It’s may be difficult to think about snow and mistletoe when the dog days of summer are still here but if you’re an online retailer, preparation is everything and now is the time to be readying yourself for the holiday shopping season in a few months.
Retail sales are still lagging some, but many experts believe more people than ever will shop online for the holidays in 2009, which is even more of a reason to solidify your marketing and sales decisions in advance of the most important time of the year. We’ve compiled a few tips that every online retailer can use to put themselves in the best position to succeed when the weather does turn cooler.
–Organize: first and foremost, take a look at where you’re at. Analyze what worked and what didn’t work in previous holiday shopping seasons. Where can you improve? Should you consider advertising this season? Are there effective marketing initiatives from the past that should be built upon? Be honest and objective and build a realistic plan of attack.
–Get your site ready: technical issues and/or a website crash in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving are akin to retail suicide. Make sure your site and accompanying technology is humming along well, capable of handling lots of visitors and processing multiple orders at a time. If you’ve had concerns about the platform you’re operating on, maybe now’s the time to upgrade. Aesthetically your site should be well organized and laid out, with easy access not only to products, but to customer support and help features.
–Branch out: there are plenty of ways to increase your online presence for little or no money, particularly in the social networking arena. One example would be Sortprice.com’s Merchant Store application on Facebook. If you’re a Sortprice merchant, you can build a store for your products right on your Facebook profile FOR FREE. Tap into additional audiences by starting a Twitter feed or a Myspace page. The more people that know about you, the better!
–Consider your promotions: what promotions can you devise that will separate you from your competitors and ensure that shoppers keep coming back? This is a question that should be answered now. Think outside the box and offer coupons or special discounts for bulk orders. Free or discounted shipping during the holidays is always a popular choice as well. Regardless, set your promotional schedule in advance and make sure that ALL promotions are prominently displayed on your homepage.
–Advertising: while it’s great to have free or low-cost options to promote yourself, intelligent and targeted advertising is still a great way to get the word out about your store. But as we always say on this page, do your research and don’t pursue advertising options that will not pay off in the end. Consider a banner ad campaign starting as early as October to plant the seed in consumers’ minds about your site. If you have pages on social networking sites, take a look at their advertising packages as well. Even if you spend just a little on advertising now, the payoff at the end of the year could be great.
