Are you dreaming of a bright e-Christmas?
Friday, 01 October 2010 00:00
I once heard someone say, “Experience is not a good teacher. Experience is a hard teacher”. Reluctant as we may be sometimes to accept advice, learning from other people’s experiences can help us avoid some painful ones of our own.
With this in mind, here are some useful tips from successful online businesses to help us all survive and prosper in the pre-Christmas period on the web.
Seasonal trends
Even if your core business doesn’t grow at Christmas, you can still take advantage of seasonal trends. If you don’t believe me, go and visit your local garden centre this Autumn! So be on the lookout for seasonal products that you might be able to sell from your web site, and be willing to experiment.
Be aware that customers buying items as gifts may have less product knowledge than those who buy for themselves. “The run up to Christmas brings a whole new breed of customer that you might not see through the rest of the year,” says Richard Cooper of Polished Bliss. “This change in demographic can catch you off guard in terms of service expectations and product understanding.”
Stock
Use all the information you have available to plan stock levels for Christmas, especially your own sales data from previous years. If relevant, keep an eye on stock displays in larger high-street competitors. The more stock of a product they have on their shelves, the more they are expecting to sell.
Take particular care over products and components which have only one source. “Although we manufacture everything we sell, we are ‘single sourced’ on several critical components,” says Mike Taylor of Excitim. “These are the ones I watch very carefully.”
Delivery
Meeting delivery deadlines is obviously critical at Christmas, and this starts with setting realistic expectations. “Make sure you have a realistic cut off date for deliveries,” says Jude of Stardust Kids. “Make sure you know the last posting dates, and publish them on your web site,” adds Mike Taylor.
Keep stock information up to date on your site, so you don’t get orders that you can’t fulfil. “Mark items out of stock on the web site as quickly as possible ,” is the advice from David Sewell of The Cotton Patch. “This means that customers’ time is not wasted, and costs associated with back-ordering of items and customer communication are minimised.”
Special offers
Christmas can be financially pressured for many people, especially those with families. Everyone has to make multiple purchases, and often on a tight budget. Try to have offers that entice shoppers to spend more with you, and give greater value in return. Richard Cooper again: “Christmas is not a time for hacking out old stock with money off or 2 for 1 offers. Try to provide deals that offer something good to the customer in return for more outlay.”
You and your staff
Whilst focusing on achieving 100% satisfaction for your customers, you also need to look after yourself and your employees. “Staff all want time off over Christmas, so be aware and plan ahead,” advises John Sollars of Stinkyink.com. A little forethought here can reduce your own stress levels in other areas. “Do your own Christmas shopping early, and persuade someone else in your family to cook Christmas dinner,” suggests Christianne James of 4little1s.
But the last word goes to Paul Need of 10 Out Of 10: “Close the business for 5 days over the Christmas period, as we do, and enjoy yourselves!”
After all, what’s the point of success if you can’t have fun?
Written by Bruce Townsend, online marketing specialist at Actinic. Originally published onThe Marketing Donut.