The weekend after Thanksgiving is a huge time for businesses. In fact, Black Friday has become synonymous with getting holiday gifts (and other items) at amazing prices. Usually, the deals continue on Small Business Saturday—which focuses on smaller, local businesses, and Cyber Monday—which is typically targeted by online retailers. Although deal hunters mainly focus on retail sales, if you create the perfect Black Friday photo booth offer, you’ll kickstart your business in the first quarter.
What is the Perfect Black Friday Photo Booth Offer?
The reality is that there is no single one-size-fits-all approach that will turn everyone’s photo booth business into an overnight success.
However, a well-crafted Black Friday offer can catapult your business (and bookings) well into next year. As a boother, your business probably sees some natural ebbs and flows as the year goes on. Although not everyone will slow down at the same time, plenty of event-based companies see a slow down after the mad dash of the holiday season.
When you put together a Black Friday deal, you create a sense of urgency and a deal so good that your clients don’t want to pass up pre-booking their upcoming events.
The key to a successful Black Friday photo booth offer is going to be starting to plan well ahead of schedule. And, although you don’t want to start marketing it too far in advance, you want to put in some time now to build a plan. If you’re not sure where to start, you can begin by asking yourself:
- What can I offer?
- What are my terms?
- How will I reach my audience?
What Can You Offer?
A lot of that depends on how your packages are structured.
If you’re thinking about discounts, you may want to think again. Although Black Friday conjures up images of deep discounts, that’s probably not the best strategy unless you’re just starting out. Discounts work well for retail products, but once you discount a service, your clients may start to expect cut pricing in the future.
Instead, here are some ideas to consider for your offer:
- A free upgrade to the next package level. If they buy a silver package, automatically upgrade them to gold!
- A free bonus add-on. If you normally feature an upcharge for custom graphics or onsite printing, consider including it in your Black Friday packages.
- A free gift with purchase. If your gift does not align closely with your services, this can be a slippery slope. However, if you exclusively book corporate parties, then consider including something fun for their next event.
What Are Your Terms?
The most significant benefit to a Black Friday offer for your photo booth business is to push your bookings well out into next year. Unless you’re scrambling to fill dates in December, you’ll want to think about when your slow periods will be and use that as the basis for the terms of the deal. You’ll also want to collect a hefty deposit (or better yet, payment in full) to secure the special offer.
Here’s an example of some terms to consider: When you book an event between January and April of next year, you’ll get X, Y, and Z! To reserve your date, you must pay a 50% non-refundable deposit in advance.
Of course, your terms must work for your business, but it’s important to nail this down in advance.
How Will You Market It?
We’ll go into this further in the next section when we talk about cashing in on the offer, but you’ll want to start thinking about how you connect with your audience, and what you’ll need so you can communicate your offer. By figuring out the moving parts you need, you can begin building a marketing plan that you can use to get the most bang out of your offer.
How to Cash in on Your Black Friday Offer
Now that you have a solid plan for your Black Friday photo booth offer, it’s time to put it into action. We’ve talked about all of the things you must consider, but how can you actually get people to buy in?
Promote Your Deal(s) in Advance
Make sure to let your audience know that something great is coming. Don’t give them TOO much advance notice because you don’t want to stop them from booking you in advance because they’re waiting for your deal. However, start teasing a week or two ahead of Black Friday so that they’re watching for it.
Promote Your Offer Across All Channels
How do you connect with your audience? Make sure to promote your deal everywhere you have a presence. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are all great places to promote but don’t forget about emails.
If you haven’t started using a CRM or email marketing software yet, then you can definitely email your clients and existing leads individually to let them know about your upcoming special, and then again when it launches. Or you can put in the time to add them to your software and start automating this process.
If you don’t have an email list, then it’s time to start building one for occasions exactly like this. In addition to sharing deals, you can use it to stay top of mind with your audience, and also to periodically let them know about cool events you’ve done, trends you’re noticing, and ideas for new events.
Get Creative With Promotions
If your area has a robust small business network, consider partnering with a venue or even like-minded (but not competing) businesses for an in-person event. The possibilities are endless.
One idea might be setting up as a vendor to showcase your skills, and of course, featuring flyers that highlight your deal. (This also works for events like wedding fairs and expos with show specials.)
You might get permission to set up inside a popular shopping area so people can take pictures with their hauls or even use the video function to talk about the best deal they found. By setting up a unique hashtag, you and the vendors you’re working with can also use these in marketing efforts.
If nothing else, it will help you grow your email list for follow up down the road!
Wrapping it All Up
The key to creating the perfect Black Friday photo booth offer is plenty of advance planning. What you do depends largely on your audience and the options available in your area.
Don’t be afraid to get creative. And remember that every time you run a special like, this you’ll learn something new for future events. We can’t wait to hear how your Black Friday photo booth offer goes!
