The ultimate guide to Black Friday for SaaS businesses

Why Black Friday is important for SaaS businesses

While Black Friday was always particularly well-known as a big day for retail shopping, digital and software companies were quick to see how it positively impacted their sales and revenue too. 

So, what exactly do Black Friday and Cyber Monday have to offer the SaaS industry in particular? 

Here are four reasons why it’s important for SaaS businesses:

1. Sales

The biggest sales opportunities for software

Black Friday provides an ideal opportunity to attract new customers, tapping into the heightened consumer mindset focused on deal-seeking and impulse buying. Time-limited discounts create a sense of urgency, lowering the barrier for potential customers to try your product. 

Once these users sign up, you unlock a new revenue stream with plenty of upsell and cross-sell opportunities in the future.

Software companies tend not to get involved with Christmas or January sales, so BFCM is the weekend of opportunity for SaaS providers to win a substantial spike in new customers. Our data shows that sales peak on Cyber Monday at 10am (UTC) for software sellers. That’s a whole weekend of climbing numbers 📈.

We’ve also seen that those who offer a discount on Black Friday (and across the full weekend) sell significantly more than those who don’t. We’re talking about 7x the amount of orders, leading to around 6x the typical revenue.

So, to SaaS and digital product businesses everywhere: doing something is always better than doing nothing. Below our Head of Product, Lucas Lovell, breaks down the scale of opportunity Black Friday presents in a recent webinar on the topic.

2. Publicity

A lot of the publicity is done for you

Think of Black Friday and Cyber Weekend as an annual marketing campaign, except, there’s no need for you to promote the date thanks to the reputation it already has. It’s a standard entry in the annual diary, talked about by many.

One weekend, one hell of a sale for your customers, one big opportunity to boost your revenue.

All you need is to promote the right offer with the right messaging, we’ll cover what that messaging could look like a little later on.

3. Exposure

Expand your customer base

We always say it, but who doesn’t love a discount? Proven by the popularity of the volume discount pricing strategy within the SaaS world, discounts have shown a positive impact on revenue growth from new customers - Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales being no exception. 

Is it just a US thing? Nope. 

Taking place in most large markets around the globe, BFCM is an opportunity to gain more $$$s in a short amount of time, but also to expand your customer base for the long haul. Not only does it capture budget-conscious shoppers looking for long-term solutions at a reduced price, but it also generates buzz around your brand.

Strategic promotions, even if limited, increase brand visibility, drive new customer acquisition, and encourage long-term subscriptions. But remember, retention is key for long-term success.

4. Value

Longer customer lifetime value

Speaking of customer retention, our data shows that those who subscribe via a Cyber Weekend deal have a longer lifetime value (CLV). This will positively impact your MRR - boosting your revenue well beyond just the BFCM sales weekend.

Black Friday customers will feel inclined to stay with you and make the most of their subscription if you’ve given them a good deal for your product or service. Plus, they would be less likely to churn at the risk they don’t get the same level of discount again. 

Black Friday offers a unique opportunity to increase the lifetime value (LTV) of your existing customers by offering exclusive deals that encourage upgrades, additional purchases, or a switch to annual plans. Special promotions on premium features or bundled services can add significant value to their experience, boosting loyalty and reducing churn. 

This, in turn, increases the long-term value of each customer to your business.

More on how to retain your old and new customers further down.

How to get ready for BFCM

So what does this mean for SaaS and digital product businesses like yours? 

Most readers will know how critical this period is, but a large percentage won’t be able to harness the opportunity without a clear plan. 

Below we’ve outlined the key elements to nail; get these right and you’ll be well on your way to lasting Black Friday success. 

Start early

Our main top tip for Black Friday is to start early. 

We mean it. There’s a reason we started talking about it in August - we don’t want you wasting a very big opportunity for revenue gains. 

Starting early gives you more time to make noise about your Black Friday offers. It’s time to up the communications; social, email, and website content will all help to get the buzz going. 

Segment your audience

You’ve got to remember that your customer base can’t all be put under the same umbrella. To get the most revenue, customize your discounts to the specific customer. 

