We're Almost There.
Thanksgiving's in two days, and then the madness begins. Millions of emails, millions of ads, millions of sales, millions of people crowding your stores, your phones, your web sites.
What Should You Expect?
There are a few trends you should be ready for this week, and here's what to do about them:
1) The early start. A growing list of large retailers are going to be open for part or all of the day on Thanksgiving itself. I'm not sure I like this trend; it takes people away from their families and glorifies buying new stuff on a holiday that celebrates being thankful for what we already have.
That said, you can still send a message on Wednesday, wishing your customers a happy holiday and giving them a special online sale just for them for Wednesday and Thursday. Your web site can work for you while your employees are enjoying the holiday with friends and family.
2) Comparison shopping and showrooming. If you own retail locations, expect a lot of people in your stores to be looking at their phones while shopping, using price comparison apps like RedLaser and Amazon's Price Check to help them decide whether to buy with you or not.
The best defense is a good offense. Prepare by researching your pricing and justifying it. You can offer things that larger retailers can't - like personalized service and a more flexible return policy. You can also package items together to make comparison shopping a little trickier. Consider offering price matching on some items if you notice a lot of people showrooming certain products.
3) Layaway. Layaway made a comeback a few years ago, during the recession. It's still here and services like online layaway are driving the growth of this payment method. It's a little late to set up layaway now if you don't have it already, but you should be alert for customers who might want this service and determine what portion of your shoppers might use it. You might ask people who are leaving your store empty-handed or putting back items if layaway service would change their minds, or do a survey of your email customers.
What are you doing differently this holiday season? Please share in the comments.
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Are You Ready for Cyber Monday?
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Showing posts with label cyber monday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyber monday. Show all posts
Are You Ready for Cyber Monday?
I hope you've got your online promotions planned for Cyber Monday, which is coming right up on Monday, November 26.
In 2011, consumers spent more than $1.25 billion online during the Monday after Thanksgiving, up 22% from the $1 billion they spent in 2010. What's more, average order value was also up almost three percent, to $198.26.
Want your share?
Of course you do. Even if you're not quite prepared for Cyber Monday, there's still time to make the most of the opportunity. Here's how:
1) Make your deals simple and shareable. Your offers should be easy to understand, redeem, and share. People do a LOT of comparison shopping on Cyber Monday and you don't want your deals to get lost by being too complicated. Also, easy-to-share deals mean customers can get you other customers. Make sure there are share buttons on every page, and include an "I got a great deal" sharable message with your purchase confirmations so folks can tell their friends what they bought.
2) Tell them about it! Announce deals for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, the weekend, and Cyber Monday on all of your channels. Customers expect consistent experiences on email, social media, and your web site, so make sure everything's updated.
3) Don't forget about SEO. Make sure you're using keywords like "Cyber Monday," product terms, and deal-related messaging in your web copy, so that search engines can find your work.
4) Update your ads. If you're running online ads, update your creative to reflect your Cyber Monday offers. Outdated ads will confuse your customers.
5) Is your operational house in order? Do you have what you need to keep your inventory status current, ship out extra orders, deal with special requests, handle complaints, send out additional promotions, and update your web site? If not, now's the time to act.
Need help getting ready for your best Cyber Monday ever? Let me know - I can help.
Want your share?
Of course you do. Even if you're not quite prepared for Cyber Monday, there's still time to make the most of the opportunity. Here's how:
1) Make your deals simple and shareable. Your offers should be easy to understand, redeem, and share. People do a LOT of comparison shopping on Cyber Monday and you don't want your deals to get lost by being too complicated. Also, easy-to-share deals mean customers can get you other customers. Make sure there are share buttons on every page, and include an "I got a great deal" sharable message with your purchase confirmations so folks can tell their friends what they bought.
2) Tell them about it! Announce deals for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, the weekend, and Cyber Monday on all of your channels. Customers expect consistent experiences on email, social media, and your web site, so make sure everything's updated.
3) Don't forget about SEO. Make sure you're using keywords like "Cyber Monday," product terms, and deal-related messaging in your web copy, so that search engines can find your work.
4) Update your ads. If you're running online ads, update your creative to reflect your Cyber Monday offers. Outdated ads will confuse your customers.
5) Is your operational house in order? Do you have what you need to keep your inventory status current, ship out extra orders, deal with special requests, handle complaints, send out additional promotions, and update your web site? If not, now's the time to act.
