eCommerce – last minute Xmas site check!
The Season is in full swing – time to double check all your preparations to optimise your website Xmas sales to the max!
It’s the time of year that every eCommerce business looks forward to and measures have to be put in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly to deal quickly and efficiently with any last minute site issues.
It is an absolute ‘must’ that you take advantage of the additional site traffic generated by your marketing strategies to :
• Help customers, old and new, buy at your site, quickly and easily.
• React to and action any and every issue that might prevent a consumer from buying now – or in the future.
• Monitor every aspect of the business for an instant response to capture every possible sales opportunity.
Top of your list is to ensure a customer never receives a “no matches to your search” message on your site! Constantly review your SEO keyword search phrases and create relevant redirects to alternative products based on present promotions and offers.
Keep checking your site analytics and statistics to monitor visitor behaviour – comparing current and past performance – so you can accurately assess success for any given online marketing approach, e.g. search keywords, promotional campaigns, individual page and product performance.
Requesting customer feedback on your online brand as an early warning system, e.g. one-to-one interviews, email surveys and simple loyalty questions such as, “Would you recommend us to a friend?” can be used along with monitoring visitor return and customer call patterns to identify problems and areas which may need improvement.
Monitoring sales projections daily is crucial throughout the Xmas period and keep last minute promotions ready, when needed.
Communicate and share daily sales projections and results every day with your sales team to create “Hot-To-Trot Product Sheets” outlining the top products of the week and upcoming promotions.
Identify key selling days when you will be offering ‘unbeatable’ discounts and ensure your delivery/courier services are ready to meet the extra demand.
Forecasts for online retail growth in 2009 stand at 18.6%! Being prepared, staying focused, having the resources to react quickly and effectively to troubleshoot any potential obstacles to smooth site function will ensure that you can maximise those all-important seasonal sales!