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Retail sales are already down 1.6% and high street stores are slashing their prices with the Boxing Day sales starting 21 days early. So, as a company looking to cash in on this seasonal spree, what do you need to be doing *today*?
BBC News had an interesting piece with a shopper this morning, who said she was doing plenty of window shopping and then going home to check out the prices online for the items she wished to buy as Christmas presents.
“The deals are online. You can tell your friends about them, shout about them.”
This highlights in itself a human trait: people love to boast about a bargain, and social networks have made this very simple.
So, firstly, give your web presence a once over and make sure that the items you most want to sell during the coming 3 weeks are easy to find – on your site, on your Facebook page, on Twitter, and on the search engines. You will struggle to change your search engine rankings in this short time period (Note to self: start preparing the website for the Christmas season in July/August) but there are plenty of quick ways to promote your site that will get instant exposure using social media and alternative methods such as optimised photos and video, which are often listed more quickly by the search engines.
Next, check your backend systems. If you promote items, will you be able to ship and deliver in time? Are these items already in stock? A failure to deliver on time, which could be hampered by unforeseen circumstances such as this week’s snow, will have long reaching consequences for your brand and reputation so don’t raise expectations. Be realistic in your promises to customers about delivery time. If the item is likely to be late, issue a beautiful gift card or voucher, along with expected delivery date, so that the recipient can be given that on the day. Don’t lose the sale – it is simple touches like this that will make the purchase decisions easy for the customer.
Next, work on your social media presence. Build up your following by offering your existing friends and followers special deals to ’shout’ about to their friends. And put someone in charge of your Twitter and Facebook accounts for the next week at least to get people engaged and talking to you.
You need to get a dialogue going and not just people with large numbers of followers. You cannot know what people do offline. We all know plenty of people who don’t tweet but who know people who do, and that chance conversation about, “Oh, I saw one of those on twitter today. Company XYZ have an offer on,” could win you that all important sale. And every sale matters, as does the customer service backing it.
So, man your phones and email account with the friendliest, nicest, most patient staff you have. Christmas is a stressful time for everyone, and a cheery voice and a 
in an email will go a long way towards buying you long-term evangelists of your brand and products.
What other ideas are you putting into practice this holiday season to increase the chances of a sale? Share them with our readers, especially easy to implement ones that may make that little bit of difference in these hard times that are upon us.
And we are all consumers, so what would you like companies to be doing? What will make you part with your hard-earned cash?
The breaking story today in the social world is the development at Etsy which has led to all buyers’ personal details and purchases being able to be searched by anyone. Whatever they have bought, and whenever they bought it.
The theory behind the changes appears to be that people shop based on the recommendations of their ‘circle’ of friends. It’s all about making shopping ’social’, but the debate has to be do you want every purchase you make through a website showing up on Google under your name? Along with your email address, real name and possibly even your Facebook link?
If you ask on Facebook or Twitter which make of washing machine your followers or friends would recommend, that is your choice to reveal that you are planning to buy a washing machine. Or a hand-embroidered pink leotard to wear on your work at home days. Or whatever you plan to buy.
Purchases that you make normally are private unless you CHOOSE to review a product, ask your friends about it, or boast about the great deal you have just managed.
Etsy have just turned that privacy on its head with its PeopleSearch facility, by opting in all registered users to the new search system and opening up the database to the search engine spiders. You can opt out, but a new user should not need to trawl forums and consumer-run Etsy help sites to find out to opt out.
Whether or not this is permissible under strict UK privacy laws about data protection remains to be seen, but it is possible that Etsy may find themselves facing a fairly expensive lawsuit if they don’t rescind this functionality fairly quickly. Rather like Facebook did with Beacon.
Time Warner has announced today that it is introducing a new service which allows users to pay for movie downloads using Facebook Credits.
Each film download will cost 30 FB Credits or $3 and currently the offer is only available to US residents, but undoubtedly this will change as Time Warner see how popular the service is.
Facebook Credits may become a more popular option for purchasing online where the product or brand is a tight fit with Facebook user profiles, or for digital products and apps. However, a percentage of each sale goes to the social networking site so for the majority of businesses, using an e-commerce store within your own domain may be preferable.
If you are promoting an e-commerce site, you need to be aware of how the recession or tightening economy has affected potential site visitors.
For instance, many consumers have been tightening their belts and have become much more savvy about interest rates, credit cards and so on. This means that they may have changed credit card providers and, in some cases, because of media coverage, are actually ‘boycotting’ certain brands or providers.
