The holidays are coming, and every business should get their strategy in place for the season. According to Deloitte, sales are expected to increase by around 7-8% for the holidays this year. If in the case of consumers we expect them to buy more than they did in 2020, when we talk about businesses, we can say that they are still feeling the effects of the pandemic in many ways. From increased taxes to tight supplies to insufficient staffing, all can be felt to a lesser or greater extent, depending on the business. All of these obstacles will make preparing for the holiday season all the more important in order to increase sales. You’ll need to make sure you don’t repeat last year’s mistakes, but also adjust your digital marketing strategy to keep your audience interested. By planning well you’ll even be able to exceed your sales targets, so don’t hold back!
Here are 3 tips to get your business ready 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 2020 festive period, looking at what went well, what went wrong, unexpected problems that arose along the way, what the results were, and what the strategy was. 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 to problems that have occurred in the past, and also implement ways in which the occurrence of unexpected problems can be reduced. In this direction, our advice is to think about what irregularities might 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 occur.
2. Prepare your website
Given that the global epidemiological situation is still unfavorable, online shopping is maintaining its supremacy over physical shopping. Gone are the days of wandering from shop to shop to find the most suitable gifts for loved ones. Now, we browse from one website to another to protect our health, but also to save time. Under these circumstances, as a business owner, it is imperative to have your website ready for the avalanche of users that will flood in over the next period. Now is the perfect time to make the necessary upgrades, as well as deal with any glitches, to keep it running smoothly and able to handle a large number of customers. You’ll need to make sure that you resolve any issues around payment processing so that you don’t have any unexpected events that disrupt the functioning of the website and affect the customer experience. Don’t forget to update information about delivery, returns, payment policy, promotional pricing, and the like. An optional element, which will certainly be appreciated, would be to choose a seasonal theme that gets the user into the holiday mood.
3. Adjust your digital marketing strategy
Without having a proper digital marketing strategy tailored to the holiday season, it will be quite difficult to attract and keep the attention of your target audience. During this period, all its components are extremely important, and used wisely can bring surprising results. A few elements that should be unmissable in your holiday digital marketing strategy are:
Social Media Marketing
If your brand doesn’t yet have a solid social media presence, it’s time to take the necessary actions to grow it. Social media platforms are the perfect place to communicate with your current audience, as well as reach out to new customers. In addition, users who land on your pages can be directed to your website, increasing traffic and even sales. So, create a specific posting plan, and then make sure you distribute quality content that grabs users’ attention.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an opportunity to maximize sales, but its success depends heavily on the content you choose to distribute through it. Some topics of interest that you should include in your holiday newsletters are attractive offers, discount coupons, or additional benefits for loyal customers. If you haven’t already, you should also consider implementing an automated abandonment cart email, which will help you reduce abandoned carts and increase the number of completed orders.
Google Shopping Ads
A good way to get your products and services in front of consumers is through shopping ads. These are recommended because they are eye-catching, thanks to the visuals, but also because they allow consumers to compare products from different websites in real time. This way, if a user visits your website, they are more likely to make a purchase. According to Matt Madrigal, VP and GM at Google Shopping, there are over 1 billion buying sessions that are performed on Google every day! This information should motivate your choice to include shopping ads in your marketing strategy.
In addition to all of the above highlights, remember to remember the holiday spirit, constantly encourage your team, and have fun! When you do things with enjoyment, the results will be worth it! If you feel overwhelmed or want further advice, you can always contact us, the Nillia PPC team specialists are always ready to give you a helping hand!
