Ten Ideas to Make the Most of Your Holiday Shoppers
We hope our "Ten Ideas to Make the Most of Your Holiday Shoppers" have got you thinking about your holiday marketing strategy and ready for holiday traffic. This week we present our final installment in the series to help you make the most of the busiest online shopping season.
Idea #10: "Gift Ideas" Landing Page...
Sometimes your customers don’t know exactly what to get for the people on their shopping list, they just know it’s something from your site! Help them take the guess work out by offering a "Gift Ideas" landing page that displays your best sellers, recommendations, gift packages or other products you’re sure will make an excellent gift.
Idea #9: Offer a Gift for Orders Over a Certain Amount...
Incentivize your customers by offering a gift for orders over a certain amount. Check your orders from the 2010 holiday season to figure out your average order price. Then add ten percent to that number and offer a gift to shoppers who spend that much or more per order during your special holiday promotion.
Free shipping is a sure bet, or you could offer a product you may have an abundance of with orders over a certain amount - as long as it would be attractive to your customers.
Idea #8: Double Up on Your Holiday Emails...
There will be lots of emails floating around right before Thanksgiving so to ensure yours doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, double up on your email sends. Right before Thanksgiving send a promotional email about the specials and/or sales you’ll be having. Then send a second email a few days later once your promotion has begun. You could also create a sense of urgency by letting your customers know the sale is only good for a limited time. Follow up emails will help get your message in front your customers so they don’t miss out on your Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals!
Idea #7: Prep for Successful Seasonal Email Marketing...
More and more consumers are shopping online for the holiday each year. This trend makes the importance of email as a marketing tool even more significant. Check out these four recommendations to ensure maximum success and a campaign that delivers.
Dust Off Your List: Work with you email provider to move inactive subscribers and those who have not opened your email in 3 months to a separate list. This way you have an A-list to work from of active users.
Distribution Lists: Another great way to prep your email list for the holidays is to segment your customers into specific groups. By getting to know your customers based on their recently viewed and recently purchased items you can better understand what products they are likely to find appealing. This way you can target your customers with special offers and/or discounts on products they are most likely to buy.
Subject Lines: Subject lines are often overlooked yet they are the difference between a good open rate and an underwhelming one. It’s best to stick to one main idea and to avoid words that trigger spam filters like free, win, gift and sign-up. It’s also highly recommended to run an A/B test on 2 subject lines. Send out both to a small list and see if one gets a better open rate and find your winner.
Strike Early: Holiday marketing seems to start earlier and earlier each year. Consider an email campaign in late October with special offers. For example, start the hype by offering a “pre-holiday” sale with an added incentive for those who pre-register. This way your message is getting our early and you have time to add more customers to your list for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Idea #6: Have a Holiday Clearance Sale...
While a Holiday "Loss Leader" Clearance Sale is not a new idea, it is a solid strategy that works well online. A "Loss Leader" is usually a product that customers purchase frequently, thus they are aware of its usual price and recognize when a price is a bargain. Plus, customers who take advantage of a great deal often purchase additional items as well, especially when they will be paying for shipping anyway.
"Loss Leader" pricing is also great to help move overstocked products, create brand "buzz" for having low prices on quality items and attract repeat business.
Idea #5: Go Viral with Your Cyber Monday Specials...
Capitalize on your surge in traffic on Cyber Monday by encouraging customer viral marketing. In your promotional emails - and on the landing pages for your Cyber Monday special offers - include a "Forward to a Friend" link and/or our MaxEXP® "share tool" that allows users to post to their favorite social sites. This will enable your customers to instantly share your special deals with their friends, family and like-minded people.
The MaxEXP eCommerce platform is ready to help you grow your business on Cyber Monday, as well as throughout the year! Contact us to learn more about MaxEXP’s powerful marketing tools, all geared toward building strong, one-to-one relationships with your customers.
Idea #4: Offer "Gift" Coupons as Incentives instead of Discounts…
Instead of using discounts to increase sales, try offering a "gift" coupon worth a determined amount off to be used during a future visit. This method is likely to cost you less than a discount, and it will be very attractive to your regular repeat shoppers - plus it will bring them back to make additional online purchases.
The MaxEXP® eCommerce platform is ready to set up this incentive for your customers. A few days after their initial purchase, MaxEXP will send a follow-up email that includes a determined amount off their next order, redeemable via their personal "gift" coupon code. Take advantage of MaxEXP's powerful marketing tools to build strong, one-to-one relationships with your customers and offer them an incentive to keep them coming back.
Idea #3: Create "Gift Packages" by Bundling a Product with Appropriate Accessories...
A great way to increase sales is to offer package deals on products. Recommending product accessories as a package deal creates greater perceived value in the eyes of the buyer, increases your sales volume, and delivers a great gift to the recipient. You can offer specials on accessories or simply get them in front of your customers while they browse your products.
MaxEXP® eCommerce platform makes "gift packages" easy. You're in total control of what accessories you’d like to promote, as well as any additional promotions geared toward buying accessories. Take advantage of MaxEXP’s flexible merchandizing to create the perfect product bundles and special offers for your holiday shoppers.
Idea #2: Make Cyber Monday into Cyber Week…
High sales volume on Cyber Monday is great, but high sales volume every day for the entire week is even better! Extend your special Cyber Monday offers throughout the entire week instead of just one day. This allows time for your customers to spread the word virally and bring more traffic to your site.
MaxEXP® is equipped with a number of functions that will help you take advantage of this traffic. Our social media tools and integrations are built in and ready to help spread the word about your special offers.
Idea #1: Take advantage of your heavy Cyber Monday traffic
Offer an incentive to your customers to return to your site and make an additional purchase. Reward customers by sending out follow-up emails, with special discount codes or a free shipping offers, to anyone who makes a purchase on your website on Cyber Monday.
The MaxEXP® eCommerce platform makes this easy! Take advantage of MaxEXP’s automated email marketing to send your customers personalized, content-driven messages containing product recommendations and special offers. These messages are timely and relevant, plus they are proven revenue builders. Best of all, they are fully automated, being triggered by your customers transactions and interactions on your website.
Learn how MaxEXP can give your business the competitive edge. Contact San Diego Media today.