Ideally, you want to split your customers into segments of where they are in the customer journey: 

• Customers who tried your product but never purchased
• Customers who entered the checkout but never purchased
• Customers who churned recently
• Customers who churned a long time ago
• Existing customers
• New customers entirely

To apply this, your comms can come in the form of different email marketing flows for each segment, different target ads, and/or different landing pages.To apply this, your comms can come in the form of different email marketing flows for each segment, different target ads, and/or different landing pages.

Consider different styles of campaigns 

If you’re new to the BFCM game, whether you just haven’t thought about it before or because you’re a newly launched business, you won’t know for sure what’s going to work for you and what isn’t. Experimentation is key to figuring this out.

On top of creating varying campaigns for different customer segments, it’s worth experimenting with different styles of campaigns too. 

For example, the length of your campaign. Here’s a secret: your sale can go beyond Cyber Weekend. 

Kodeco is a great example of this in action...

How Kodeco scaled sales by 960% with Paddle on Black Friday

Kodeco’s 45% Black Friday discount for video courses was amplified by targeted email marketing, while early sale activation and Paddle’s “win-back” campaign advice reactivated past subscribers. They maximized results by starting their sale three days early while waiting for sales to organically die down before switching the campaign off. 

Results:

960% increase in transactions

942% revenue growth vs. average week

1,700+ new and returning customers

500+ upgrades to annual subscriptions

The offer of holding a discount to work to their timings of budget approvals and new quarter planning will also put you a level above your competitors and is something we’d recommend considering. 
Read the full case study here.

Create specific landing pages for Black Friday

Some of the best Black Friday campaigns we’ve seen over the years have invested time and energy into creating compelling landing pages. This page (or pages) should be highly visual with calls to action that emphasize that the discount you’re offering is a once-in-a-year opportunity. 

Use it in your social media and Google Ad promotions to clue your audience up on what to expect over Cyber Weekend. 

Another top tip: put a countdown on the page to create a sense of anticipation and urgency closer to the time.

Keep your creatives crystal clear

Make sure what your offering is clearly presented across your landing page. You want to highlight price points and discounts in a clear and appealing design. 

Check out digiDNA’s imazing.com and how they clearly portray the savings their users will be making - you want them to act fast after all, not wait for them to get their calculators out. 

Don’t stop there either. Think about your Black Friday creatives across all the platforms you use to promote the sale: the website itself, but also across your social media, forum presence, and email campaigns too. 

Having clarity and continuity throughout your campaign will help with your brand awareness so those users know when and where to return to, and what to expect when they click Buy. 

Retain old and new customers

At the end of the day, the perfect discount - Black Friday or not - comes down to understanding your customers, what your company represents to them, and their willingness to pay.

This counts for capturing both prospective customers and existing customers. While Black Friday is typically known as a means of acquiring new customers, you need to make sure your existing customers feel valued too. Here are three ideas for doing just that: 

1. Offer discounts for upgrades or add-ons: One easy way to encourage your existing customers to upgrade their subscriptions or packages. 
2. Consider where to apply your discount: Some SaaS businesses offer BFCM discounts to subsequent renewal billings, as well as to the checkout. 
3. Introduce sneak sale previews: This can be exclusive to existing customers or new email sign-ups to reward loyalty prior to the big Black Friday event itself - apply a lower or more limited discount to the official BFCM offer, for example.

What to offer in your SaaS Black Friday sales

Time to think about the deals you want to offer and how you’re going to promote them.

So, what’s the optimum offer for optimal revenue?

There are a few things to consider to maximize your revenue: 

• The length of the discount campaign 
• The product or products you’re discounting 
• The amount of discount you’re offering
  

But how do you know what length of Black Friday campaign will work for your business? 

It’s a game of experiments, but after witnessing so many of our sellers see a real increase in their annual revenue by pushing their Cyber Weekend sales across a two-week period, we fully recommend trying it out.

Where to apply your discounts 

First things first, what - or how many products - will your discount apply to? You’ve got a few options to go for here, and some will work well for your business, others won’t. 

There are three main approaches to discounting: 

The blanket approach: Discount equally across your product range, eg. 50% off every product.

The legacy discount: Offer high discounts on older or less-popular products to increase your user base and upsell potential further down the line.

