Black Friday: overrated marketing ploy, or a secret weapon for small B2B businesses?
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‘Black Friday’ supposedly originated in the 1960s, with Philadelphia police tarring the Friday after Thanksgiving as such, due to the chaos of people starting their Christmas shopping. Slowly the association transformed over the years into a global day of big discounts and sales, that lasts through to the next week.
Last year, Black Friday spending (online and in-store) reached $17.8 billion, with an average spend per consumer of $910. This is a staggering amount of business being done in a single day, so it is obvious that Black Friday generates value for businesses. But is Black Friday worth it for your business? For smaller B2B focused firms, getting BF right can be difficult. Here are our thoughts on the pros and cons of Black Friday in the B2B world, and how you can get it right.
The Pros
Getting a slice of that $17.8 billion is an attractive prospect. Some B2B firms can see a 30% boost in revenue over the BF weekend, but you have to play your cards right.
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High buyer intent: even business leaders and decision makers can fall victim to the hype of Black Friday, and often mirror consumers' buying intent. Your sales strategy might have better returns around Black Friday.
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Upsell/cross-sell opportunities: Black Friday promotions create natural openings to bundle services or upsell into longer-term contracts, creating more stable revenue throughout the year.
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Clearing inventory or monetizing excess stock: For product-based B2B companies: move aging stock. For service-based companies: fill unused hours, licenses, or subscription slots.
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Competitive visibility: your competitors might be taking advantage of Black Friday to increase their visibility and poach clients with good deals, make sure you are matching their energy!
When you know your client base and what will incentivise them, Black Friday can unlock revenue opportunities for new and existing prospects.
The Cons
There are potential downsides to embracing Black Friday as a B2B business, and they are worth being conscious of.
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Potential price erosion: discounts in B2B can set dangerous expectations. Customers may push for similar pricing all year long.
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Longer sales cycles don't fit flash offers: many B2B deals require approvals, legal review, security checks, and procurement processes that don’t match a short-term promotion window.
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Operational Stress: a surge in orders or support requests can overload teams or create fulfillment issues, especially if not planned well.
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Lower Margins: discounting in B2B can hit profitability harder than in B2C, especially for high-touch services or low-margin hardware.
Smaller B2B firms can definitely be hit by lower margins and too many orders overwhelming teams. Be sure to prepare as best you can beforehand if you are going to dive into Black Friday!
So is it right for you?
It might sound like passing the buck, but only you know your business and whether your client base would receive a Black Friday campaign well. Our advice would be to draw up a detailed plan, and see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Do you have a big enough sales/marketing team? If you are product based, do you have enough staff to process orders? How much of your margin can you eat into? Consider these things carefully before you embrace Black Friday!
A Marketing Strategy that will always be worth it
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