This period is always one of the most profitable times of the year, not only can we see an increase in the volume of orders in the last quarter, it also increases their value and the number of products in each order. For many retailers, it can be seen that up to 40% of their year-round profit is generated during this period.
In practice, we can divide this ecommerce period into 3 parts. The months November and December are usually very hectic, so if you leave everything at the last minute, you will probably forget some of the important things. Therefore, prepare those things as soon as possible.
Preparation before Christmas
Prepare a clear marketing plan
Email marketing - still one of the most effective channels of online marketing. Certainly, you have a large number of email contacts from customers who have completed their order in your store, and have agreed to process their data (including email) for marketing activities. Create a few templates, emails that you will send 1-2 weeks apart. For greater efficiency, we recommend you to segment your customer lists even more and create appropriate templates for them.
Google Ads and Facebook Ads - Creating ads is not a time-consuming but important task. However, finding the right form that will attract potential customers may not be easy. Create several types of ads and texts for A / B testing.
Prepare your inventory - Once you have created your advertising and email campaigns, make sure your storage units are optimal and keep track of it throughout the campaign. This will prevent potential financial losses for advertising
Blog content - Prepare articles in advance if you run a blog on your online store. With all the duties before Christmas, managing a blog will be the last thing to think about.
Seasonal goods - if you offer certain seasonal goods (Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, toys, etc.), it is worth noting the creation of a separate landing page for this range, the subsequent advertising campaigns can be directed to this site
Design and graphics - whether it is a graphic for advertising campaigns, Facebook posts, email marketing, or any modification of your website and banners, it is advisable to prepare it well in advance
Tips during Christmas
Free shipping - this is one of the steps you should consider nowadays. On one hand, you may reduce profit on one order but it can increase the number of orders.
Christmas Delivery Guarantee - Make announcement to your customers by which date it is possible to deliver the purchased goods to your customer before Christmas. Make sure this information is easily accessible, for example, place it on every product page. Please contact your delivery provider for the correct date.
Customer Service - Many customers buy gifts or deal with last minute complaints, nervousness prevails. Therefore, a quality customer service is the key to satisfaction and customer retention after the holidays.
Wrapping Gifts - Offer customers to wrap up gifts if the capacity allows you to, saving them effort and time.
Packing orders - Christmas pack will please everyone :)
Gift Card - Add a gift card to your package with a discount and terms of use (for example, by the end of January) to get a few extra orders
Tips after Christmas
Complaints and undelivered orders - as during the whole year - you will probably not avoid them even during Christmas. When shipping abroad, the collection point in that country will significantly reduce your shipping costs
Tracking - Creating, running and editing ads is just half of your advertising activities. The second, and more important, is tracking your efforts. Without proper tracking and analysis, you'll just guess the impact of your campaigns
Audit - Remember to perform an overall audit of your activities, sales and expenses after the end of the season. The most important thing is to learn from your successes and failures to make your next season even more successful
Christmas is a very critical period for small and large stores, so you do not have to wait until the last moment but prepare a strategy in advance to manage everything. Expandeco wishes you as many successes as possible and many orders sold.
