Black Friday for Service Providers: Complete Strategy Guide 2024
Right, let's totally get straight into it. Black Friday is coming up on November 29th this year (which is actually quite late - normally it's much closer to my daughter's birthday on the 25th!).
For service providers, it's time to make some decisions about whether to dive in or sit this one out. While the big retailers are planning their door busters, we need to think strategically about how to approach this massive shopping event without devaluing our amazing services.
I'm going to be really honest with you - as service providers, we need to think differently about Black Friday than the big retailers shifting their old stock. We need to consider whether it aligns with our brand, whether our dream clients are actually looking for Black Friday deals from us, and most importantly, how we can take advantage of this high-spending period without burning ourselves out or undermining our value.
🦁 In this blog, we'll dig into:
The big question: Should you even do Black Friday as a service provider?
Brilliant alternatives if traditional Black Friday isn't your thing
How to structure your offers (including what NOT to do)
Strategic pricing that doesn't devalue your services
Whether to use Meta ads (and trust me, it's not always a yes!)
Let's Talk About Whether You Should Do Black Friday
I totally get that some people just fundamentally don't like Black Friday, and I absolutely get it.
It's hugely competitive. Often people aren't offering genuine discounts, especially when you look at the big businesses where they're just trying to shift old stock. It's very, very commercial.
If you don't think it aligns with your brand, if you don't think it aligns with your values, and if you don't think your customers are going to be like, "oh my God, they should definitely be doing Black Friday," then don't do it.
I'm totally not here for you doing something just because you feel like you need to jump on a bandwagon.
Brilliant Alternatives for Service Providers
If traditional Black Friday feels a bit 'ick', there are some brilliant alternatives that might align better with your brand.
There's Small Business Saturday, which happens the Saturday after Black Friday. It's a fantastic celebration of independent businesses and feels much more aligned with service providers.
Then there's Colourful Friday, which Holly Tucker started. It's much more about celebrating small businesses, and it doesn't necessarily have to involve huge discounts. You can still add value and maybe offer some special deals, but it feels more authentic for many service providers.
Getting Your Timing Right is Everything
Here's something crucial - whether you're doing Black Friday, Colourful Friday, Small Business Saturday, or absolutely nothing at all, you need to tell your audience early. I'd say start communicating in early November, and here's why:
Over the next three to four weeks, you might find that sales slow or people aren't buying because they're waiting to see if you're going to do a discount. While this is probably more pronounced in e-comm, you probably know from your own behaviour - I'm already looking at buying some things for my kids for Christmas and thinking "might that be a Black Friday thing?"
Three Brilliant Ways to Structure Your Black Friday Offer
When it comes to Black Friday, there are really three key approaches you can take.
And I'm going to be totally honest with you - each one works brilliantly for different types of offers and different types of service providers. Let's dig into each one:
1. The Strategic Discount Approach
Right, let's be really clear about discounting - I would only ever advocate decreasing the price on something that doesn't involve your time directly. I don't really believe in discounting high-ticket offers where you are giving a lot of time or it's high touch.
For example, my mastermind or working with me one-to-one or me doing ads management - I wouldn't ever discount those for Black Friday. Here's why:
They're not high volume offers
They involve a significant amount of my time
I can only take on a limited number of clients
If I discount it, I'm just going to earn less but still put in the same amount of work
But for scalable offers?
Absolutely! My Audience Builder course is normally £197. Last Black Friday, I actually launched it at £97. I did it for about 48 hours, and it was a really, really big discount. But because it's scalable, the discount didn't impact the overall revenue.
Here's what works brilliantly for discounts:
Online courses
Digital products
Templates or toolkits
Memberships (try £1 for your first month!)
Any offer that doesn't directly impact your time
2. The Value-Add Approach
This is my absolute favourite, especially for mid to high-ticket offers. Instead of slashing your prices, you're adding incredible additional value that makes it impossible to resist.
When I did my birthday sale in July, I didn't discount my Audience Builder course price, but I added:
Access to group calls with me for four months
My Lionhearted Lead Gen toolkit
The actual value of the add-ons was more than the price of the course itself!
For higher-ticket offers, you could add things like:
An additional strategy call after the program ends
Extended support (like 12 weeks instead of 8)
A one-to-one VIP day on Slack
A group Q1 planning day
Additional resources or templates
The key here is making sure the value add either:
Has significant monetary worth (ideally more than the original offer)
Gives exclusive access to you (but make sure you're comfortable with the time commitment!)
Actually helps them get better results from the original offer
3. The Limited-Time Special
This is absolutely brilliant for testing new offers or creating that sense of exclusivity. It's perfect if you want to try something new or create some real FOMO.
Here are some ideas that work brilliantly:
VIP days on Voxer or Slack (limit to 5 spots in Q1)
90-minute deep dive sessions (if you don't normally offer them)
A January planning day at an early-bird price
An exclusive in-person event with limited spots
A one-off group coaching intensive
What makes this approach so effective is that it's:
Limited in availability
Not something you normally offer
Perfect for testing new offers
Great for creating urgency
Brilliant for activating your existing audience
For all of these approaches, here's what you absolutely need to remember:
Be really clear about what you're offering
Make sure it's significantly better than your usual offers
Don't try to do all three approaches - pick one and do it brilliantly
Consider your time and energy - don't create something that will burn you out
Make sure the offer aligns with your overall business strategy
And here's a really important tip - whatever approach you choose, make sure you can deliver it without compromising your existing client work or burning yourself out. The goal is to create something exciting that brings in revenue AND builds your business reputation, not something that leaves you overwhelmed in December!
Let's Talk Meta Ads
I'll just say this really upfront and really clearly - if you're not currently running ads, do not run ads on Black Friday. It's already a really, really congested time. Big businesses will be spending huge amounts of money, so suddenly there will be a lot more competition in the ads space.
However, if you're already running ads and you've established your audience, absolutely go for it! I'd initially be looking at your warm audience, depending on your budget. These ads are then going to just push this offer in front of people who already know who you are - it's an additional opportunity to get that offer in front of them.
Final Thoughts on Timing
Generally, my clients will go from Wednesday through to the Monday or Tuesday after Black Friday. You can go from Monday to Monday - that's quite common. That whole week will be full of Black Friday offers. It's really up to you how early you want to go, but I'd recommend somewhere between the Monday and Wednesday before Black Friday through to Cyber Monday.
If there's one thing I could say, it's this: focus on one offer. Choose one approach - whether it's the discount, the value-add, or something new. Pick one and just really go for it. Be really clear, be really specific and focused in your messaging. Tell your customers and clients what you're doing in the run-up (doesn't have to be all the details), and then really commit to it over that seven to ten-day period. That's where your sales will come from.
Turn Black Friday Success Into Year-Round Growth
While Black Friday can give your business an amazing boost, the most successful service providers know that sustainable growth comes from having a consistent strategy to reach new dream clients throughout the year. The real question isn't just "should I do Black Friday?" but "how can I keep this momentum going?"
If you're ready to take the leap into Facebook & Instagram ads, my Audience Builder Course is the perfect place to start. I'll walk you step by step through 3 key Facebook & Instagram ad campaigns to allow you to grow your email list AND Instagram followers - for as little as £3/day.
Click here for all the info & to sign up.
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