As lockdowns start to ease, borders open up and families are reunited this year for Christmas it's fair to say that celebrations are going to be a lot bigger this year compared to last year. Whilst face to face gatherings will be a big shift from last Christmas, the online shopping trend hasn't faded. Consumers have had to conform to online shopping this year even more so as lockdowns were effectively in place for most of NSW and VIC, and so much uncertainty shrouded end of year plans. Ecommerce stores have found their groove since last year, meaning there's increased competition out there and a better level of quality of the competition also.

1. Understand the major shopping period
The Christmas shopping period starts for most people on Black Friday, which is the fourth Friday in November. People are looking out for deals on the gifts they want to buy, so it is a great sale period to capitalise on.

In 2019, A Shopify study found that most businesses prepare for Black Friday planning usually in August and September but some as early as May. If you haven’t started yet you’re already behind, but fear not! You still have time to plan and promote a Black Friday event that gets people excited about your businesses products or services as gifts for their loved ones.

After Black Friday, it's a rather short run up until Christmas, so it's incredibly important that your processes are working smoothly so that you can keep all your customers happy. Think about solving any hiccups in your delivery process, or your booking process, or any other process to allow your customer the most frictionless experience. Good processes also mean fewer headaches for your business during the holiday season. Remember, people are shopping earlier this year, so preparation is key.

2. Focus on customer acquisition and retention
Retaining old customers is a lot more cost effective than acquiring new ones. Your strategy needs to shift away from pure selling and towards building trust. Developing strong relationships with your customer base is the best thing you can do to ensure your revenue over this season.

If your business is service-based, your focus right now should be strong client relationships, communication of key dates and service availability between now and the beginning of 2021. If your business is B2B, your focus should be planning staff leave, ensuring all clients are aware of holiday dates and serviceability throughout the holiday period, as well as having clear communication across all channels indicating to potential new clients the serviceability and availability between now and the beginning of 2022. Ecommerce businesses need to clearly state delivery cut off dates, time frames and whether there'll be any delays for order processing.

Different types of businesses will need to communicate different things, but if you make sure your strategy is geared towards communication and trust with your customers, you're putting your business in a strong position.

3. Ensure strong digital marketing activities
This has been full of change and transitions for digital marketing. With things changing so rapidly all the time, social media provides the opportunity to be flexible and to put out new messages as they become relevant.

You should be utilising any social media accounts right now to keep your audience informed and engaged, and if you haven't dabbled in Facebook, Instagram, or Linkedin advertising, now might be the time to start. Ads are relatively cheap and you can go where your audience is and target them very specifically.

Now is also the time to be utilising your email list, sending out regular updates, and working to grow your email list ahead of the holiday season. A segmented strategy can help retain and convert even more customers for you, and our team can help. Get in touch with us if you would like to know more about growing your email list, or social media marketing that will convert into sales for your business.

4. Focus on your online presence
Online shopping gets bigger and bigger each holiday season. The opportunity for eCommerce businesses is enormous, but you have to make sure your web presence is flawless so you can capitalise on this as much as possible.

Make sure your Google Business account is up and running, and fill in all of the information that will help customers. This includes your opening hours including any special hours over the holiday period and your accurate contact details.

For Ecommerce business, this might also be the perfect time to set up Google shopping (hint - it is!), which is an easy way for customers to find your business and your products online. We suggest chatting to our team to see if Google Shopping could be a good fit for your business to take advantage of. Google Shopping listings are also FREE, with the option to implement a paid strategy also.

You also want to make sure your website is fully optimised with correct information, as well as intuitive design and shopping features. If you’re closing over the holiday period this could be a great time to work on your website. We can help with affordable web design options and have a relatively fast turnaround time for new sites.

You need to start thinking about Christmas now and adapt your business strategy for a more digitally-focused holiday period. At Pup Digital, we are offering free consultations to anyone who knows they need to be working on a strategy but isn’t sure exactly what to focus on. We’ll help work out your priorities based on your business goals and budget. All without obligation, and you’re more than welcome to work on the strategy yourself after your consultation with us. Get in touch today, we'd be thrilled to assist.