The holidays are coming, and every business should develop its strategy for this season. According to Deloitte, an increase of about 7-8% in sales is expected for this year's holidays. If in the case of consumers we expected to buy more than they did in 2020, but when we talk about business, we can say that the effects of the pandemic are still felt in many ways. From raising taxes to cumbersome supplies or insufficient numbers of employees, they can all be felt to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the business. All these obstacles will make the preparation for the holiday season even more important in order to increase sales. You will need to make sure that you do not repeat last year's mistakes, but also adjust your digital marketing strategy to keep the audience interested. By planning well, you will even be able to exceed your sales goals.
Here are 3 tips to prepare your business for the holiday season:
1. Start with a thorough analysis
One of the things you should do before moving on to the actual planning is to analyze the holiday season of 2020. When you do that, you should consider the things that went well, the things that went wrong, the unexpected issues that intervened along the way, the results obtained, but also what was the strategy approached. Once you have established all these details, you will be able to see what you should improve, what practices you should keep, what would be the solution of problems that have occurred in the past, but also the implementation of ways to reduce the occurrence of unforeseen problems. In this direction, our advice is to think about the irregularities that may occur along the way and try to find a solution for each one. Having such a solution will make it much easier for you to manage the situation if they do arise.
2. Prepare the website
Given that the global epidemiological situation is still unfavorable, online shopping maintains its supremacy over physical ones. The days when we walked from one store to another to find the most suitable gifts for our loved ones are over. Now, we navigate from one website to another to protect our health and save time. In these conditions, as a business owner, it is imperative to have the website ready for the avalanche of users who will invade in the next period. Now is the perfect time to make the necessary upgrades, but also to deal with any errors, to work smoothly, and to be able to manage a large number of customers. You will need to make sure that you resolve all issues related to payment processing so that you do not experience any unexpected events that disrupt the operation of the website and that affect the consumer experience. Don't forget to update your delivery and return method, payment policy, promotional pricing and the like. An optional element, which will surely be appreciated, would be choosing a seasonal theme, introducing the user to the holiday atmosphere.
3. Adjust your digital marketing strategy
Without having a proper digital marketing strategy, adapted to the holiday season, it will be quite difficult to attract and maintain the attention of the target audience. During this period, all its components are extremely important, and being used wisely can bring surprising results. Some elements that should be missing from the digital holiday marketing strategy are:
If your brand does not yet have a solid presence on social media, it is time to take the necessary actions to grow it. Social media platforms are the perfect place to communicate with the current audience, but also to reach new customers. In addition, users who reach your pages can be directed to the website, thus increasing traffic and even sales. So, create a specific posting plan, and then make sure you distribute quality content that captures users' attention.
Email marketing is an opportunity to maximize sales, but its success depends very much on the content you choose to distribute through it. Some topics of interest that you should include in holiday newsletters are attractive offers, discount coupons, or additional benefits for loyal customers. If you haven't already done so, you should also consider implementing an automated abandonment cart email, which will help you reduce abandoned carts and increase the number of completed orders.
A good way to bring your products and services to the attention of consumers is through shopping ads. They are recommended because they catch the eye, due to the visuals, but also because they allow consumers to compare in real-time products from various websites. Under these conditions, if a user accesses your website, they will be more likely to make a purchase. According to Matt Madrigal, VP and GM at Google Shopping, there are over 1 billion shopping sessions on Google every day! This information should motivate your choice to include shopping ads in your marketing strategy.
In addition to all the above, do not forget to remember the holiday’s spirit, to constantly encourage your team, but also to have fun! When you do things with pleasure, the results will be just right! If you feel overwhelmed or want additional advice, you can contact us at any time, the specialists from the Marketiu team are always ready to offer you a helping hand!