The flagship discount: Discount only your best-selling products, as seen with Renderforest’s Black Friday pricing below.

What discount to apply 

Our data shows the best performing Black Friday discount is between 30% and 40%, but this can also be impacted by your product’s price point. 

We suggest something along the lines of: 

• If your product sells at <$10: high discounts 
• If your product sells at <$10 and >$100: lower discounts
• If your product sells at >$100: high discounts

As mentioned, you don’t have to stick to the same discounts throughout your campaign. Take the opportunity to experiment by changing them up for each of your segments over the time period, eg. a deal per hour, or a deal a day.

Once you’ve decided on the creatives and the way in which you want to discount your services or product, it’s time to create a detailed pregame plan - Let’s go over what that might look like for your business. 

Pre-Black Friday: Building anticipation

The pre-Black Friday period is perfect for building excitement and rewarding early action, especially from your loyal customer base. Think of it as a "warm-up" phase that builds momentum leading up to the main event.

Key strategies

Discount Amounts: During this period, offer smaller, enticing discounts to capture early interest. Aim for discounts in the range of 10-20%—enough to spark action without cannibalizing the bigger deals to come.

• Early Bird Rewards for Existing Customers: Treat your loyal customers to an exclusive sale before Black Friday kicks off. Offering early access to discounted rates or product bundles for your existing user base makes them feel valued. You can position this as a "VIP" or "loyalty" perk, driving higher engagement while preventing churn.
• Free Trial Teasers: If you offer a free trial, use this period to entice users to try your service risk-free. While this might be more applicable if you offer a freemium plan, consider positioning your current free trial as a special "early access" perk for Black Friday.

Offering early bird discounts creates urgency for both existing customers and new prospects, incentivizing action before the market becomes saturated with Black Friday promotions. This phase can help capture customers who don’t want to wait and risk missing out on the deals entirely.

How to promote your Cyber Weekend deals

Once you've got your discount strategy nailed on, here’s what to think about when it comes to communicating your offer:

• Social media: Get the creatives going and consider partnering with influencers in your field to help promote your page and your upcoming offers.
• Display advertising: Consider BFCM banner ads on your social media and website, as well as the potential of paying for them to be hosted on other relevant websites too.
• Email marketing: Round up the troops with email marketing - but don’t forget segmentation to make sure your customers are receiving content that is relevant to them.
• SMS marketing: If you’re a SaaS with an app, consider SMS marketing and push notifications to make sure your current customers know about the deals that apply to them.
• Loyalty schemes: Consider the idea of rewards like VIP sale previews or extended sales to keep your existing customers happy.

Be ready for the big day itself

It’s not all about the lead-up to the day, you’ve got to make sure your payment and billing process is 10/10.

The last thing you need on the day is a checkout that causes failed payments or a payment experience that drives customers away. 

What you do want is the maximum amount of revenue coming through to your business, and here’s how to help guarantee that: 

Streamlined checkout process: This is about making sure that your coupon or discount codes are already applied to make the transaction as easy as possible for these potential (and hopefully, soon-to-be) customers. This will help the realization of the great offer and push them to click “buy now” or “subscribe” even faster.

What is as important is ensuring your checkout process is localized.

Our head of product and former SaaS founder Lucas Lovell breaks down the importance of localization in the video below. Check out the webinar in full here.

Customer care is all part of the process when it comes to acquisition and retention, and with this being one of the busiest days of the year for retail and online shopping, it’s not a day you want to get wrong when it comes to support.

Ensure that you have a team on hand to cover questions and queries throughout this busier period to get in-front of any major support bottlenecks. 

What to do after Black Friday

The post-Black Friday window is your last chance to entice those who may have missed the main sale. It’s also a great opportunity to refine your discount strategy depending on how well you performed during Black Friday.

It’s essential to carefully manage the discounts and prices you’ve created during the campaign to avoid any unintended issues.

