execution  

The Black Friday rush is highly competitive, and small businesses must remain active throughout the sale period. The execution of your marketing campaigns plays a key role in driving conversions.

Use these ten Black Friday marketing ideas to help you stay visible and sell effectively throughout the Black Friday weekend.

• Activate your core promotions
• Offer VIP access to loyal customers
• Introduce a Black Friday exclusive product
• Give away a free gift with purchase
• Publish Black Friday-specific content
• Run interactive social media challenges
• Promote online-only exclusives
• Launch referral discounts
• Retarget and recover abandoners
• Monitor and adapt in real time

1. Activate your core promotions

Launch your Black Friday promotions on all your marketing channels. Start building awareness early by informing your customers about upcoming deals before the sale officially begins.

Here’s how to activate your core Black Friday marketing strategy effectively.

• Build a dedicated landing page. Create a clean, Black Friday landing page that showcases your key deals. Alica explained that it’s good to “have just at least that one landing page that has everything very centrally located.” You can link to this page across all your marketing platforms, making it easier for your audience to find your offers.
• Display popups and sitewide banners. Use pop-ups or top bar banners to notify all visitors of your Black Friday deals. This way, they have less chance of missing your promotions, even if they land on a non-sale page.
• Highlight your promotions on product pages. Make sure your deals are clearly marked on the product pages themselves.
• Test the mobile experience. Don’t let broken buttons or clunky mobile pages cost you sales. Check the mobile layout, payment methods, and the full checkout experience to ensure they are optimized for mobile use.

Getting your core promotions live and visible across important touchpoints gives your campaign the traction it needs from day one.

2.Offer VIP access to loyal customers

Rewarding your most loyal customers with exclusive access is a nice gesture and a smart strategy. These are the people who’ve already engaged with your brand and are most likely to do business with you again. Giving them something special during Black Friday or any other holiday makes them feel valued.

Consider the following tips for offering VIP access to your existing customers.

• Send early access invitations. Send a private link to your email or SMS subscribers 12–24 hours before you launch the deal to the public. To create a sense of exclusivity, label it as “Insider Early Access” or “VIP Preview.”
• Provide exclusive discounts or bonuses. Offer your VIPs a slightly better deal—such as 30% off instead of 20%. If your margins don’t allow big discounts, you can include a free item with their purchase.
• Release limited-access products. Create special bundles or limited editions available only through VIP access. You can even hide certain product pages from public view and make them accessible only to select customers.

Promote your VIP access one to two weeks ahead of Black Friday to give people a reason to subscribe to your list.

3. Introduce a Black Friday-exclusive product

Launch a product that’s only available during Black Friday. Exclusives drive urgency. Knowing the item won’t be available later, customers will make faster purchase decisions out of the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Ideas for exclusives:

• Limited-edition bundles. Combine bestsellers into themed sets.
• Seasonal variations. Offer a product in a special color, scent, or packaging just for the holidays.
• Collaborations. Partner with another small business or creator to co-create a branded item.
• First-release products. Drop a new product early, available only during the sale weekend.

Promote your exclusive product in advance to build anticipation. Use email teasers, countdowns, and sneak peeks on social media.

4. Give away a free item with purchase

Offering a gift with purchase is a powerful way to boost average order value without relying on discounting. It works well for small businesses with physical products where even a low-cost item can feel valuable.

The strategy rewards customers with a free gift once they reach a specific spending amount. This gives customers an incentive to add more items to their cart to unlock the freebie.

A few examples include:

• “Get a free candle with orders over $75”
• “Spend $50 and receive a limited-edition sticker pack”
• “Free holiday tag set with every gift bundle purchase”

Keep the gift inexpensive to produce, yet desirable to your audience.

You can also use this as an opportunity to test new product ideas or introduce customers to lesser-known items in your shop. Who knows, they may like the free product and buy it in the future.