Need help getting ready for your best Cyber Monday ever? Let me know - I can help.
Four Ways to Stay Relevant for the Holidays
You've had a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, and now you're cruising towards home - just another couple of weeks and then it's visions of sugarplums while you get a little rest.
But your numbers haven't stayed up, and you're finding that now your numbers are actually LOWER than last year. Your Thanksgiving sales strategy brought in plenty of customers in November, but now they've moved on to other deals.
How do you light a fire under your customers? Here are four ways to keep the traffic coming.
1) Give a special offer to people who bought right after Thanksgiving. They should have their orders by now and if they like what they bought, they may want to purchase again.
2) Do a winback campaign for past buyers who didn't buy this year. Give them a reason to buy from you again.
3) Keep your customers in the loop - about new specials, deadlines (like for free shipping or Christmas delivery).
4) Don't forget other holidays - depending on who is in your customer base, your buyers may be honoring the Winter Solstice, celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Boxing Day. Don't forget Saturnalia or Gluten Free Baking Week. Did you know that December is also National Tie Month? Most importantly, December 16 is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. OK, so I'm getting carried away, but the bottom line is that Christmas is only one holiday - bring in more customers by including people celebrating all kinds of things this month.
Need help planning your observance of National Whiner's Day? Let me know - I can help. First step - no whining.
But your numbers haven't stayed up, and you're finding that now your numbers are actually LOWER than last year. Your Thanksgiving sales strategy brought in plenty of customers in November, but now they've moved on to other deals.
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| Holiday cheer. Photo: Flickr user Glennharper. |
1) Give a special offer to people who bought right after Thanksgiving. They should have their orders by now and if they like what they bought, they may want to purchase again.
2) Do a winback campaign for past buyers who didn't buy this year. Give them a reason to buy from you again.
3) Keep your customers in the loop - about new specials, deadlines (like for free shipping or Christmas delivery).
4) Don't forget other holidays - depending on who is in your customer base, your buyers may be honoring the Winter Solstice, celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Boxing Day. Don't forget Saturnalia or Gluten Free Baking Week. Did you know that December is also National Tie Month? Most importantly, December 16 is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. OK, so I'm getting carried away, but the bottom line is that Christmas is only one holiday - bring in more customers by including people celebrating all kinds of things this month.
Need help planning your observance of National Whiner's Day? Let me know - I can help. First step - no whining.
News this Week: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Niche Social Networks
What should you be paying attention to this week?
Don't forget about some of those smaller, niche social networks, like Instagram, Pinterest, Foodspotting, and one of my favorites, Ravelry, which is for knitters. (Mashable)
Your takeaway: Think about applications for these carefully. It can be time and energy-consuming to put yourself on yet another social network, but if you can make one of these work for you, you'll have far less competition on something like Pinterest than, say, Facebook.
Black Friday 2011 has been judged a success, with the National Retail Federation estimating sales up $11.5 billion over 2008 sales and up $7.5 billion over last year. Retailers really pulled out all the stops this year - some even opening on Thanksgiving itself to boost sales. Many (though unfortunately not all) consumers had a better year in 2011 than 2010 - paying off debt and saving more, leading to more spending this year.
Cyber Monday 2011 was also bigger than ever, a 33% jump over last year, with social media and mobile (especially tablet) use contributing to the numbers in more significant ways. Customers looked for recommendations, shared deals, and did their comparison shopping, and ended up spending more than expected.
Your takeaway: I hope your Thanksgiving strategies boosted your business this year too, but there are still plenty of people who aren't going to be able to give their families the holiday they wish they could without a little help. Enough people had a better year this year to boost holiday retail sales, but there are still millions of people out of work who could use a boost. If you have means, consider giving a little more to your favorite charity this year.
Don't forget about some of those smaller, niche social networks, like Instagram, Pinterest, Foodspotting, and one of my favorites, Ravelry, which is for knitters. (Mashable)
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| Holiday cheer from Flickr user John-Morgan. |
Black Friday 2011 has been judged a success, with the National Retail Federation estimating sales up $11.5 billion over 2008 sales and up $7.5 billion over last year. Retailers really pulled out all the stops this year - some even opening on Thanksgiving itself to boost sales. Many (though unfortunately not all) consumers had a better year in 2011 than 2010 - paying off debt and saving more, leading to more spending this year.
