At FastPivot, we’re making a list and hoping you’ll check it twice as the peak of e-commerce shopping is right around the corner! Ask yourself these twelve questions over the next twelve days to tune up your online store. Taking just a few simple steps can help you get the most out of the holiday shopping season.
1. Do you have a plan?
Having a clear marketing plan in place for the biggest online shopping days of the year (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Super Saturday, Free Shipping Day, etc..) will go a long way in making sure you have the staff and inventory in place to make it through the entire season.
2. Is your mobile site easy to navigate?
With mobile users set to take over the majority of online shopping purchases this season, make it easier for them to spend money on your site with simple, quick navigation. Remember, without a functional mobile site, your low search rankings won’t direct traffic to your site, resulting in missed sales opportunities.
3. Is your checkout process clear?
Turn abandoned carts into sales by making it easy for customers to review their purchase and pay quickly. Have a friend shop your site while you watch to keep an eye out for obvious bottlenecks or malfunctioning links.
4. Have you increased your paid advertising?
You can’t rely on organic traffic alone to bring shoppers to your site, especially during the holidays. Now is the time to analyze your pay-per-click and search advertising strategies to maximize the reach to potential customers.
5. What is your competition offering?
Shop on your competitor sites to see how your prices compare and what deals or specials they are offering. You don’t always have to match price if you have something special to offer. Just make sure your customers know what it is by clearly showing them when they land on one of your pages.
6. Have you told your past customers what you will be offering?
This is a great time to start sending out email and social media blasts to your current and/or past customer base informing them of upcoming specials, exclusive offers, or subscriber only deals. Build customer loyalty with proactive communication.
7. Can your hosting service keep up with expected traffic?
Nothing can ruin an online store’s season more than a crashed site, overloaded server, or website errors. Make sure your current hosting provider has the capacity to handle not only your traffic, but also that of all their clients.
8. Are you clearly displaying all your security credentials?
Visitors want to know their online shopping experience on your site is safe. Boldly display your security badges or verified status in a location on the site shoppers will notice.
9. How easy is it for shoppers to get help?
If your customers run into problems on the site, make it easy for them to get help. If you don’t have real time chat, at least present your customer service options clearly.
10. Do you have a tech team on standby if something goes wrong?
Have a team of resources available if something on the site should go wrong. If you don’t make your tech team aware of your plans or strategies in advance, there may be no one there when you need them the most.
11. Is your fulfillment center well stocked?
Often overlooked in the preparation stages, have extra labels, packaging, and shipping tape on hand. In the peak days of the season, it may take several days to get restocked.
12. How are you going to keep your customers all year long?
Keep your holiday customers coming back throughout the calendar year by offering a coupon or discount code on return purchases. A small token in the midst of the rush can go a long way in building customer loyalty.
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