Is your online store ready for the holidays? They seem to come up quicker and quicker every year. But for most industries the last quarter of every year it's the best revenue-generating season. Whether it's Black Friday, Small Businesses Saturday, or Cyber Monday, you have to be ready. Your competition will be.
Optimise Product Descriptions
Sure, when you put your store online your product descriptions were amazing. Everything we publish the first time is the best. Or is it? It’s worth it to take a look at your descriptions. Do they accurately describe the product? That’s the first question.
Secondly, do a quick online search in incognito mode. Can you find your product? Maybe you need to do a bit of copywriting in your description with applicable keywords. Don’t think keyword stuffing in black hat SEO, think of how you will be found.
Optimise Product Images
Are your images the best that they can be? This doesn’t mean a new photo shoot, necessarily. It can mean naming your images file names properly. Ensure you have alt descriptions to be ready for accessibility and SEO.
Include product images from customers who have given good reviews. These may have come from social media or you can do a quick outreach to some of your best customers. Photos of people using your product -- or websites using your product -- work. They are a powerful buying signal.
Optimise Pricing and Processing
When is the last time you re-evaluated your prices? This is important, especially if you plan to offer sales on your online store.
You may love your payment gateway but is it mobile-friendly? It’s good to use a few payment gateways if you can. Impulse buys are just that -- impulses.
People don’t want to wait too long for shipping. You have to make that easy for your customers. How are you dealing with order processing?
With PDF customiser (https://store.fooman.co.nz/extensions/magento2/magento-extension-pdf-customiser-m2.html) and order manager (https://store.fooman.co.nz/extensions/magento2/magento-extension-order-manager-m2.html) you can optimise these busy times of year. The holiday shopping season will be a breeze.
Optimise Your Publishing
Publish stories on your store’s blog -- even if they are short (300 words). Buyers want to be part of a brand that has a story to tell. If your story resonates with their own identity, customers are more likely to buy and return.
Whether it is a response to an online review, customer-focused case study, or the why behind your brand, your online store needs to be human. Stories humanise brands.
Regular publishing (even once a week) gives you something to share on social media besides just your product pages. That gets boring. Fast.
Optimise Your Social Media
How is your social media presence? I’d wager you have comments on Instagram and Facebook that have not been acknowledged. Reply to people. Say thank you. This breeds loyalty. Then when you share your Cyber Monday sale, they will feel good about purchasing and/or sharing your posts.
Get your team ready for questions and comments and feedback during the busy holiday season. Become aware of which customers are on social media. Listen to them. Read some of their posts. Comment. Follow industry hashtags look at people who are leaders in your area of expertise.
Start The Holiday Season Right
Start the holiday shopping season by optimising your store. It seems overwhelming, we know. -- You have photos, descriptions, pricing, processing, and publishing on social to audit.
Break each section into a daily task. Day one is photos, day two descriptions, and so on. In less than a week, your online eCommerce website will be ready for holiday sales.
How can we help you get ready for festive season?