Cyber Monday 2011 was also bigger than ever, a 33% jump over last year, with social media and mobile (especially tablet) use contributing to the numbers in more significant ways. Customers looked for recommendations, shared deals, and did their comparison shopping, and ended up spending more than expected.
Your takeaway: I hope your Thanksgiving strategies boosted your business this year too, but there are still plenty of people who aren't going to be able to give their families the holiday they wish they could without a little help. Enough people had a better year this year to boost holiday retail sales, but there are still millions of people out of work who could use a boost. If you have means, consider giving a little more to your favorite charity this year.
Last Minute Thanksgiving Preparations
And I don't mean the cranberry sauce.
Your biggest sales days of the year are most likely in the next week - Black Friday, Super Saturday and Sunday, and Cyber Monday will be some of your biggest days this year. While you still have a minute to breathe, let's make sure you're ready. Have you....
1) Checked and double checked your email promotions? You may be sending them already. In any case, do one more check to make sure the links work, everything's spelled correctly, and your prices are right.
2) Done your keyword research? Thanksgiving sales are search intensive, so it's a good idea to make sure your metadata is in place. A little SEO now can generate a lot of sales this week.
3) Gotten your IT in order? Make sure your web server has extra capacity set up, and that you have an emergency contact in place - someone who is available over the weekend if your servers go down.
4) Pumped up your customer service staff? Do you have enough people working in your stores, answering your phones, dealing with your web chat, and answering emails? You risk losing orders (and next year's customers) by not being 100% responsive.
5) Lined up your logistics? Is your warehouse ready to ship a higher volume of orders than usual? Do you have enough stock of all of your sale items? Have you set up the infrastructure to support all of your package deals?
Sounds like you're all set and ready to go! Have a prosperous holiday season!
How's your busy season? Drop me a line and let me know.
Related posts
The Procrastinator's Guide to Cyber Monday
Get Your Holiday Sales On
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| From Flickr user Christina Rutz. |
1) Checked and double checked your email promotions? You may be sending them already. In any case, do one more check to make sure the links work, everything's spelled correctly, and your prices are right.
2) Done your keyword research? Thanksgiving sales are search intensive, so it's a good idea to make sure your metadata is in place. A little SEO now can generate a lot of sales this week.
3) Gotten your IT in order? Make sure your web server has extra capacity set up, and that you have an emergency contact in place - someone who is available over the weekend if your servers go down.
4) Pumped up your customer service staff? Do you have enough people working in your stores, answering your phones, dealing with your web chat, and answering emails? You risk losing orders (and next year's customers) by not being 100% responsive.
5) Lined up your logistics? Is your warehouse ready to ship a higher volume of orders than usual? Do you have enough stock of all of your sale items? Have you set up the infrastructure to support all of your package deals?
Sounds like you're all set and ready to go! Have a prosperous holiday season!
How's your busy season? Drop me a line and let me know.
Related posts
The Procrastinator's Guide to Cyber Monday
Get Your Holiday Sales On
News this Week: Yelp, Google, Cyber Monday
What should you be paying attention to this week?
First, online review site Yelp has filed for an IPO in hopes of raising about $100 million. Yelp generates income from local advertising, and though it made $58.4 million from January - September of this year, it still isn't profitable. (Mashable)
What's Next: Watch for news from analysts who are looking at the volatile and competitive marketplace, and where Yelp fits in with brands like Groupon, LivingSocial, and Angie's List. Will be interesting to see where this one goes.
Google Checkout is over, replaced by Google Wallet. Wallet's ease of use means that consumers are adopting it at a far faster rate than they ever used Google Checkout. (Search Engine Land)
Your takeaway: It's always a good idea to make sure that consumers can buy from you using as many options as possible. You don't want to miss sales because you're not available.
Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, and it's 10 days away. If you're not 100% solid on what you're doing to drive customers to your brand, here's a procrastinators guide to Cyber Monday.
Don't mess this up: If you think you can sit this one out, don't. Last year, consumers spent more than $1 billion on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Need help with holiday strategy and business planning? Let me know.
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading.
 |
| Yelp users in Corvallis, OR have their own logo. |
What's Next: Watch for news from analysts who are looking at the volatile and competitive marketplace, and where Yelp fits in with brands like Groupon, LivingSocial, and Angie's List. Will be interesting to see where this one goes.
