Black Friday has cemented itself as a staple in the retail industry across the world. This means it's important to make sure that you have a well-planned Black Friday campaign and clear steps to promote your promotion. This represents a massive opportunity for small and large companies across various industries to boost sales.
This blog shares how to set up your business to win the fierce Black Friday competition. It will cover essential topics, including Black Friday sign tips and strategies to open your doors to sales at large.
Key Takeaways
- Plan and Choose Your Strategy: Define the right base material, finish, and thickness for your signage.
- Decide on Messaging and Copywriting: Keep the signage texts concise but clear, focus on customer benefits, and use a strong call to action for driving sales.
- Design Your Sign: Use pre-made templates to save time, large fonts and vibrant colors to attract attention. Integrating smart interactive features, such as countdowns and QR codes, will bridge offline and online engagement.
- Print and Execute Your Black Friday Signs: Print and install eye-catching signage in high-traffic places to bring potential buyers to your store and turn them into actual buyers.
- Examples of Good Black Friday Signs and Banners: Explore examples of signage types that work best for your Black Friday sales.
Plan and Choose Your Strategy
According to Capital One Shopping research, shoppers spend an average of $430 on Black Friday. If you’re gearing up for Black Friday, you’re most likely planning on figuring out what items you should discount and how much! Having flashy signage is a must when you're competing with so many other businesses. You can cover your doors, windows, or storefront with bold and bright designs to outshine the competition.
- Base Material: One of the best Black Friday signage tips is to use inexpensive materials for mass signage production. The campaign is temporary, so there’s no need to invest in costly, permanent signage. Make sure to get durable substrates for outdoor placements. Metal, corrugated plastic, acrylic, and vinyl do the trick. For indoor placements, foam board and PVC are the gold standard, though you can choose from a plethora of other materials, depending on your needs.
- Finish: When it comes to finishing, visibility is the most important factor. Choose a glossy finish to boost color vibrancy and make your ‘Sale’ sign pop.
- Thickness: Prioritize thin or medium materials. This is for faster production, easier transportation, and simplified setup and teardown for your high-level Black Friday execution.
Decide on Messaging and Copywriting
Let’s face it, everybody is going to be receiving plenty of Black Friday messages from every company they’ve ever set foot in, all in a relatively short space of time. Making your message stand out is your best chance of ensuring they pick your business over others.
Write Clear and Concise Texts
The layout of your texts will determine how powerful they are. A simple, succinct, and stellar single-column design will succeed. A good Black Friday sign tip: lead with a potent headline, then hammer it with your key offer, and drive sales with a call-to-action. Wordy explanations are a red flag if you want to follow the “five-second rule.” This rule is a design principle stating that you have about five seconds to grab someone’s attention before they lose interest or move on. It means your message should be instantly understandable. In other words, the viewer should be able to grasp what you’re promoting within five seconds of seeing it.
Focus on Benefits
Focusing on the benefits your customers will reap is a strong sales driver. A list of features is, of course, informational and provides value to those interested in your product specifications. But, if you want to make your customers buy your products, you need to list the benefits they will get.
- Feature-Focused: Smartwatch with sleep tracking and a step counter.
- Benefit-focused: Improve your sleep, stay active, and feel healthier every day. Get this smartwatch now for 30% off for Black Friday!
Use Call to Actions That Create a Sense of Urgency
The last step is getting your potential customers to take action. This Black Friday sign tip lies in integrating a powerful call to action that converts. Leave some space for a strong CTA to catch the eye. Create a sense of fear of missing out for your customers. Some great CTA examples may include, but are not limited to:
- CTAs that show supply limitations: Limited Stock, While Supplies Last, Only 50 Left!
- CTAs that show high discounts: 60% OFF. Grab Yours Now!
- CTAs that show time limitations: Sale Ends 12 PM Sharp! 4 Hours Left!
Design Your Sign
Your Black Friday campaign needs to be super-impactful, as does your sign. Your sign embodies your strategic messaging through visual execution. Knowing the best tips to design Black Friday signs isn't enough to have effective signage. This means you should plan the fonts, colors, placement, and other important factors. Let’s check them in detail.
