Black Friday and Cyber Monday are here which means the online sales space is about to explode! If you’re an online business owner selling products or services, whether it’s physical or digital goods or online offers, this can be an intense season for you.
While it can definitely be an exciting time because your business is experiencing sales, it can also be quite stressful and overwhelming.
This is often the time of year where your internal systems need to be top notch, your customer service needs to be intact, and you need to be extremely aware of what’s legal and what’s NOT.
My hope is that you’re on top of all of those things during any time of year, but if you’re going to pick a time to really pay attention to those, let it be this season.
In this blog post, I’m going over a list of What’s Legal and What Not so you can make sure your business is fully prepared for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond.
Let’s start with what’s NOT legal when planning your Black Friday offers or creating your Black Friday marketing content!
5 Illegal Marketing Strategies To Avoid This Black Friday
1. Fake Discounts
Fake discounting is something you see in marketing all! the! time! and it’s often disguised as value stacking, which involves offering additional bonuses or products alongside a primary product to increase the overall value perceived by the customer.
You see this tactic being used all the time that you might believe there’s nothing wrong with it…
But the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines specify that if a product is touted as having a specific value, it must be a price at which the product has genuinely been sold or the valuation must be reasonable and supported by market evidence.
For example, if someone is selling a bundle that includes various things, such as a course as the main product, followed by a bunch of “bonuses”, such as a calendar template, an e-book, a Facebook group, a coaching session, and monthly Q+A sessions and has each item individually priced or valued, the value of each of those things must be REAL.
Meaning if the bonus e-book is “valued” at $19.99, then the business must be able to demonstrate that it has been sold at that price before or that it holds a legitimate market value.
Not only can inflated pricing land you in hot water with the FTC, but it can also be detrimental to the trust among your audience.
When consumers feel they have been misled, such as discovering that a product was never sold at its claimed value, they are less likely to trust you or want to buy from you in the future.
For a closer look at how to value stack in a LEGAL way, click here!
2. False Scarcity
A common Black Friday marketing tactic is saying that the offer you’re promoting is for a “limited time” or “until supplies last” when really there’s no scarcity at all.
This one has become increasingly popular in the online marketing world and is actually something I see being taught all. the. time.
I’m sorry, but when did straight up lying become a marketing tactic?!
Creating a false sense of urgency or scarcity, such as claiming that there are only a few items left in stock or only a few spots left in your course, when that’s really not the case is not the move.
3. Hidden Fees and Charges
You know that annoying feeling when you see a super great deal online and excitedly “add to cart” just to find out there’s actually way more fees associated with the sale than you were aware of?
Yeah, not cool. And NOT FTC compliant.
Failing to disclose hidden fees, charges, or subscription terms clearly and conspicuously in the sales copy can mislead consumers about the true cost of a product or service and goes against the guidelines.
4. Bait-and-Switch Marketing
Ah, the trusty bait and switch marketing strategy is not so trusty after all.
Advertising a product or service at a low price to attract customers, only to switch them to a more expensive option once they express interest, without clear disclosure of the change is not a game you want to be playing.
This is SUCH a common Black Friday / Cyber Monday marketing tactic and I for one am sickkkkk of seeing it. Be straight up with your audience from the get go because THEN they will actually want to buy from you – promise!
5. Misleading Testimonials
We’ve all seen testimonials or reviews online for a product or service and wondered if they were legit, right? If you’ve ever had to question it, it’s because your gut is telling you something and for good reason.
False or exaggerated claims are unfortunately very common and can make you skeptical.
For example, someone selling a weight loss supplement may claim the product results in rapid weight loss within a week without providing any scientific evidence to support the statement.
It’s an exaggerated claim that’s hard to believe and can be extremely misleading to your audience!
5 LEGAL Marketing Strategies To Implement This Black Friday
Now that you know what’s NOT legal when it comes to your Black Friday marketing and promotions, let’s talk about what IS so that you can design your offers and plan your marketing with confidence, knowing that you aren’t tricking your customers into buying.
1. Real Urgency and Scarcity
Attempting to create false scarcity for one of your products or services is a no no, but if you have something that has legitimate urgency or scarcity?! You’re free to market it as such!
When it comes to Black Friday, there really are tons of ways to do this – whether it’s by offering a free gift with purchase while supplies last, free shipping for one day only, offering a discount code that expires, a certain amount of spots for a specific service you’re selling, etc.
If those claims are real and accurate, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with talking about them because it’s TRUE! But the second you start creating false scarcity or fabricated deadlines, that crosses the legal line.
2. True Promotional Offers and Discount Details
Something that I absolutely HATE to see is when people present a “discount” that’s really just a percentage off of their inflated product or service prices.
Here’s what I mean:
Let’s say you’re shopping at a clothing boutique and they’re advertising 25% off the whole store.
You find a shirt you love that you’d love to buy and after calculating the discount you realize the price actually shakes out to what the original price was a few weeks ago when you saw the shirt online.
That’s a FAKE discount!
Now, if the boutique were offering 25% off the original price that you initially saw, then yes! Totally cool and legal and awesome.
If you have real, TRUE promotional offers and discounts, then by all means flaunt them. But don't inflate your initial prices just so it seems that way.
3. Offering Upsells After Checkout
Hiding additional fees and charges might be illegal, but something that isn’t? Offering upsells during your checkout process!
The difference is that you aren’t tricking your audience into buying and then presenting them with something different than they expected. Instead, you’re presenting them with a real offer that they’re interested in and then simply offering additional ways they can buy or work with you.
Upsells can be a very strategic and successful way to get your audience to purchase additional items or services that are in alignment with what they’re already purchasing!
The key with post-purchase upsells, however, is that you ensure the terms of the upsell are clear, and the customer intentionally agrees to the additional purchase through a very clearly labeled, "yes, add this to my order" button so that again, they aren’t being tricked into a sale!
4. Including Bonuses With Your Black Friday Offers
A common Black Friday strategy that you see are people offering bonuses or extras with their offers as a way to incentivize purchases. This can be a very smart and legal strategy as long as you do it the right way!
As mentioned earlier, it’s not legal to display “bonuses” with your main product offering and value stack it at a certain price if that price is not legit.
A bonus needs to be a TRUE bonus that people can’t get on its own, whether it’s a free e-book, complimentary service, or access to exclusive content.
Your bonus offerings should be accurately described and delivered as promised and be totally transparent about what’s included and any conditions that may apply.
5. No Refund Policy
The holiday season naturally brings out a lot of buyers who might get purchase happy and then experience buyer’s remorse. As a business owner, it’s wise to prepare yourself for this possibility and have a plan for how you’re going to handle refund requests.
It’s totally legal to have a “no refund” policy for your Black Friday offers, as long as you clearly communicate it to your customers before purchase.
Your refund policy, whatever it may be, should be included in your Terms and Conditions and be reiterated at checkout to avoid disputes!
For a closer look at how to craft a perfectly legal “no refund” policy, click here!
Protect Your Business This Black Friday, Cyber Monday, & Every Day In Between
Overall, the holiday season is typically an exciting time of year for business owners as it usually draws in more customers through sales, discounts, and promotions.
But without the correct legal backing in place, you could actually find yourself in a wholeeeee lot of trouble, which is ultimately what I want to help you avoid.
Even if you aren’t participating in Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this list can protect your business as a whole any day of the week!
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