5. Publish Black Friday-specific content

Promote your offerings through engaging web content. Publishing Black Friday-specific content increases the reach of your promotions, driving more attention to your deals.

Your content doesn’t have to be complicated. You can use the following content ideas:

• Short-form videos highlighting your products, bundles, or gift ideas
• Black Friday countdown posts to build anticipation
• Branded memes related to your industry’s holiday shopping experience
• Social media posts showcasing limited-time offers
• Bog posts relevant to Black Friday, like “Smart Ways to Shop This Black Friday” or “Top 10 Black Friday Picks You Don’t Want to Miss”

Share your content on your website, Instagram, Facebook, or wherever your audience spends the most time.

Keep your posting schedule consistent. One good post per day is often more effective than posting too much irregularly.

6. Run interactive social media challenges

Interactive social media challenges are a fun and low-cost social media strategy for generating buzz and encouraging user-generated content.

Some challenge ideas you can use for Black Friday are:

• Tag-to-win giveaway. Encourage customers on your post to tag a friend who loves a specific product from your brand for a chance to win a gift card.
• Wishlist Wednesday. In the week before Black Friday, ask followers to share their top three wishlist items from your store. Pick a few winners to receive one item for free or a special discount.
• Caption this contest. Post a fun product photo and let your audience submit captions.
• Polls and quizzes. Use Instagram Stories or Facebook polls to get quick feedback on products or preferences.
• Black Friday outfit challenge. If you sell apparel or accessories, ask customers to post their best outfit featuring your products. Offer a prize for the most creative or festive look.

Use a branded hashtag to easily track entries and repost content for maximum visibility. It also helps grow your brand’s visibility beyond your existing followers.

7. Promote online-only exclusives

If you run both a physical store and an online shop, offering online-only exclusives is an excellent way to drive website traffic and online conversions.

These exclusives create a sense of urgency and reward customers who shop directly through your website.

Here are a few ideas to make your online-only exclusives stand out:

• Limited-time online bundles. Create special product bundles available only on your website.
• Early access for subscribers. Give email and SMS subscribers early access to online-only deals. This is a form of reward for their loyalty and may serve as an incentive for others to subscribe.
• Exclusive products. Release a new product or a limited-edition item that’s only available online. Tease it in advance to build anticipation.
• Online-only freebies. Offer a free item with online purchases over a certain amount. This can be a branded sticker pack, drawstring bags, or a holiday-themed gift.
• Hidden pages. Create a hidden landing page with exclusive deals that you only share with subscribers or social media followers.

Use your physical store to promote your online exclusives. Add signage, QR codes, or flyers that direct in-store shoppers to your website for bonus deals. This cross-channel strategy helps you maximize reach and conversions.

8. Launch referral discounts

Your most satisfied customers can be your best marketers, especially during Black Friday, when people are sharing deals and gift ideas with others. A referral discount program encourages them to promote your brand to their friends and families in exchange for a small reward, helping you attract new shoppers.

How it works:

• Give your current customers a unique referral link or code
• When someone uses their link to make a purchase, both the referrer and the new customer get a reward.

You can use tools such as Referral Factory, Tapfiliate, or Friendbuy to set up the referral coupons. If you’re only distributing them at a lower volume, you can also manually track them using email or unique discount codes.

Quick tip: Always set an expiration date for your referral coupons. It creates urgency and encourages prompt action. Plus, it helps you align the offer with your Black Friday campaign timeline.

9. Retarget abandoners

Cart abandonment is common during Black Friday, but it also presents a major opportunity to boost sales. Abandoners have already shown intent. They’ve browsed your products, added items to their cart, and are close to making a purchase.

With the right follow-up, you can recover online sales that might otherwise be lost.

