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The holiday season is right around the corner!
If you’re a business owner, that might mean that you’re about to enter your busiest time of year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be especially overwhelming if you have an e-commerce site. We understand that this is one more thing to worry about, so we’ve gathered a list of items you won’t want to miss before your big sales begin.
Make Sure Your Site is Running Smoothly
This is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure that your Black Friday sale is a success. As a shopper, there’s nothing worse than getting to checkout and running into glitches, especially when the items are going fast. Customers are more likely to abandon their carts and buy from a different site when the process is too clunky. Make sure things are working properly by spending some time reviewing and testing out the site for yourself.
Optimize for Black Friday
As the biggest shopping day of the year approaches, people are going to be doing their research and exploring “Black Friday Deals” from their favorite brands. You’ll want to run through your site and make sure it has the keywords you need to boost your search ranks. Do your own research on current trends, what’s working for other brands, and if you were in business last year, consider what worked best for you then. Did a certain product sell better than another? Was the product description for that item different in some way? What can you do this year to make other products more successful?
Safeguard Your Website
Cyber attacks are more likely to occur during Black Friday and Cyber Monday and it’s important to keep you and your customers safe during this vulnerable time. Review your cybersecurity measures and invest in quality protection so you can safeguard your site and your business. You’ll also want to check on your site’s capacity for an uptick in visitors. Can it handle a large volume of shoppers? Are you utilizing the right hosting platform for this kind of sale? The last thing you want is for your site to crash on people or be down for a long period of time. Every minute lost could be a lost sale!
Offer Great Discounts
People are expecting big deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Think at least 20% off. You can get creative with how you draw people in with things like free shipping, free gifts with purchase, and more. Offering something unique will help you stand out.
Practice Quality Customer Service
Whether you do everything yourself, have a team in your warehouse, or outsource your order fulfillment, quality is everything. Your customers’ experience doesn’t end when they submit their order, so set yourself apart by giving them a great experience from start to finish. This means training your team on how to navigate customer questions and requests, and how to troubleshoot common issues. Walk through potential problems and be sure to have a solution wherever you can.
Prep Your Email Campaigns
Your Black Friday and Cyber Monday email campaigns are super important! This is your direct line to existing customers who already know and (hopefully!) love you and your products. Keep them coming back by letting them know about what you plan to offer during the holiday season. You can even provide special offers exclusive to your email list to sweeten the deal.
Get these emails ready well in advance so you have time to review and improve them to perfection. Think about giving them a sneak peek early on, and then ramp things up in the couple of weeks before. The night before Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday works as a great reminder and the day-of is crucial as well. It might seem excessive, but, in a sea of sales, you’ll want to be top of mind!
Utilize Social Media and Digital Ad Campaigns
Don’t forget these important tools! Digital ads are designed to help you reach the right people, and if you use them well, can boost your business and gain new customers. Social media can be used to inform your followers of your upcoming sales and is great for showing off the more personal or behind the scenes side of your business. People spend a lot of time on social media, so make sure you meet them where they’re at!
If you need help optimizing your website, creating a digital ad campaign, or revamping your social media pages before the holidays hit, let us know! We’d love to help you create a strategy that will help you succeed this shopping season. Schedule your FREE consultation today!
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