The holiday shopping season is here once again, and your business should be ready for e-commerce!
More and more people buy goods and services online every year. There’s simply no denying the ease and comfort of buying things over the internet.
E-commerce is no different than everyday commerce during the holidays: sales increase dramatically. Online retailer Amazon set sales records last December, gaining over 1 million Prime subscribers and shipping enough items through the service to deliver at least one gift to every household in America.
But you don’t have to be an online retail giant to see increased sales during the holidays. All you really need is good online marketing practices.
The holiday season is an especially good time to get a promotion out there and get seen by more potential customers than usual. A holiday promotion for your business’ goods or services is an excellent way to entice new customers and established customers.
First things first
Before starting any kind of promotion and marketing it online, ask yourself one simple question: is my website ready for mobile users?
In today’s world, it’s simply not responsible to market your product online and expect users to put up with a website that doesn’t work on their mobile device. More people than ever before are accessing the internet via their phones and tablets, and that mobile user base is only growing as time goes on.
In just a few years, more people will use mobile devices to access the internet than desktop computers. If your site isn’t mobile responsive, you run the risk of alienating a large portion of your potential customers, simply due to frustration with your site’s design.
Creating a promotion
Holiday shopping is all about finding the best deals. It’s a good idea to come up with a promotional offer for your products or services that helps get customers in the door, so to speak.
Many more people than usual will be searching online for gift ideas and deals, so make sure you’re giving them a reason to come to your site. A promotion can be anything you can think of that saves your customer a little money, time, or stress.
No matter what, there’s a way to promote any product or service during the holidays, whether you’re in the business of plastic surgery or selling tires. Even if you’re just offering gift certificates for your product, simply getting in the spirit of the season is helpful and a signal to potential customers that your product is something to consider.
Getting the word out
In most cases, simply creating a promotion isn’t enough to attract customers. Getting your promotion found online is key to generating more traffic for your site and increasing the chances of gaining a customer.
An excellent way to put your promotion in front of more people (and people who actually care about what you’re selling) is by using AdWords. Marketing through Google will place your ad in front of people who search for key terms related to whatever it is you’re promoting. These people are more likely to click on a link if they’re searching for something related.
Another good way to get the word out about your holiday promotion is through social media. Even if you don’t have a ton of followers, letting everyone know about your promotion can help tremendously. You never know who’s going to see your promotion and share it with a friend, and you never know who that friend might share it with. Remember: nice looking, simple graphics are the best way to grab attention on social media sites like Facebook. Make it holiday-themed as well!
Sealing the deal
The final step is to actually convert a visitor to your site into a customer. There are a number of ways to do this. Aside from having a well-designed site and optimized content, one of the best ways is to create a specialized landing page for your promotion.
The landing page shows visitors everything they need to know about the promotion and the product, and gives them an easy way to learn more, contact you, or purchase the product right away.
If you’re interested in building a landing page for your product or promotion, marketing online during the holidays, or improving your e-commerce website in any number of ways, contact us here at West County.