Businesses are always looking for ways to build hype without spending money. Spend some time thinking about how you could be different this holiday season, then write a blog post highlighting your ideas. This is a fantastic marketing opportunity for your online store. You just have a tiny window of opportunity to carry out your strategy. During the Christmas season, these are some of the most typical days to put on your calendar:
- Thanksgiving
- Friday the 13th is known as Friday the 13th is known as Black Friday..
- Monday is known as “Monday is known as “Cyber Monday.”.”
- It’s Christmas Eve.
- The day after Christmas
- New Year’s Eve celebrations
- On the first day of the new year
All of these things occurred within a month of each other. There are other holidays sprinkled throughout the year, to be sure. For holidays such as April Fool’s Day, Mother’s Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, you may still run promotions. However, if you’ve built enough buzz for your ecommerce business, the holidays towards the end of the year may be incredibly lucrative.
Ecommerce is on the upswing, and during the Christmas season, it increases by 12%. Consumers like the convenience of online buying. They are not required to sit in traffic or queue. Whenever shoppers have spare time, they may shop from the comfort of their homes, workplaces, or mobile devices. Of course, not everyone enjoys buying on ecommerce sites. Forty-nine percent of buyers say their most significant issue with purchasing online is not being able to touch, try, or feel a thing. Regardless, ecommerce continues to grow. This is particularly true during the Christmas season. In the United States, the typical adult expects to spend $419 on Christmas gifts. Take advantage of the situation. Creating buzz for your ecommerce site may help you acquire a piece of that pie. I’ll teach you how to get your website noticed over the holidays. Your traffic, conversions, sales, and income will all grow as a result of this.
Steps to Build Hype as an Ecommerce Brand:
1. Plan ahead of time.
Don’t put off implementing your Christmas marketing efforts until the last minute. It’s much too late to start promoting for Christmas in December. Let’s look at some statistics.
Consumers are buying less during the weeks leading up to the holidays. Take a look at the previous three years’ trends. You should not wait to market just because your clients are waiting to purchase. I’m not suggesting that you begin your campaign in July or August, but you may start thinking about it now. If you delay, you risk losing an advantage over your competition. Start thinking about things that aren’t related to your marketing approach. Check to see whether you have adequate stock. To fill and process incoming orders, you’ll also need proper workers on the schedule who are knowledgeable about your processes. Make contact with your site hosting provider. Check whether your website has adequate speed and bandwidth to handle an increase in traffic. Slow loading speeds or a site breakdown might be disastrous for your business, so have everything in order ahead of time. In the long run, planning for unanticipated scenarios can save you time, money, and stress.
2. Benefit from shipping discounts.
Give customers a reason to choose you above your competitors. For example, the cost of shipping might be the decisive factor in the transaction. However, 9 out of 10 customers consider free delivery the most critical factor in purchasing online.
You shouldn’t only provide free delivery as an incentive. If at all feasible, provide priority or even overnight delivery choices. Don’t forget about the last-minute shopper. People will not utilize a firm that takes two weeks to fulfill an order if it is the week before the holidays and they still need to purchase presents. That isn’t anything you should be concerned about. Allow your competitors to make that error. Sure, offering free delivery for overnight or expedited items may not be feasible. Simply ensure that your consumer gets the choice of selecting the most cost-effective delivery date for their product. Be open and honest about your delivery costs. Consider this: 61 percent of customers claimed that unexpected charges such as shipping, taxes, and fees were the reason they didn’t complete their purchase. You certainly want to keep shopping cart abandonment to a minimum. Provide free delivery and be upfront about any fees before the buyer reaches your checkout page. Long delivery dates should not be used to annoy last-minute consumers.
3. The importance of retargeting must be prioritized.
During the Christmas season, focus on your current consumers. Sure, getting new business is always a plus. However, consider your marketing budget. Getting a new client might cost up to seven times more than keeping an old one. It’s not the best time to try out a fresh client acquisition plan over the holidays. Concentrate your efforts on folks already acquainted with your brand and goods. Customers may turn to your competition if you don’t advertise to them.
Take a look at the graphs above. Consumers are more willing to purchase on unfamiliar websites over the Christmas season. This may be seen in two ways: First, you have a better probability of gaining new clients.
- Clients who are already customers of yours may shop on other ecommerce sites.
I highly advise you to concentrate on the second item. We recently discussed how much it costs to get a new client vs how much it costs to maintain an existing one. It’s fantastic if you get new consumers. However, don’t use this as your central technique for generating Christmas excitement. I’d be much more worried about losing one of your clients. For your next Christmas promotion, use your most effective retargeting methods.
4. Instill a feeling of urgency in your audience.
Give your consumers a compelling incentive to buy right now. If they’re merely looking, persuade them to purchase now rather than later. Throughout the year, Amazon employs this tactic on their site.
Consider the following scenario. Do you see how they generated a sense of urgency in this situation? There is only one item left in stock. The consumer may get agitated. Even if they were only looking, they now have a compelling motive to purchase it right immediately. The consumer is aware that their loved one is really interested in receiving this item as a present, and they do not want to risk it being sold out before the holidays. Put this approach into action on your ecommerce site.
- There are just a few left.
- There are just 2 hours remaining before the discount price expires.
- If you purchase before midnight, you’ll get free delivery.
These are some phrases that may be used to entice people to purchase. This is something you should do all year, but it’s particularly beneficial over the holidays. People desire to get the ideal present for their friends and family. Encourage people to buy your gifts through your website.
