‘Tis the season to be merry…fa la la la la la la la la…
Wait, it’s probably too early to sing holiday songs. Except right now is the time to prepare for your holiday sales. Whatever you’re selling online, you don’t want to be caught off guard by the inability to fulfill all online orders, especially so close to Christmas.
A couple of years ago, my partner bought me cocktail glasses from an independent artist. She was selling via Etsy, and the glasses were so popular she couldn’t keep up with demand. We eventually got the glasses far later than expected or initially promised.
Get started now building your ecommerce platform so your holiday sales can run smoothly as soon as orders start coming in.
Plan Before Black Friday
Everyone knows the day after Thanksgiving is the opening day of the Holiday shopping season. This year, Black Friday falls on November 25th, one month before Christmas. It may already be too late if you start planning your holiday shopping process in November. You want to get a head start to ensure everything runs smoothly at the start of the season.
Create a Checklist
Knowing what you need to do is half the battle. To stay as organized as possible, start by creating a checklist.
Forecast Based on Last Year’s Sales
Review your selling season from last year to see what was a big seller, what you might need to add, and what you can cut back.
Set Holiday Selling Goals
Having a goal to know what you want to achieve is helpful. Create your selling goals to keep you on track.
Prepare Your Inventory
All the planning in the world won’t help if you don’t get your hands dirty and get your inventory ready for the big push.
Establish Holiday Promotions
Do you want to have holiday specials and promotions? What will those be, and how will you promote them?
Ensure Customer Service
One of the biggest challenges, especially for online-only businesses, is customer service. You may be a one-person operation, but it’s critical that you’re able to respond to queries quickly, or you may lose customers.
Plan Marketing for the Holidays
Once you have your sales plan, it’s time to consider your market. Here are the steps we suggest:
- Make a Marketing Calendar
- Create a Holiday Design Plan
- Optimize SEO for the Holidays
- Plan Social Media
A calendar will help keep you on track and consistent throughout the season. You can also create a design that works cohesively throughout the season, so anytime someone sees one of your products, they know it’s part of your holiday promotions. You want to optimize your website for holiday-related SEO so that the search engines will put you at the top of the list in time for the rush. And don’t forget that social media is excellent for promoting your brand.
Do you want to know more about setting up eCommerce and marketing systems for the holidays?
DPEG Marketing Company has 7 spots open for website design in 2022. We partner with eCommerce, agriculture, and equine businesses to help them grow.
Contact us for a FREE consultation by emailing [email protected] or calling (828) 333-3816.