Whilst the wider recession may not have seemingly affected your business, particularly if you are selling electronic goods this Christmas, it may have affected your consumers’ approach to finding, buying and paying for goods.
So, for instance, if you only accept certain credit cards, you could be losing out on customers. If you are not featuring in the comparison engines, you could be losing out to your competition. If your product set is now deemed to be a ‘luxury’ rather than essential, you may need to look even harder at how you capture the attention of your potential audience.
Keep a weather eye on news about consumer spending habits over the next few months and check that your website, or that of your clients, reacts to the changes being made by those that matter the most – your customers.
There has been a massive sea change in marketing because of the internet. As the internet becomes even more real-time, consumers are becoming prosumers in a way that means the olde worlde marketing models are defunct.
It is no longer about CRM and discounted products or deals. Customers are looking for better value products, not necessarily cheap, but definitely the product must be worth the money the consumer is willing to spend. Before making a purchase decision, customers are getting on the Net, seeking reviews and recommendations, looking at what other customers say about the whole purchase experience, and making decisions not on price but on respect.
Do you RESPECT your customers? Do you offer the best product for the price? Do you offer add-ons such as free online support, how to use manuals, information on upgrades? Do you avoid tacky marketing emails that clog their inbox long after the purchase was made? Have you dealt with customer complaints swiftly and efficiently? Are your customers happy with their dealings with you?
Do you know how your customers feel about you? If you don’t regularly seek feedback from customers and listen to what is being said about your company and products on the Net, how can you ensure that you are winning the customers you deserve?
Today’s tips will allow you to track some of what is being said about you, much as the press cutting services used to do with traditional media.
1) Set up Google alerts for all your brand names, company name, products and industry sector.
2) Use Tweetdeck or similar to regularly scan Twitter for mentions of your company and product names.
3) Watch your traffic stats and analytics for referrals from review sites and/or forums where your company may have been mentioned.
4) Google your company name and individual product/ brand names regularly. High traffic sites will inevitably come up in the first 1-2 pages of SERPs and may give you an indication of any mentions being made of your products.
5) If selling consumer goods, keep a weather eye on all the comparison shopping sites, which often include reviews, to check for your company and product names.
What other suggestions do people have for monitoring mentions of your company? What tools do you use?
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Whilst we are on the subject of e-commerce and sales and all that retail jazz this week, let’s look at how to STOP people from buying from you. Because, after all, that’s why you have spent the equivalent of the debt of a third world country promoting your website, isn’t it? Not.
Ok, what are the main barriers to purchase? Once we have identified those, take a careful walk through your sales process, both on and offline, and see if you are committing any of the heinous crimes that stop people giving you money.
1) No price. Let’s face it, no matter what you are selling, people will inevitably need to know the price before they can make a step towards a purchase decision. And potentially what they will think is, “Ooh, it must be soooooo expensive,” and hence take a step back from the purchase rather than one towards it. Don’t make people ask how much it costs. After all, are you really that good at answering your emails instantaneously whilst they are still slavering at the mouth about your ‘must have’ product?
2) The wrong price. Checked out your competition lately? Are your prices on a par with theirs? Is your site visitor likely to have done a comparison check and found your products are more expensive? If you can’t be competitive, then at least make sure that all the reasons why can be found clearly in your product description…
3) No product description. This is the Interweb – they can’t pick it up, touch it, feel it, turn it over, or taste it. Describe your product down to the tiniest detail, after giving a summary for those people who just don’t care because they have finally found the item they were looking for.
4) Hidden shipping costs. Don’t hide the costs to post and pack the item. If possible, have free shipping. Amazon do and they ship far more than you ever will. Don’t underprice it and then weight the shipping costs to make up for the loss. The purchase decision is made on the price of the item, and will be almost definitely changed if they then discover that it costs 10 times as much to post it than to buy it. Especially if your competitors are upfront about shipping costs.
5) Broken shopping cart. Do you always get the shopping trolley in the supermarket with the wonky and squeaky wheel? And how does that make you feel about shopping? How often do you put far less in your shopping basket and/or leave the shop because you are fed up with running into other shoppers, or being stared at is if that unbearable screeching noise is all your fault? Make sure your shopping cart works and is very easy to use. Simple things such as if they fail to notice the tiny little tickbox at the bottom that signs them up to your newsletter should not be a reason to reload the form when they hit submit, and remove all their carefully entered information.
