by The Snow has hit the ground (well, in the North East anyway!), Santa letters are being pushed into mailboxes by little kids standing on tippy toe…and millions people across the world are getting ready for the festive season. The question is, are you?
With only a few days to go until the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, many retailers have been focusing their efforts solely on this whirlwind event, which is going to cost them severely in the long run when December rolls around. So with that in mind, I’ve put together a checklist for you to ensure that you’re covering all bases in your Christmas prep this year…Except for the Christmas Turkey, you’re on your own with that one!
1. Mobile, Mobile, Mobile
Just last week, we posted our ‘Time to Go Mobile?’ infographic which will help you to ensure your site is optimized for mobile. Up to 50% of ecommerce sales are now coming from mobile devices, but if your site isn’t up to scratch then your bounce rate will bring tears to your eyes!
2.Engage with your Customer
‘Behavioural Data’ is your best friend on Analytics for this one. Who is your customer? What are they looking for? Where do they come from? In our previous post about ‘Identifying your Target Audience’ we show you how to offer a personalized experience for your customer based on their profile and customer journey.
3.Don’t pitch your online and in-store offerings against each other
A problem with many companies is that the ‘ecommerce’ side of the business is kept separate to the store itself and this leads to massive communication issues for both the staff and the customer. It also makes the buying process more difficult, when in fact both platforms should be working together to provide the best possible streamlined customer experience. I actually had a real life example of this the other day when I went into the retail outlet ‘Forever 21’ to inquire about a pair of boots I’d seen online. I was told that they didn’t have them in my size, so being in a rush and dire need of a pair of winter boots I inquired whether they could order them in for me from their online store, however I was told that this wasn’t possible. Of course I could order the boots online myself, but by forcing this as my only option they actually added another step into my buying process and having had a busy day, I simply didn’t bother. This all leads back to the key to every sale you’ll ever make – ‘make it easy’. No-one wants to spend their hard earned money in the first place, so the harder you make it the less they’ll be likely to part with it. You really need to hold the customers hand throughout the process, until their credit card is in yours!
So there you go, 3 simple ways to ensure you’re ready to SELL, SELL, SELL this festive season! Oh and good luck with that turkey….