Avoiding 4 common traps for your business – Black Friday & Cyber Monday

The countdown begins. There are only 4 weeks left before Christmas. For many companies, it is a very busy time (read “crazy”), between orders, deliveries and special offers… For the last several years, Canadian and Quebec companies have been participating in the American commercial practice that is Black Friday and CyberMonday, with sales and special offers of all kinds. Although the last thing we wish to do is deprive you of making sales, we would like to make you aware of the commercial traps associated with these practices for your business. Here is a quick overview of prohibited and questionable practices to avoid any headaches…

Trap #1: Online purchases – late deliveries

There is nothing worse than frustrated customers who will not receive your product in time for the holidays… They might leave a negative comment on your page and they certainly increase your stress level. So, how can you avoid this first trap?

• Adjust your delivery policy. If you know that your supplier can sometimes be slow to react or overwhelmed, make sure to adjust your online policy. Yes, even if you have a contract, we doubt that your supplier or his lawyer will answer you in the seconds following your call. On a more positive note, if your product is delivered ahead of time, or at least within the specified times, you will have a happy customer.
• Provide excellent customer service.It’s pretty straightforward: Don’t hide from your customers by pretending to be too busy. An excellent customer service, preferably provided by a human and not a robot, helps to ease the tension. It’s up to you to resolve these situations, and not for the customer to find a solution. Otherwise, he will simply cancel his order.

Trap #2: Stock shortage and over-the-top advertising

• Your fall marketing efforts have been working and your products are flying off the shelves faster than you can restock them? Yay! However, keep in mind that you have a legal obligation to indicate the quantity of products available.
• In fact, if an advertisement promotes a special offer on a product with limited quantity, you are required specify the exact quantity left in stock! We’lladmit that it’s not easy, but necessary. Be extra aware of this problem if you are using drop-shipping. Ensure a minimum quantity of available products with your supplier (in writing!) to prevent this type of predicament.

Trap #3: Misleading sales practices or sham discounts

• Friendly advice: Offer a discount or don’t. Your clients won’t be fooled.
• The law prohibits companies from advertising a reduced price when it is not really the case. This includes the practice of inflating prices starting at the end of October to lower them again at the end of November. So, how should you go about it?
• Avoid misleading ads
• Train your team to avoid divulging any false information. Any information that has been given orally or in writing by your staff can be held against you.

Trap #4: Personal information

• The public is increasingly aware of their rights. Your customer is entitled to contact you and ask what you intend to do with the information he has provided you. For this reason, we recommend that you only collect useful information for your transaction. Alternately, you can easily use a recommended payment provider such as Stripe or PayPal to facilitate your transactions and ensure that you are respecting the rules concerning the use of your client’s personal information.
• Do you really want data regarding your client? Send him an after-sales survey and explain its purpose. The information gathered will be priceless.

We hope that these tips and tricks will help you manage your business during this crazy time!

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us!