Black Friday is an important time for businesses to make the most of a commercial opportunity that is often considered vital to overall annual sales figures. However, ensuring you have everything in place to do that involves planning, and indeed, finance. In this article we look at the top things UK business owners care about on Black Friday and how the right funding solutions can help. 

Working capital and cash flow management 

Businesses often need extra capital ahead of Black Friday to build inventory, cover marketing spend, and manage increased staffing requirements. 

Having enough inventory  

Getting the right products in stock in sufficient quantities is a big concern, especially for retailers. If inventory is low or delayed, sales opportunities are lost, so this is a matter of planning in advance - forecasting demand, ensuring orders are delivered on time, and having the capacity to handle returns or refunds. 

Being tech ready  

Ensuring websites can handle traffic spikes, that the online user experience, payment methods (fast checkout, buy‑now‑pay‑later capabilities, and digital wallets) are working well is crucial to maximising sales and reputation. 

Marketing and customer service 

Investing in marketing is essential for competing in a busy marketplace. For example, making promotions visible and attractive through discounts, bundles, and exclusive deals, as well as engaging existing customers (email lists, loyalty rewards), and using social media, as well as digital ads to draw in new customers. 

Cost pressures 

The rising costs of raw materials, labour, energy, and so forth are squeezing the margins, meaning SMEs need to be extremely careful about how deep discounts are. This places even more pressure on savvy and effective marketing campaigns as well as cash flow management as businesses go from very busy to very quiet periods. 

How funding solutions can help  

Having the right funding in place can give businesses the breathing room to address all of these challenges and make the most of the sales season. However, we all know that this is where the details make all the difference.  

Here's how Rivers can help: 

Flexible, fast financing  

We all value a prompt response, and in busy seasons SMEs are moving at pace. We know businesses value quick answers to funding applications and speedy access to capital, with repayment terms that accommodate sales seasonality. 

How Rivers can help: When we have all the information, we need from you, our experienced underwriters will review your application and respond within 48 hours (excluding weekends and bank holidays). We have even been known to then have funds in client's accounts within a further 48 hours. 

Cash flow bridges  

Businesses look for funding solutions for lots of different reasons - new equipment, sensible cash flow, or longer-term business development.  

How Rivers can help: Rivers offers a portfolio of funding solutions, including short- and medium-term loans designed to support the realities of running a small or medium-sized business.  

Transparency  

Because margins are tight, small businesses are wary of hidden fees or challenging repayment clauses. 

How Rivers can help: At Rivers we like to make sure everyone knows where they stand, so, we keep things clear and transparent at all times. For example, interest is fixed over the course of the loan term, and we are clear about repayments from the outset, such as 14 calendar day repayments on short-term loans.  

If you are looking for funding to support your Black Friday goals, speak to the team at Rivers to find out which of our solutions is best for you.