5. Check to see if your website is mobile-friendly.
I often discuss the significance of mobile optimization. This is no exception throughout the Christmas season. Your consumers must be able to make purchases quickly and effortlessly on their smartphones and tablets. Consider the following mobile ecommerce patterns from the previous Christmas season:
We already know that most individuals wait until Thanksgiving weekend to conduct their Christmas shopping. The graph above depicts purchase trends on three key days for online retailers:
- Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the United
- Friday the 13th is known as Friday the 13th is known as Black Friday..
- Monday is known as “Monday is known as “Cyber Monday.”.”
These dates are just five days apart on the calendar. On each of these days, mobile devices account for more than half of all ecommerce traffic. Mobile users accounted for 40%, 36%, and 35% of all purchases, respectively. Those figures can’t be overlooked. There’s no way you’ll acquire a large number of sales if your platform isn’t mobile optimized. Your page must also load quickly. If a site does not load in three seconds, 57 percent of mobile consumers will abandon it. We spoke about how important it is to prepare ahead for the Christmas season craziness earlier. Mobile optimization and loading speeds for mobile devices should be at the top of your priority list.
6. Sales that happen in a flash.
Organize a promotional event on the same day. Sales that happen in a flash work great. This is related to the idea of urgency. The J. Crew Factory Store is a beautiful example.
I was hoping you could look at the following two things that I’ve highlighted: These methods are excellent for generating buzz. This isn’t holiday-themed advertising, to be sure. However, you may also use such phrases in seasonal advertising efforts. There’s one more item to think about while organizing a flash sale. It’s all about the timing. If you’re going to run a same-day sale or a limited-time promotion, you’ll need to plan ahead of time. Determine what time of day your consumers like to shop.
The data above shows consumer shopping habits from Monday is known as “Monday is known as “Cyber Monday.”.” last year. The majority of the time, activity was substantially lower during typical working hours. What do you make of this? It’s probably not a good idea to start a deal at 10 a.m. and finish it at noon. Starting your sale in the evening and continuing it till 8 a.m. the next day would be much more successful. When planned and executed correctly, Sales that happen in a flash are a great way to build hype during the holiday season.
7. Pay attention to your pricing approach.
Consumers are price-sensitive at all times. So it would not be a terrible idea to concentrate on your pricing over the holidays. Examine your price against that of your competitors. What role do you play? One of the advantages of internet purchasing for customers is the ability to compare costs across several sites in seconds. They’ll almost certainly choose the cheapest option. Take a look at these tendencies when it comes to researching:
Consumers even go to websites before going to a physical shop to make a purchase. Recognize the psychology of pricing. People like feeling as though they have gotten a good bargain. Make sure your items are beneficial to them. What distinguishes your business? Why should a buyer pay double for your product if it’s the same as every other brand? They are not going to do it. The holidays are also an excellent time to provide specials and discounts. We’ve previously discussed how crucial it is to provide free delivery. Also, the things should be discounted. Mark the initial price higher if necessary, then slash the prices with Sales that happen in a flash and other promotions.
8. Be aware of your target market.
Who are you trying to reach with your holiday marketing strategy? It’s a mistake if the response is everyone who has access to the Internet. Instead, choose your target audience and narrow your emphasis. Do you have a Facebook page for your company? You’ll need one if it doesn’t. But I’m not going to get into that significance right now. For the time being, I’m presuming you’re on Facebook. It’s an excellent technique to learn about your target audience’s demographics. Go to your Facebook page’s “Insights” tab.
This will provide you with helpful information on all people who have liked your page. You’ll find out what they’re like:
- Gender
- Age
- Location
- Language
Create campaigns for your followers based on this information. For example, you may determine which holidays your followers celebrate based on this information. As a result, advertise appropriately.
9. Use a variety of distribution outlets.
How do you intend to promote your business over the holidays? Email? Facebook? Both, plus any other distribution channel you can think of, should be your solution. Make sure your company is engaged on a variety of social media sites. Facebook is a powerful tool. However, that should not be your exclusive source of information. Connect with your consumers on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Every month, billions of people use a variety of platforms.
If you’re hosting a promotion like the flash sale we discussed before, promote it across your active distribution channels. This is the most effective strategy to guarantee that it reaches the broadest possible audience. It may seem self-evident, yet many online businesses overlook this principle. They can promote a sale on Instagram, but not on Twitter. This is incomprehensible. This campaign will just take a minute or two of your time to set up on all of your platforms. Don’t take it easy over the holidays. Make the most of all of your resources in order to advertise your items and brand.
Conclusion
The Christmas season is a terrific time for ecommerce businesses to make a lot of money. People are wanting to spend money over a short amount of time at this time. When it comes to holiday shopping, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest. Run most promotions between Thanksgiving and Monday is known as “Monday is known as “Cyber Monday.”.”. Online purchasing is quite popular throughout those few days. Make preparations ahead of time. Ensure you have enough employees and goods in case of an increase in online orders. Online purchasing is becoming more popular, particularly on mobile devices.
Mobile customers will expect your ecommerce shop to be mobile-friendly. Instill a feeling of urgency in your audience. with each campaign. Run Sales that happen in a flash, and target your existing customers. Keeping an existing client is less expensive than acquiring a new one. Pay close attention to the time of your flash sale if you’re conducting one. Be aware of your target market.. Research the demographics of your customers, and need those people accordingly. Customers are sensitive to pricing, so make sure you Pay attention to your pricing approach.. Provide incentives such as free delivery. Last-minute customers should not be overlooked. When feasible, you should additionally promote next-day shipment. Make use of all of your distribution channels to promote your brand. If you want to increase traffic to your ecommerce site over the holidays, using these strategies is a sure way to do so. How would you market your ecommerce business to improve sales throughout the Christmas season?