Use these recovery tactics to re-engage shoppers who left without completing their purchase:

• Abandoned cart emails. Set up automated emails that are sent one to two hours after a cart is left behind. Include product photos, a clear call-to-action (CTA), and a gentle reminder that nudges the customer to make that decision.  
• Incentives for return. Offer a small bonus like “Come back and save 10%” or “Free shipping if you complete your order today.” Set a deadline to add urgency.  
• SMS nudges. If you collect phone numbers, send a short, friendly SMS reminder: “Hey [Name], your cart is still waiting! Grab your deal before it’s gone.” SMS has high open rates and is great for time-sensitive offers.  

Make your recovery messages feel helpful. Focus on reminding, instead of putting pressure on the customer. Remember, it’s easy to lose them during a busy sales season when they have plenty of options.

10. Monitor and adapt in real time

Black Friday campaigns move fast. To stay competitive, you need to track performance as it happens and make quick adjustments.

Stay agile by monitoring campaign-specific performance indicators:

• Website traffic. Track visitor volume throughout the day. Sudden spikes may indicate a successful promotion; drops could signal technical issues or ineffective copy.
• Conversion rates. Identify which pages or offers are converting and which aren’t. Low conversion rates may indicate confusing layouts, ineffective CTAs, or pricing concerns.
• Cart abandonment. Monitor abandonment trends. A sharp increase could mean checkout issues, unexpected fees, or a lack of urgency. This is a good time to implement recovery tactics.
• Inventory levels. Keep a live view of stock. Pause promotions for sold-out items and highlight products with healthy inventory.
• Customer support volume. Watch for spikes in inquiries. High volume may indicate unclear communication, navigation issues, technical problems, or unmet expectations.

How to adapt quickly:

• Refresh promotional visuals. Update banners, popups, and landing pages to highlight top-performing deals and remove underperforming ones.
• Optimize product visibility. Replace slow-moving items or bundles with bestsellers that are getting clicks and conversions.
• Refine promotional copy messaging. Adjust discount language to boost urgency. Use specific phrases like “Ends in 3 hours!” or “Only 5 left in stock” instead of generic ones such as “Sale ends soon” or “Limited time offer.”
• Extend or retire offers based on performance. Keep high-performing deals running longer and discontinue any offers that aren’t gaining traction.
• Re-target high-intent visitors. Use email, SMS, or targeted ads to follow up with visitors who have viewed products or abandoned their carts. Offer them a fresh incentive to bring them back.

Utilize real-time dashboards (such as Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager, or your eCommerce platform’s analytics) to make informed decisions. Even small tweaks, like changing a headline or adjusting a CTA, can lead to noticeable improvements in performance.

Post-campaign strategy

A Black Friday marketing campaign isn’t just a seasonal sales booster—it’s a powerful opportunity to generate leads and attract new customers to your small business.

The real challenge lies in what comes next: retaining those customers who’ve shown interest in your products or services and turning one-time buyers into loyal brand advocates. Use these post-campaign strategies to sustain your momentum and maximize results beyond the Black Friday weekend.

• Send post-sale follow-ups
• Analyze campaign results
• Promote Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday
• Re-engage customers for holiday sales

Send post-sale follow-ups

After the sale ends, send a follow-up message to customers to thank them for their purchase. This is also a good time to:

• Share helpful content related to their purchase (e.g., usage tips or maintenance instructions).
• Invite them to leave a review or share feedback.
• Offer a small incentive for their next purchase.
• Encourage them to follow your social channels or join your email list for future deals.

Timely follow-ups foster trust and lay the groundwork for future engagement.

Analyze campaign results

Review your campaign data to identify what worked well and what needs improvement. Focus on key metrics such as:

• Total sales and revenue generated
• Conversion rates across different channels
• Top-performing products and promotions
• Customer acquisition and retention numbers
• Website traffic and cart abandonment rates

Use these insights to refine future campaigns, adjust your strategy, and make more informed decisions for upcoming sales events.

