Why Retailers Shouldn't Be Focused on Black Friday

3. Personalize deals for your customers. On Black Friday, that $199 television is up for grabs for anyone who's willing to leave Thanksgiving dinner early, camp out overnight in often freezing temperatures, and wake up to stand in line at 5 a.m. That may not resonate with your customer base. Instead of buying into these extreme measures, use technology to analyze customer spending history, create coupons, and distribute them via email or direct mail.

For example, generate a list of your top 300 customers by dollar amount purchased in the past year, then send them tiered coupons, offering $5, $10 or $20 off of their in-store purchase, depending on how much they've spent. Getting these customers into your store overcomes the major barrier to making a sale. If you price your items correctly and create your coupons proportionately, customers will spend far more in-store than the amount on the coupon.

4. Don't forget loyalty! The holidays are a great time to get shoppers in the door for the first time. When a shopper enters your store for the first time, make sure to sign him/her up for your frequent buyer/loyalty program to ensure they continue to receive information on promotions and sales after the holidays. If this first interaction happens on Black Friday, you have the rest of the holiday season to keep that customer coming back to capitalize on later sales and promotions.

What other tips do you have for making the most of the holiday shopping season? Let me know by posting a comment below.

Jason Becker is the COO of RICS Software, a web-based retail point-of-sale system and management solution.