It’s nearly the most hectic shopping period of the year, both in bricks and mortar stores and online. We had Black Friday last year, but some retailers have backed away from it this year, possibly as a result of negative publicity and crowd scenes imported directly from America along with the promotional day itself.
However, there’s also Cyber Monday to contend with, the busiest shopping day of the year which happens to fall on the Monday after thanksgiving.
So how can you be ready?
- Choose your discounts now
Go through your site and work out what products you want to discount. It could be that you want to cut prices across the board to increase overall sales, or you may be thinking of a more long term strategy and need to plan wisely to make sure that you get customers to the store both on the day of the sale and also coming back later. You may discount your bestselling items to create a buzz, or you may want to take the opportunity to shift some backroom stock that’s been there for a while.
- Get your graphics going
With a sale on, you’ll want to swap out your usual banner images for ones promoting the reduced prices. As it’s coming up to Christmas, you might want to swap product images for ones with a more festive feel. Remember, you’ll need to have a series of images that are suitable for social media as well, so make sure you have a range of appropriate graphics all set and ready to go.
- Plan your advertising
Social media advertising and a Google PPC campaign could be just the thing you need to drive people to your store. You can target the right people at the right time and make sure that your ads are actually going up in front of them. Work out whether a Facebook campaign, an AdWords campaign or both are right for you.
- Abandoned cart emails
Lots of people may come to your store and start shopping but leave before they’re finished. You can set up your site so that whenever someone leaves items in a basket, you can send them a friendly email reminding them to come back, maybe with an additional discount to really lure them in.
Don’t just scroll past this tip – I’ve seen some businesses make 25% of sales from this tactic, so it’s well worth investigating!
- Mailing lists checkups
You’ve already got a vast library of people who have bought from you before, who know that you are good and that you have what they want. So what are you waiting for? Start planning and building your email campaign to get the traffic to your store and more sales through the tills.
- Customer service skills
Make sure that your customer service team is raring and ready to go. You’ll need a live chat function on your store or a number where your team can be reached instantly to help with any customer enquiries. A quick response can mean the difference between making a sale or not. Make sure that your FAQs page on your site is up to date with any of your latest frequently asked questions included.
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