Unlock Black Friday Success: 10 Surprising Strategies Small Businesses Are Using Beyond Discounts
| What you sell | A good place to start |
| Products or digital downloads | A useful bundle, limited edition, or spending bonus |
| Services and appointments | A defined package, extra help, or quieter-season dates |
| Newsletters, courses, or memberships | A joining benefit or early access |
| Classes and local experiences | A giftable booking or credit toward a return visit |
Now it’s time to check the numbers. Imagine a product priced at $100 that costs $60 to make and deliver.
Here’s how three offers would compare:
- No promotion: $40 profit
- 20% off: $20 profit
- Add a $5 gift instead: $35 profit
The gift example leaves $15 more per sale than the discount, but it only works if customers value it. When you calculate the real cost, include your time, payment fees, packaging, and delivery.
A targeted discount can still be the right choice. The test is whether the customer gets something worthwhile and you have the money, stock, and time to fulfill it.
Black Friday offer ideas for each business
Some of these ideas suit a shop; others work for a one-person business selling expertise or experiences. Borrow the part that fits yours, rather than trying to run all ten.
1. Bundle what customers need
A good bundle saves the customer some thinking. Instead of choosing several separate products, they can buy the gift, starter kit, or finished solution they came for.
Take last year, for example: 27% of surveyed merchants planned to lead with Black Friday product bundles or buy-more-save-more offers.
Skincare brand grüum’s Black Friday Edit brings skincare, home fragrance, and accessories into one seasonal collection. The offer is more concrete than “browse our sale”: here’s a collection already put together for you.
For a digital creator, the equivalent might be a project planner, budget tracker, and walkthrough for someone taking on their first freelance client. Each item should help with the same job. A bundle isn’t improved by padding it with things nobody needs.
Once the contents work together, tools such as Product Bundles can turn them into a single purchase.
2. Add help that makes the purchase more useful
Sometimes the thing stopping a customer is not the price. It’s wondering whether they’ll know what to do after buying.
That makes a useful extra a good Black Friday offer. Rather than adding more content to a course or another file to a template bundle, help customers use what they already bought.
You could include:
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