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Making the Most of the Holiday Season
The holiday season is critical to the success of e-commerce sites and retail Web sites in particular, many of which generate 20 to 40 percent of their annual revenues and profits during the holiday season.
Web sites that aren't ready to meet the heavy increase
in consumer demand may see traffic going elsewhere. Don't let an unsatisfactory consumer
experience lead to revenue loss. Kicking off the frenzy of holiday shopping are two of
the biggest shopping days of the year: Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and one of
the busiest offline shopping day of the year, and; Cyber Monday, following just three days after and one of the
busiest online shopping day of the year.
In 2006, top online retailers boasted 2,145,558 visitors per minute on Cyber Monday, and
sales were on average 218 percent higher than the previous Monday, with consumers
spending a total of $608 million, up 26 percent versus the same day last year, according
to comScore. Make sure you are prepared to meet the demands of holiday shoppers and ensure
a superb user experience that will drive sales and brand loyalty by reviewing the
following best practices:
- Plan Ahead
Timing is everything, so start thinking about your budget for next year now to ensure that
you are allocating money for media buys and increased rev shares for the holidays. Meet with
your marketing and creative teams so that you are ready to roll out your creative and holiday
promotions. Break out your promotional calendar and take it a step further than "holidays"
by highlighting Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other unique holiday shopping days. This
will help you plan ahead and incorporate special promotions around these holiday shopping
opportunities.
- Reflect on the Past
Look back at what you have done in the past
during the holiday season. What worked and what didn't? Review and refine your current
strategies based on past experiences and test new opportunities as well: Try home
page placement with one publisher, inclusion in a forum with another, and inclusion
in a cash-back sale with another.
- Custom Creative
Incorporate custom creative that highlights Black
Friday, Cyber Monday and other featured shopping days of the season. The look and
feel of your promotions are important during this time of year, specifically because
consumers will be looking to take advantage of holiday deals unique to these busy
shopping days.
- Exclusive Offers
Differentiate yourself from the competition by
creating exclusive offers. Nothing converts better than incorporating promotions into
your offering. Promotions, such as free shipping, free shipping plus an additional
percentage off, or free shipping plus free gift wrapping go a long way, especially
when consumers are looking to get the best deal out there. Exclusive offers are also
a great way to get added visibility on your publishers' Web sites. Use exclusive
offers to broker deals for increased and prime placement on top publisher sites.
- Unique Promotional Opportunities
Don't let your promotions get lost
in the shuffle or suffer from limited exposure. Ensure that you have ideal visibility
by putting some of your budget aside to participate in media buys and increased revenue
share deals. This will allow you to temporarily increase the commissions for a publisher
in exchange for increased placement.
- Hot Items
There is no better way to prompt consumers to purchase
than to dangle the proverbial "carrot" in front of them. Identify your top-selling and
hot items and develop creative and promotions around them. If you sell exclusive
products, be sure to highlight these as well. Keep close track of your inventory, if
your top selling or hot products begin to run low on inventory, be prepared to
switch out promotions for other top selling and hot items.
- Colors Count
The look and feel of your promotions and Web site are
important during this time of year. Consumers often look for high use of green,
symbolizing money, red, signifying discounts, as well as red and green combined, or
blue and silver combined – both of which denote the holiday season.
- Reach Out to Your Publisher Base
Reach out to your publishers to
find out who is doing Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions, rolling out deal pages,
forums, cash-back sales, and how you can be included. Just like you, your publishers
are preparing for the holiday shopping season. Reach out to them sooner rather than
later so as not to miss out on any opportunities.
- Publisher Branded Coupons
Using publisher branded coupons can give
you an advantage similar to if you had purchased a media buy or increased a publisher's
commission. Publisher branded coupons give publishers a reason to provide you with
ideal placement and help enhance your relationship. If a consumer can only take
advantage of a great deal by going through a specific publisher's Web site, you are
helping publishers show their value to their consumers.
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Be sure to notify your
publisher base of all your promotions as early as possible. If this means adjusting
your newsletter schedule, or sending out additional holiday specific editions of your
newsletter, do it. Send personalized e-mails with great offers, specially crafted for
your top publishers.
- Highlight the Value of 'Online'
Waiting in lines for stores to open,
fighting over the last sweater with a crazed shopper, and standing for hours in the
check out and gift wrapping lines is nearly unbearable, so use the online shopping
experience to your advantage when reaching out to consumers. Remind consumers about
the ease and convenience of online shopping, and how promotions you offer can provide
additional savings unattainable at offline stores. Additionally, work to get online
promotions that at least match your offline brick and mortar promotions to enhance
the value of shopping online.
The air is cool, the leaves are falling and before you know it holiday decorations
will be popping up throughout malls and holiday cheer will be in the air. Make sure
you are prepared to handle this season's eager holiday shoppers and ensure a
successful holiday season and prosperous New Year by utilizing our best practices
for making the most of the holiday season.
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