October 24, 2011
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Affordably Build Your Brand
FedEx Global Brand Management Director Monica Skipper shares a cost-effective way to build a bigger brand for your small business.
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Ready or not, the holiday season is nearly upon us. And retailers already know that preparing for it entails much more than a change of décor. As Web sales have increased over recent years, online-sales demands have altered the usual preparation, demanding careful planning to reap the rewards.
Your e-commerce site performance is as important to your online sales as successful merchandising and marketing. So, a comprehensive evaluation of your e-commerce offerings builds a strong foundation for an effective online holiday sales strategy.
Review, strategize and implement
Begin by examining your company’s Q4 plan: Review your forecasts, including performance metrics from last holiday season. Then engage your staff to brainstorm gifting ideas and promotions based on current business trends. Armed with this information, thoroughly assess your site’s scalability, performance and end-user experience.
Create a calendar of all key selling dates—including associated merchandising strategies—from early-bird to post-holiday. Within the calendar be sure to identify and provide key holiday shipping deadlines; resources like the FedEx Holiday Shipping 2011 site can help you establish rates and plan transit times. Then clearly and prominently communicate those shipping cut-offs on your site to avoid customer frustration.
Give your customers the convenience they expect
Don’t overly complicate your interface. Give the customer exactly what they need to make their purchases. Focus on providing the most streamlined experience, using the fewest steps possible, with flexible navigation. And don’t forget to include basic tools of online customer service: easy-to-find, comprehensive contact information and detailed FAQs. A simple, smooth online purchase increases the likelihood of repeat business.
Any additional marketing suggestions such as gift cards and promotions should provide value to the customer and never get in their way. Gift cards can be an easy upsell since they’re one-size-fits-all. Position them for visibility and easy access on the site, placing them in the universal navigation, and on the home and shopping cart pages. Convenient access makes for the best conversion.
E-mailed order confirmations are also great opportunities for add-on merchandising. This is one e-mail that customers almost always open, so don’t let the chance slip by. The best executions blend customer service with merchandising; they provide order validation and tracking information alongside suggestions to purchase gift cards or prompts to shop new products.
Make it mobile-friendly
To stay ahead of the curve, remember the growing impact of mobile. With the recent proliferation of tablet sales, purchases via tablets appear to be increasing (as compared with mobile phones) thanks to larger screens. But a more mysterious effect is the larger basket size of customers purchasing on tablets vs. laptops and desktops; one Forrester Research study found that tablet users generally spend up to 20 percent more per purchase than regular PC users. So with that in mind, keep your e-commerce site not only user-friendly, but mobile-friendly as well.
Stock up and serve
An obvious necessity of holiday marketing is ensuring adequate stock. Keep in mind that last-minute shopping is common, and with it comes an increased expectation of fast fulfillment. Unfulfilled orders can cost you in customer loyalty, so if items are out of stock, clearly communicating the product’s backorder status before processing an order can help you retain customers.
Test these tactics as early as possible, and make adjustments as needed while the holiday season ramps up. In every step of the process, remember that the final goal is to help your customers have a satisfying experience on your site—one that encourages them to spend generously and confidently, knowing you’ll deliver their goods with great customer service.
Marcie Hill is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer covering topics including data security, small business and medicine for online media.
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FedEx.
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Julie Rains 7 months ago
I know of one company that pulls products from the website if the item is out-of-stock just to be safe. In that way, customers can choose items that are in-stock and ready to be shipped. The downside is that if a shipment is coming soon (and will turn over slowly in the off season), sales can't be made until the items arrive at the distribution center. Proper planning and inventory management can help address this problem if done far ahead in advance, even beginning as early as the post-holiday sale period when inventory missteps are still top of mind.