Promote Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday may be over, but the holiday shopping momentum continues. Drive more sales by promoting the next big events:

• Highlight Small Business Saturday. Promote it as an extension to your Black Friday sale to keep customers engaged through the weekend. Use email, social media, and your website to announce Saturday-only deals and in-store perks.
• Create a Cyber Monday spotlight. Promote online-only bundles, digital gift cards, or limited-time discounts. Focus on convenience and urgency for online buyers.

Keep your brand visible through Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday to extend the value of your Black Friday efforts and capture customers who are still actively looking for great deals.

Re-engage customers for holiday sales

Black Friday is just the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Use the momentum from your campaign to stay in touch with customers and guide them into your next wave of promotions.

Follow up with product recommendations based on their purchases, invite them to holiday events, and share gift guides to assist with their shopping.

Segment your audience so that returning customers receive tailored offers, while first-time buyers are encouraged to return.

The goal is to turn Black Friday buyers into repeat customers—not just for the holidays, but for the long term.

Black Friday might be the biggest shopping day of the year, but what you do afterward can shape how customers remember your brand. With the post-campaign strategies, you can turn short-term sales into long-term customer relationships.

Black Friday marketing trends for small businesses

Marketing tactics are shifting, and small businesses can benefit by focusing on what is working now. Here are seven key trends shaping Black Friday marketing in 2025:

Short-form video is driving visibility

Short videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are outperforming static posts. Wyzowl’s 2024 marketing statistics revealed that 73% of consumers prefer short-form videos when seeking information about products or services.

Small businesses should consider adopting this type of content when introducing new products or promoting special deals. Short videos require minimal time and resources to create, and their reach is remarkable.

Simple AI tools are enhancing personalization

Emerging AI technologies are now more capable than ever of personalizing online experiences for your customers.

Dynamic Yield’s smart recommendations analyze browsing and purchase history to suggest relevant products, while Zendesk AI provides real-time chat support that guides shoppers through the checkout process.

A platform called Buffer AI can tailor content based on audience behavior, and Omnisend’s AI segmentation allows you to segment customers by actions like:

• Viewed but didn’t buy
• Added to cart but abandoned
• Purchased specific products or categories
• Opened or ignored emails

These AI tools make your pre- and post-campaign analysis much easier. You can strategize more effectively and refine your approach for your future holiday marketing campaigns.

User-generated content is shaping trust

User-generated content (UGC) refers to content created by users about your brand. It’s now becoming an effective form of marketing as consumers prefer authentic customer posts over polished brand ads.

Small businesses can leverage UGC by encouraging customers to share their experiences and offering incentives like discounts or giveaways to drive participation.

Search behavior is shifting with AI

Google’s new AI-powered search features are transforming the way users discover information online. Users now receive instant, summarized answers directly on the results page, often without needing to click through to external websites.

For small businesses, this shift means organic reach is no longer guaranteed, even if your site ranks well. And “if your business isn’t showing up in search results, it’s very similar to being invisible,” said Alicia, emphasizing the importance of discoverability during the holidays.

To stay visible, small businesses must rethink their content strategy. Focus on helpful, intent-driven content as AI prioritizes relevance over keyword stuffing. Directly addressing common customer questions in your content also helps a great deal. The more concise and helpful your posts are, the higher the chance AI will feature them in its summaries.

You can find out more about adapting your marketing strategy for the AI-driven search landscape, along with other timely tips, in our free resource, the 2025 Holiday Marketing Playbook.

Frequently asked questions

Get your business holiday-ready with expert help

A successful Black Friday strategy comes down to solid preparation. Starting early, optimizing your website, and maintaining a consistent message across all channels can make a significant difference in your overall results.

As Alicia pointed out, “Hope is not a strategy, and the ones who win are the ones who are the most prepared.”

Let us help you with your Black Friday preparations. Trusted by customers for over 20 years, we offer an easy-to-use AI website builder and expert services in website design, SEO, and digital marketing to help your business stand out, attract more customers, and make this Black Friday your most successful yet.

Speak with one of our experts today to get your business Black Friday-ready.