Black Friday is one of the busiest retail and booking periods of the year. To help you prepare, we’ve created a checklist to ensure your online booking flow, communication settings, and promotional setup are ready for a smooth, high-converting week.
Whether you’re offering discounted services, retail sales, or running a gift card promotion, the steps below will help you get everything set up quickly and confidently.
1. Make Sure Your Online Bookings Page Is Fully Customised
Your Online Bookings page will likely see a surge in traffic. Before Black Friday starts:
Review your branding, colours, and business details.
Ensure all services, durations, and prices are up to date.
Test the booking flow to ensure clients can complete bookings without confusion.
Confirm that your business hours and staff availability are correct.
A clean, updated bookings page will increase conversions and reduce support questions. You can learn how to customise your bookings page here.
2. Ensure You Have Enough SMS Credits
During Black Friday week, you’ll likely send more reminders and confirmations than usual.
Make sure to:
Check your SMS balance from your SalonBridge console.
Top up before the week begins so reminders and confirmations continue to be sent uninterrupted.
Remember: SMS appointment confirmations and reminders all rely on a positive SMS balance.
Running out of credits during a busy week can lead to missed appointments or last-minute cancellations - so stock up ahead of time.
3. Optional Configuration to Boost Black Friday Sales
These enhancements are optional but highly recommended for businesses offering deals or running promotions.
Enable Discounted Gift Cards
If you plan on offering discounted gift cards, enable this option before Black Friday.
Create a Black Friday Category for Specials on Services or Courses
If you're running promotions on services, courses, or packages:
Create a new category specifically for Black Friday deals.
Add your discounted items into that category.
Drag the category to the top so clients see these deals first.
Clearly label them (e.g., Black Friday Specials, One-Week Only Deals).
This makes your promotions easy to find and boosts conversions.
Make Black Friday Deals Bookable Only for Certain Days (If Applicable)
If your specials are only valid for specific days, you can temporarily adjust the service to be bookable only during those dates.
This is especially helpful if:
You’re running a 1-day flash sale
You have limited-time service slots
You want to prevent bookings outside the promotional window
Simply adjust the booking availability and switch it back after the promotion ends.
Specials on Retail Products
If you’re discounting retail products:
Add the promotional items to a new “Black Friday Retail” category.
Move the category to the top for maximum visibility.
Double-check stock levels if you’re selling limited quantities.
Specials on Course Sales
For education-based businesses offering discounted training or workshops:
Create a new category for Black Friday course specials.
Move this category to the top to ensure clients see it immediately.
4. Subscribe to Your Payment Gateway’s Status Page
With high traffic and increased transaction volume, it’s important to be notified of any payment gateway issues.
Visit your payment provider’s status page and subscribe to real-time alerts.
For example, you can subscribe to status updates from gateways like:
This ensures you're instantly aware of any processing delays or downtime during the week.
You're All Set!
By following these steps, your SalonBridge account will be optimised for Black Friday success.
If you need help implementing any of the above, our support team is available and happy to assist.