Cyber Monday, the annual event where companies worldwide launch enticing promotions and discounts to boost online shopping before Christmas, is less than a month away. This year, it falls on 28 November. Therefore, all brands wishing to participate in this campaign should start optimising their e-commerce site as soon as possible. However, not all companies are clear on which aspects to focus on.
While this challenge requires additional effort from the technical and marketing teams, the business opportunities at stake make it worthwhile to join this initiative. At least, statistics seem to indicate this. For example, according to online payment platform PayPal, Cyber Monday sales in Spain increased by 53% last year compared to 2013 results.
8 out of 10 companies expect to sell more online
This trend could consolidate this year, according to the third edition of the study Evolution and prospects of e-commerce for 2016, prepared by Kanlli and D/A Retail magazine, in collaboration with the Digital Economy Institute ICEMD and Club Ecommerce. According to the study, 79% of surveyed e-commerce sites expect to increase online sales throughout this year, a forecast particularly strong in beauty, fashion, and accessories.
If we add to this that, according to the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), Spain is already the fourth country in the European Union with the highest online shopping volume —only surpassed by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—, we will understand the importance of paying special attention to this sales channel.
To assist you with this task, today we bring you some tips that will help you sell more through your e-commerce. Take note!
The 10 Commandments for selling more online
While any online sales platform must always be perfectly optimised, this goal takes top priority during periods of high sales, such as the one we are about to enter.
Therefore, it is best to keep the following 10 commandments in mind. Here they are:
1) Start creating specific content
Although many consumers are aware of the main commercial events of the year, it is worth promoting them online. To do this, creating specific and valuable content for the company's target audience is particularly useful. In this way, the company can approach, attract, and retain its current and potential customers in a less intrusive —known as 'pull' techniques— and, above all, much more lasting way.
2) Design specific promotions
Did you know that 40% of consumers start planning Christmas gifts and purchases before Halloween? Therefore, it is essential to plan as far in advance as possible what commercial offers the company will launch during this period, as well as associated sales and promotions, both on the corporate website and in its newsletter or social profiles. For this planning to be effective, it is crucial to survey the market, monitoring Internet searches. This precaution will give the company an advantage over its competitors.
In addition to tools for finding Keywords, it is also advisable to use other specific applications, such as Trend Hunter.
3) Have multimedia material ready
The weeks before peak sales periods are the ideal time to take inventory and prepare the graphic material we will need: images —commercial and non-commercial— for different social networks, header images for the website, updated product photos —and, if appropriate, themed for the current season—, banners, etc.
SMEs, start-ups, or businesses with more limited resources can carry out this task with tools like Creative Market. In any case, if they prefer to hire a graphic designer, the selection process must be carried out a few weeks in advance to verify if the chosen professional can offer the company the quality it needs.
4) Prepare various advertisements
To prevent potential customers from getting bored of seeing the same online advertising, it is advisable to prepare various creatives and launch them gradually, with the most recent ads replacing previous ones. In any case, during this period, you do not need to spend excessive time on this task, as internet users are more receptive and tolerant of advertising at this time. For example, according to a recent study, the number of clicks in the days leading up to Black Friday increases by around 36%.
5) Enable a wish list
This feature is perfect for increasing sales probability, as it allows users to purchase items they are interested in later, but do not wish (or cannot) acquire at the moment. Furthermore, this is also an effective Retargeting tool. Indeed, by correctly using pixels, internet users can be shown ads tailored to the products they have added to their wish list.
6) Launch campaigns for customer recovery
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the average online shopping cart abandonment rate decreases compared to other months of the year. Nevertheless, given the higher number of potential buyers, it is still worthwhile to implement strategies to recover some users who did not complete the conversion process to sale.
Specially created emails, additional reminders, and special discounts for those who abandoned their purchase before payment usually yield very good results. BigCommerce and Shopify are just two of the platforms that offer resources to recover customers with products in their shopping cart.
7) Also focus on existing customers
What company does not want to expand its customer base? Although this is a major goal for most businesses, there is no
