In a world where Black Friday sales seem to start earlier every year, it’s become almost an unwritten rule that businesses, big or small, must partake in the madness. And believe me, I am not immune to the excitement and joy that comes with the huge savings Black Friday brings us! I will sign up to a million notifications online for when the price slashes start! In fact, Black Friday is the only reason I ever shop for Christmas presents before mid December! As a small business owner, I have felt the pressure to put out a Black Friday deal, reduce our prices or create a package, that 90% of the time ends up costing us more money to advertise and deliver than the price we charge.
So this year, we find ourselves in a situation, like a lot of small businesses. We simply can’t afford to slash our prices any lower to be able to post exciting Black Friday offers. We have made the decision that we are not going to put ourselves or the business under any additional (unnecessary) stress just to join the Black Friday trend and here is why:
Rising Costs
We have all felt the cost of living rising with utility bills, petrol prices, food and much more. Well the same is also happening in terms of the cost of doing business- it has been steadily increasing. Whether it’s the price of materials, insurances, equipment or even the utility bills for our clinic. We’ve seen these expenses steadily climb, whilst at the same time the demand for our services reduce. We get it, a lot of our services are “luxury” for many and therefore, during a financial crisis, will be the first thing people will put on hold.
So as much as we’d like to give you a huge Black Friday saving, we also need to keep our doors open and the lights on. We want to continue to provide you with high-quality products and services, and this means we can’t cut our prices any lower without compromising our business’s sustainability.
Staffing Changes
Life happens, and it’s a beautiful thing. But, this year, one of our wonderful team members and founders is on maternity leave. We couldn’t be happier for them, of course, but it means fewer hands on deck in the business. We want to be able to continue to support staff with life events, training, celebrations and milestones and to do that we need to ensure we are not reducing our services to the point where it costs us to deliver.
Growing Competition
The business landscape is like a jungle out there, and the competition keeps getting fiercer. We have to keep innovating, staying ahead of the curve, and that often requires every bit of income we can generate for new training courses, updating equipment and then being able to promote that online. Offering steep Black Friday deals could eat into the resources we need to stay competitive throughout the year.
As a small business, we’re proud of what we do, and we believe in the value of our products and services. However, when it comes to competing with larger companies and their price slashes, it’s a different ballgame. These corporate giants often have the resources and economies of scale that allow them to offer steep discounts that we simply can’t match.
While we may not have the ability to slash our prices to the same extent, we focus on providing a more personal and tailored experience, emphasising quality, unique offerings, and exceptional customer service. We may not win the price war, but we aim to win your loyalty and trust through the quality and care we put into every interaction and every service we offer.
It’s hard to be seen or heard
With millions of ads, campaigns, marketing emails, and commercials put out each year around Black Friday, many small business owners’ campaigns will get completely lost in the chaos and ultimately, be ignored. And it’s only gotten worse since the pandemic. According to VCITA, with last year’s Black Friday online sales increasing by 21.6% and advertisers spending twice as much on social advertising, small business owners like us, will need to be overly generous with our online strategies if we want our promotions to gain any traction. We just cant compete with that.
We Need to Make a Living Too:
At the heart of it all, we are a small business striving to make a living, just like everyone else. We believe in the value of our products and services, and we’re proud of what we offer. We pour our hearts and souls into this business, and while we love what we do, we also need to make a living to support ourselves and our families.
So, as much as we’d love to drop our prices and join in the Black Friday excitement, it’s just not something we can afford to do this year. We hope you understand that this decision isn’t about greed but rather about ensuring our business’s long-term health and sustainability.
We really appreciate your support, and we’re here to provide the quality and service you’ve come to expect from us.
If you can, please consider supporting us (and other small businesses) in other ways during the festive season—perhaps by spreading the word about our business, leaving us a positive review on Google, or recommending us to your friends and family. These small gestures mean the world to us.
Thank you for understanding our situation. We hope you have a fantastic Black Friday and manage to bag yourselves some amazing bargains and also support some small businesses like us.
