Holiday spending will reach nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars (that's trillion, with a T) in 2013, according to BizRate. That means no e-business can afford to slack on their holiday marketing and activities if they want to claim some of those customers for themselves. These figures illustrate the fact there is money to be had for anyone with an e-commerce website. The success of your website depends solely on your willingness to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Here are three ways you can help increase sales on your website. But how can businesses make the most of the annual shopping spree?
Plan Ahead
Some online videos and posts go viral in a matter of days. The vast majority, however, need time to be seen or heard by a larger Internet audience. Practical Ecommerce recommends creating holiday-related content in August or September that will pop up in search results by November and become popular and re-shared in December. Creating a Web page or holiday-related marketing copy only a few weeks before the big retail season very rarely results in high exposure and a good return on investment.
Make It Mobile
Make your e-business compatible with all platforms in order to attract every customer who plugs your company or product name into their iPad or BlackBerry. While CPC Strategy notes seniors prefer to visit brick-and-mortar stores for their holiday shopping, every other age demographic considers online shopping to be their preferred mode of spending money. Companies that fail to incorporate a strong mobile presence miss out on a massive consumer base.
Create Social Strategies
When a person signs into their computer for Cyber Monday, they spend only a portion of their time checking out a retailer's website. In an age where anyone can instantly know exactly what site their friends and followers browse, leapfrogging from page to page based on social media cues results in huge sales for social-savvy businesses and sagging performances for companies that fail to out-Tweet the competition.
Business Insider suggests that a company can gain a large social media following (and, thus, more customers) by aggressively marketing their brands on social networks, since customers like or follow brands that offer them digital discounts. Do not be afraid of social over-saturation on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, since you will be competing with an avalanche of likes and re-posts for the customer's attention.
Create Visuals On Cards
It can be difficult to reach customers who prefer to be unplugged and avoid the frenetic pace of holiday shopping. A company that adds a personal touch to their customer relations will enjoy better retention and word-of-mouth advertising than one which does not project any intimacy with their communications. An e-business can utilize Minted holiday photopostcards as a means of staying in touch with a customer base rather than subjecting them to a sales pitch. Make your card stand out in comparison to those hung up on a refrigerator by using a sharp picture that quickly and easily creates an emotional reaction.