6) Returns policy. Many people are totally unaware of their rights when buying online so make it crystal clear. If they want to send the product back, they can – tell them where to. If you give refunds within a set time only, tell them. If their grandchildren can return it after your death, tell them. If it doesn’t fit, work as they expected, or gets broken in transit, tell them you will happily resolve any problems. Give them confidence in you as a business.
7) After sales care. Love your customers, even after they have left your shop. If you are a bricks and mortar store, they would know where to come back to, so keep in touch with them, add them to your Christmas card list, tell them about any deals you have that might interest them, send a little note asking if the product arrived safely. Tell them you have assigned them their own personal helper if they have any problems at all in using the product or getting the full benefits out of it. Send them a link to a free online manual or the support forum for their product. Answer all emails from them promptly, just as promptly as if they were your sweetheart. Coddle them, cherish them and love them. Within reason obviously – this is a CUSTOMER, after all!
Any more barriers to purchase you can think of? Let us know so that we can then all begin the process of finding them within our own companies and e-commerce set ups……
Actually, this post is not about food, weight loss or retail therapy. It is about how to make your customers buy from you when they visit your website. It is about creating a Call to Action that parts them from their cash.
Many internet marketers are very good at parting you from your money, using a variety of ’sales techniques’ that work in subtle but effective ways. You too can adopt these practices on your website and encourage your visitors to travel down the path you wish them to.
The first tactic to learn is how to play on the emotions. When writing good copy for a website sales page, you need to start with the pain points of your visitor. What are the problems that they are facing which have led them to your page? If necessary, lay it on with a trowel just how bad their life is with the problem they currently have.
Anyone with a problem is essentially vulnerable and by showing them just how clearly you understand their problem, you begin to have a rapport with them. Or so they think!
Then, you begin to tell them just how fantastic your product is in solving that problem for them. How it will change their life entirely. Even if 5 minutes ago, they had no idea their problem was quite as bad as they have now realised, all of a sudden they will begin to see the benefits of owning your product to improve their life. It may well be that they have stumbled across your page whilst looking for something entirely different, but if your writing is good, by now they will be aware that they do indeed suffer from this problem, and that your product may be their only salvation.
You have triggered their ‘desire’ for the product, and we are now into ‘I want one of those’ territory. This is the time when the purchase decision has not yet been made, but it is close.
Ah, the crux of the problem they now face is suddenly revealed. You have a sale on. But only until midnight tonight. So, if they don’t buy it now, then when they want it even more badly tomorrow, the price will have doubled, quadrupled, or gone up by 10. The bargain hunter part of their character leaps to the fore.
Worse, you tell them there are a limited number of these products, the offer is never to be repeated and that if they buy it right now, you will throw in 101 unmissable freebies as a favour.
The click to buy button fills the screen, and the reminder that the sale ends at midnight, this is a one time offer, exclusive extras are available etc etc is in bold and red and
There is simply no way round it, they must have this solution to the problem. It is what they have always been looking for. How could they not realise before that the lack of this item has been causing all of their life, everything they have ever tried, to fail. And it says there is a 100% money back guarantee, no questions asked so what is there to lose?
Kerching. You just made a sale!
Try it and see. Once you overcome how you feel about doing this to people – after all, it is tantamount to retail torture – you will discover that pretty much everywhere you look in the world of commerce, the very same games are being played by companies far larger than you, on all of us, in every aspect of our every day lives.
JupiterResarch and LinkShare are reporting that UK consumers are likely to spend 40% more than their US counterparts on online shopping this Christmas. Additionally, the UK shoppers will make 24% more purchases online and are 13% more likely to be regular internet shoppers. It seems the UK are increasingly canny about hunting down bargains and comparison shopping to help stretch the pounds.
Further research shows that this year people are looking less to luxurious, spur of the moment gifts, and more at practical gifts, as well as home made items. Cyber Monday (Dec 1st) is likely to be a day when many converge on the Internet to find bargains and free shipping offers.
There is nothing quite as easy for customers to understand as “free delivery”. It is a no brainer. And it is a magnet for potential shoppers when choosing between the competition, and will bring them on to the website in droves.
Amazon know this, and with the introduction of free delivery for Christmas on all orders over £5, and the publicity this has attracted, let’s guess where people will be buying their books, CDs, computer games, electrical items, cameras, and so on.
Now, you can count on it that once someone is actually ensconced on the website looking for something to buy, they are not going to just spend a measly fiver.
“After all, whilst I am here,” goes the thinking, “I might as well just get everyone’s presents in one fell swoop.”
Any business can afford to offer free delivery, however small they may be, on purchases over a particular amount, especially in the run up to Christmas. Go on, give it a try!