Google Checkout is over, replaced by Google Wallet. Wallet's ease of use means that consumers are adopting it at a far faster rate than they ever used Google Checkout. (Search Engine Land)
Your takeaway: It's always a good idea to make sure that consumers can buy from you using as many options as possible. You don't want to miss sales because you're not available.
Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, and it's 10 days away. If you're not 100% solid on what you're doing to drive customers to your brand, here's a procrastinators guide to Cyber Monday.
Don't mess this up: If you think you can sit this one out, don't. Last year, consumers spent more than $1 billion on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Need help with holiday strategy and business planning? Let me know.
Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading.
The Procrastinator's Guide to Cyber Monday
It's only a few weeks to Cyber Monday, and I really hope you have your online promotions already planned.
Why? According to ComScore, the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2010 was the highest spending day of the year - consumers spent more than $1 billion online, up 16% over the year before.
Even if you're the CEO of procrastination, it's time to stop living in denial and understand that you can't pass up this opportunity. Your customers are expecting deals and you need to provide them. Here's how to make the most of the biggest shopping day of the year:
1) Make your deals easy to understand - is it $10 toys, 50 gifts under $50, 100 ten dollar ties? Whatever you can do to group products or make them easier to find gives you an edge. Make your pricing prominent- people do a LOT of comparison shopping on Cyber Monday, so your price is important. Don't be fooled into too much discounting, though - consumers don't always buy the cheapest thing.
2) SEO is key for Cyber Monday - make sure you're using the "Cyber Monday" keyword and you're using strong title tags and metadata. Time now on keyword research will drive great organic search results later. Think about how you would search if you were really in a hurry, validate those assumptions using the Google Adwords Keywords tool, and tag away.
3) Don't forget to advertise, but remember that all of your customers are expecting you to have a Cyber Monday sale. Ads are more expensive this time of year (and at this late date), but it can't hurt to check pricing on popular shopping sites like CyberMonday.com to see what you can do. That said, the best people to message are those that already like your brand - make sure your current email subscribers know that you're having a sale and do some deals just for them.
4) Don't ignore logistics. You can package 10 toys for $100, but it'll all blow up in your face if you don't have the stock to support a higher volume of orders than you're used to. Make sure your supply chain, your web server, and your shipping department are ready for an increase in sales. If there are products you don't have very many of that are difficult to re-stock, don't put them on sale. Promote items that are profitable, that you can turn around quickly, and for which you have adequate supplies.
Need help preparing for a big Cyber Monday? Let me know. I can help.
 |
| Target's dashboard helps shoppers find things quickly. |
Why? According to ComScore, the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2010 was the highest spending day of the year - consumers spent more than $1 billion online, up 16% over the year before.
Even if you're the CEO of procrastination, it's time to stop living in denial and understand that you can't pass up this opportunity. Your customers are expecting deals and you need to provide them. Here's how to make the most of the biggest shopping day of the year:
1) Make your deals easy to understand - is it $10 toys, 50 gifts under $50, 100 ten dollar ties? Whatever you can do to group products or make them easier to find gives you an edge. Make your pricing prominent- people do a LOT of comparison shopping on Cyber Monday, so your price is important. Don't be fooled into too much discounting, though - consumers don't always buy the cheapest thing.
2) SEO is key for Cyber Monday - make sure you're using the "Cyber Monday" keyword and you're using strong title tags and metadata. Time now on keyword research will drive great organic search results later. Think about how you would search if you were really in a hurry, validate those assumptions using the Google Adwords Keywords tool, and tag away.
3) Don't forget to advertise, but remember that all of your customers are expecting you to have a Cyber Monday sale. Ads are more expensive this time of year (and at this late date), but it can't hurt to check pricing on popular shopping sites like CyberMonday.com to see what you can do. That said, the best people to message are those that already like your brand - make sure your current email subscribers know that you're having a sale and do some deals just for them.
4) Don't ignore logistics. You can package 10 toys for $100, but it'll all blow up in your face if you don't have the stock to support a higher volume of orders than you're used to. Make sure your supply chain, your web server, and your shipping department are ready for an increase in sales. If there are products you don't have very many of that are difficult to re-stock, don't put them on sale. Promote items that are profitable, that you can turn around quickly, and for which you have adequate supplies.
Need help preparing for a big Cyber Monday? Let me know. I can help.
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