The holiday season is the time of year that all business owners live for. The majority of retail sales will typically come right before Christmas, so businesses are always looking for ways to maximize their revenue during this time. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to get the most out of their holiday marketing, especially newer businesses. Luckily for them, there are several easy steps they can implement right now. Here are 7 tips you can use to give your clients the gift of a successful holiday sales season.
- 1. Make Sure That Their Mobile Interface Is Top Notch: Mobile Internet usage continues to increase each year due to the advancement of smartphone technology. Today, many people spend more time online with their smartphones than with a laptop or desktop. And they’re not just browsing Facebook. They’re shopping as well.
Mobile retail sales increased by 28% in the past year alone, according to Internet Retailer. This means that if your client’s mobile interface isn’t user-friendly, they can miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on the holiday sales rush.
- 2. Use Free Shipping: Shipping costs can often be the determining factor in whether or not a customer completes an online purchase. However, that decision becomes much easier when shipping is free. In fact, research shows that 60% of shoppers have no problem adding more items to their cart if it results in free shipping. Advise your client to offer free shipping at whatever price point is profitable for them.
- 3. Use Social Media To Connect, Not Just Advertise: Social media is part of nearly everyone’s daily life. According to eMarketer, over 2 billion people worldwide are using some form of social media, whether it’s Twitter, Instagram, or any of the other popular social media outlets. Businesses who are not using this platform are leaving a whole lot of money on the table and title loans can really help as well. If your client isn’t on social media already, you’ll want to get them set up ASAP.
However, you want to avoid using social media to simply make an advertisement for your products. Help them create posts that will interest their target market and establish credibility in their respective industries. Not only will this increase their sales for the holidays, it will increase their customer base in the long run and keep the sales rolling in even after the Christmas lights come down.
- 4. Streamline The Checkout Process: On average, 69% of users abandon their cart and decide not to make an online purchase at the last minute. You and your clients can overcome this by making the checkout process as simple and efficient as possible. One thing you can implement is guest checkout, meaning users do not have to create an account in order to finish the sale. Also make sure that the checkout form only asks for the essential information so that customers don’t waste too much time filling it out.
- 5. Utilize Email Newsletters: Services like Constant Contact and MailChimp make managing an email campaign much easier. During the holidays, your clients can send discounts and special offers to their customers to drive more traffic to their website. The key here is to customize the email message based on the customer’s actions. If it’s someone who recently made a purchase, send them a thank you message with additional product suggestions. If it’s someone who has yet to make a purchase, send them a special discount code to entice them to make their first purchase.
- 6. Have Plenty of High Quality Pictures Available: The main drawback for consumers when shopping online is that they are unable to feel or see the product up close. That’s why it is essential that your clients have high quality product photos on their website and social media pages. And not just two or three. The more pictures available to show the product in various angles, the better.
- 7. Ensure That Their Website Is Ready For The Workload: Customers are 40% more likely to leave a website if it does not load within three seconds according to Kiss Metrics. This means that your client’s site needs to be able to handle heavy traffic and remain user-friendly. Check to see if your client has enough bandwidth and a quality hosting service to prevent slow load times. In addition to that, make sure that the site has an SSL Certificate to ensure secure checkouts. This will assure their customers that their information is safe from hackers, which is especially important this time of year.
