Why Business Owners Should Run Holiday Promotions Before Black Friday

It really pays to get moving.

It's been a tough year for small business owners. Inflation has eaten into a lot of businesses' profits, leaving many owners worried.

But there's some good news -- the holiday shopping season is right around the corner. And that means small businesses could see an uptick in revenue in the coming months.

In fact, now's a good time to start thinking about the holiday promotions you want to run. Consumers tend to be more eager to swipe their credit cards during the holiday shopping boom.

But rather than line up a great promotion for Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, you may want to focus on offering promotions that run a few days before. Here's why.

Attract consumers before they spend down their budgets

Many people plan to do a lot of shopping on Black Friday -- and max out their holiday budgets during that event alone. So it's best to get to consumers before all of their spending money is gone.

In fact, this year, a lot of major retailers started releasing holiday deals in October. And while it's too late to jump on that bandwagon, it's not too late to take steps to attract customers before those Black Friday deals kick in.

Some holiday promotion ideas to consider

Offering ultra-deep discounts on your services or products may not be possible if you want to stay profitable. But one idea to look at is to offer discounted gift cards in the days leading up to Black Friday -- for example, offering $100 gift cards for $90. That way, you get some money for your business immediately without having to part with inventory.

The reality is that many people who buy gift cards end up not using them. You can't bank on that happening, but all told, selling gift cards is really a no-risk proposition for you.

Another good promotion to consider is store cash back on purchases -- for example, $20 of store cash per $100 spent redeemable in December. Doing something like this is a great way to get customers back in your store. And once you've lured them in, you have a greater chance of them opening up their wallets.

Another promotion to consider right before Black Friday? Offer 10% or 15% off of Black Friday purchases. Consumers may be more apt to shop at your place of business before Black Friday if it means getting a better discount that day. And then you entice them to visit you a few days later on the year's biggest shopping day.

Get ahead of the game

A lot of people do the bulk of their holiday shopping on Black Friday. Some people do all of their holiday shopping that day. And so it pays to run some promotions before the biggest deal day of the year.

This isn't to say you shouldn't also run some Black Friday deals to stay competitive. But if you're able to snag some customers before all of the Black Friday hoopla kicks in, you may end up better off for it -- especially if it's been a slower year and you're looking to close out 2022 with a nice boost in revenue.