On being extremely wary of running sales in your small business
Black Friday is nearly upon us and the retail giants are all jumping on the bandwagon, slashing prices in a bid to win that sale. I’m not a fan of Black Friday - I think it’s dangerous for business, and frankly bad news for the economy as a whole. Actually, I’m not a fan of these big sales full stop - I quite understand the legitimacy of running an end of season sale to clear stock - but these random flash sales are nothing more than a desperate bid for sales, and there’s something about that that feels… insincere.
If you’ve followed our story for a while, you’ll know that Ditto started out life as a highstreet print shop. Alongside our design business, we ran a franchise of a national print business, who were - for a while, at least - the big name in highstreet printers. They had an offering which at the time was genuinely different, and that was an exciting thing to be part of. If you’ve ever run a franchise, you’ll know that there are certain things set out by the franchisor which you are required to follow; the marketing message, key systems and processes - that sort of thing. At the time, the marketing message was incredibly strong, and they were one of the first printers to routinely run offers to attract new business. Their ‘offer of the month’ would usually centre around half price deals on business cards, leaflets, flyers… the things our clients would regularly order. The monthly offers were a great excuse for us to get in touch with our clients to let them know that their favourite business cards were half price - it almost always won the sale.
But then our clients got wise. They’d hold off placing an order at full value. confident in the knowledge that if they hung on a week or two, whatever it was they needed would probably be on offer. They’d actually call us up and say - ‘I need more leaflets. Will they be on offer next month?’. What started out as a great idea quickly became a tired concept, and the marketing model began to feel clingy and unsure and pleading.
None of this is good news for a small business. It’s unsustainable, unhealthy, and an ugly way to work. I’m saying this now because I think that so many retail businesses feel the pressure to get involved with Black Friday, and if that’s you, I’d urge you to think twice. There’s a growing appetite for small brands at the moment, and an increasing desire to put money in the pockets of real people rather than huge enterprise. And that’s why it’s more important than ever to own your story - to tell people why you’re different and allow them to connect with you. That means no hiding behind the illusion of being bigger than you really are - in fact, no hiding at all!
Use this Black Friday as an opportunity to stand proud, to celebrate your originality and connect with your customers as the discerning people that you know them to be. Leave the margin-slashing madness to everyone else.