• Usage limits and expiration settings: configure usage limits and expiration dates on Black Friday discounts and promotional pricing to ensure they don’t extend beyond your intended campaign period. This helps maintain the integrity of your pricing structure and prevents discounts from lingering indefinitely.
• Archive discounts or prices: After your campaign ends, archive any temporary pricing structures to avoid discount abuse or customers trying to claim expired deals. Archiving discounts ensures your regular pricing remains intact and prevents confusion, without affecting customers that purchased during the promotional period.
• Avoid lingering discounts: Having discounts unintentionally available beyond the Black Friday period can devalue your product and lead to inconsistent pricing, frustrating both new and existing customers. Make sure that all deals are clearly marked as limited-time offers, and promptly revert to your regular pricing.

By managing discounts properly, you protect your brand’s pricing integrity and prevent potential revenue losses.

Dealing with transparent pricing

Transparency around pricing is crucial not just during Black Friday but afterward as well. You need to be upfront with customers about what happens next in terms of pricing and service.

• Communicate future price increases: If you’ve given customers a discounted price that will expire or increase after a certain period, be sure to clearly communicate these changes in advance. This transparency helps customers feel prepared rather than blindsided by sudden price hikes, reducing the risk of churn.
• Highlight service changes: If your service evolves—whether through new features, integrations, or performance improvements—make sure customers know. If they're aware of ongoing improvements to your product, they’ll be more inclined to continue using it, even as prices rise or discounts end.

Customers value honesty, and by being transparent about your pricing, you strengthen trust and loyalty, making them more likely to stay long-term.

Reinforcing the value proposition

Black Friday discounts may bring customers through the door, but it’s the value of your product that will keep them around once those discounts expire.

• Communicate product value and features: Remember that customers aren’t just buying your product because of the discount – they intend to use it. Make sure you’re effectively communicating the ongoing value of your product and its key features. Regularly remind customers of how your service solves their pain points and delivers real results.
• Shift focus to product value post-discount: Once the discount period ends, focus on showcasing the core value of your product. Your goal is to make sure customers stay not because of the price, but because your product offers essential features and benefits they can’t do without.

When the focus shifts from the discount to the product’s capabilities, you strengthen the customer relationship and enhance retention.

Incentivizing renewals and upsells

Once you’ve acquired customers through Black Friday discounts, the next step is to encourage renewals and upsells to increase their LTV.

• Upsell and cross-sell: Use the same strategies that hooked your customers with Black Friday discounts to now upsell and cross-sell additional services or features. Offering tiered pricing with volume discounts can encourage customers to upgrade to higher plans or purchase more seats for team-based solutions.
• Tier-Based pricing and volume discounts: Tiered pricing is especially effective at this stage. Offering additional discounts for higher-tier plans or increased usage can drive further commitment. For example, you could offer a discount if they upgrade to an annual subscription from a monthly one or if they add more users to their plan.

By encouraging renewals and upgrades, you turn your Black Friday customers into long-term, higher-value users.

Avoiding stale customer bases

Some customers acquired during Black Friday may not engage with your product immediately, especially if they received your service as a Christmas gift. It’s important to keep these users engaged to avoid them becoming a “stale” part of your customer base.

• Post-Holiday engagement: Since many customers might not start actively using your service until after the holidays, plan to re-engage them in the new year. Use this time as an opportunity to upsell and cross-sell. Capitalize on their fresh start and their new-year mindset of seeking solutions to their problems.
• Ongoing communication and engagement: Don’t let the gap between Black Friday and the new year cause you to lose touch with these customers. Use email marketing, onboarding sequences, and in-app notifications to keep them engaged and remind them of the value your product provides.

By keeping post-Black Friday customers engaged through the new year, you prevent stagnation and open the door to future revenue opportunities.

Once the day, weekend, or 14-day campaign is over, what comes next? 

Sales tax compliance

You need to make sure your sales tax compliance is in order, otherwise, you will very quickly lose out on your Black Friday revenue gains thanks to heavy fines and penalties.

You could even risk prison. 

For more on global sales tax and avoiding those hefty fines, check out our ultimate guide to sales tax and selling internationally.

Make this Black Friday your best one yet

This year’s Black Friday will present more opportunities than ever, but you’re competing with just about every other digitally-adept business.

Ultimately, you’re going to need all the help you can get.

In our recent webinar, former SaaS founder and head of product at Paddle, Lucas Lovell, took guests through the tactics and strategies businesses will need to maximize success throughout the BFCM period. 

Sign up here.