Use Templates
The prep period for this important holiday is limited. Using Black Friday templates will greatly save you time and effort. There’s no need to reinvent designs for every size or location. With Square Signs, you can select from a vast array of templates and modify them using a sign design tool to get the job done within minutes. By using templates, you can rest assured that you’ll gain:
- Brand consistency: Templates provide a strong base for a consistent look. They directly lock in your branded elements, such as your brand logo, colors, and fonts, building trust and definitively signaling the start of your sales.
- Rapid implementation: Templates are effortless, pre-approved visuals that can be easily edited with custom final offer details.
- Technical accuracy: Design templates are made with the idea of being ready-to-print in mind. When you use templates, you’ll skip making costly errors like color shifts or clipping.
Use Large Font Sizes and Vibrant Colors
Fonts and colors are more than an accessory. They hold great power to change the entire mood of your design. That’s why it’s a strong device for creating emotion in the minds of your customers. People are likely to buy instinctively, going off emotion instead of necessity.
- Prioritize Readability and Size: This Black Friday sign tip might seem banal, but it’s really important. Consider having yard signs of at least 24”x18” for readability. If you use window decals, keep a minimum of 18”x24” to catch attention from the sidewalk.
- Use High Contrast Colors: High contrast grabs attention. You can use black on yellow, white on red. Stick to two or three keywords to avoid visual clutter.
- Match Font Style to Your Message
- Rounded or cursive fonts – They give a friendlier, more intimate feel.
- Blocky or all caps fonts – They feel bold and attention-grabbing.
- Minimalistic or thin fonts – They look clean and modern.
- Recommended Fonts for Black Friday Signage:
- Helvetica – Classic and highly legible; works well for headlines.
- Arial – Simple and clear; versatile for all sign sizes.
- Futura – Geometric and bold; great for attention-grabbing promotions.
- Montserrat – Contemporary and clean; perfect for banners or posters.
- Impact – Thick and bold; ideal for short, powerful messages.
Include Relevant Product Images and Compelling Visuals
After all, the most significant element of your campaign is going to be the image you’ll use to promote sales. Make sure that the image highlights one product that captures attention. It should be a high-resolution image representing your most popular product. You can incorporate the strategy of showcasing the product in a desirable environment. One example would be someone using a discounted item. This imagery ties the product to a tangible benefit.Think of Physical Countdowns
Physical countdowns are also great for creating a sense of urgency. This strategy turns itself into a time-sensitive call to action that accelerates purchasing decisions. Raise urgency by using pre-printed signs with empty boxes where you can periodically update the remaining time or stock.
Include QR Codes if Applicable
Smart tip for your Black Friday signs: make your customers’ lives easier with QR codes. This allows them to access specific deals and read product information by simply scanning a QR code. Help them get discounts right from their phones. By going even further, offer ‘secret’ deals or even extra discounts, making your customers feel they’re exclusive.
Print and Execute Your Black Friday Signs
Now, your final step. Only printing your customized signs and executing them wisely, and nothing more! Take the stunning design, have it printed, and install it in the best way possible. Strategic placement is another key aspect to make your Black Friday signs work. If you use banners, yard signs, or A-frames, position them near entrances, parking lots, and sidewalks. This way, you’ll catch the attention of passersby. For window decals and posters, keep them at eye level to attract walk-by traffic. Inside your store, place floor graphics, hanging signs, and countertop displays in high-traffic zones. The best option can be near best-selling products, checkout areas, or promotional sections.
When you’ve already decided on all the above-mentioned points, you already know what to order. Just enter our sign design tool, select the right signage, customize its finish, size, or any other elements, and you’re done.
Tip: Always ask for proof prior to printing. Our experts are more than happy to provide you with the final mockup to ensure everything is correct for you.
Examples of Good Black Friday Signs and Banners
Here you have excellent examples of templates and Black Friday sale banner ideas and signage types you can choose from to improve your shopping event.
Bringing It All Together
Getting shoppers in your store is step one; then you need to make the sale. Set up Black Friday signage with all the information you want to give your clientele at every single item that you’re trying to move! Display the price, the features, and a CTA to save time during the busy shopping day. Black Friday only comes once a year, so make it count!
Need to improve your holiday displays? Give Square Signs a call, and we’ll handle the rest!