What Does the Data Say?
First thing we recommend is to do a thorough analysis of your data from last year and compare it with current trends. How did regular sales compare to seasonal sales last year? When did your business spike, and when did it level back out again? Don’t just stop there, though. We encourage you to think a little deeper with the data you have. What did you learn as a result of going through last year’s holiday season? What insights did customers provide you with? Where did you fumble and where did you get it right?
Once you’ve taken a deeper look at your own data, compare it against data gathered by industry professionals to get a sense of the big picture. Next…
Get to Know your Demographic… Again
Go back over your buyer persona(s) and refresh yourself on your ideal target market. Has that changed in any way over the past year? Are you still drawing the same type of customer that you have previously? If not, who is the customer showing up consistently these days?
Do you draw a different or expanded demographic during holiday shopping season? Thinking back through this will help you market more effectively to the people you need to reach hit sales goals.
Assess Your Current Business Infrastructure
- Is your website properly hosted? Does it run the risk of crashing when there are too many visitors?
- Do you have enough products? Can you make it through projected demand without any hiccups?
- Are you properly staffed? Do all of your team members know their roles and how they could intersect?
- On the same note, does your staff have a way of effectively and quickly communicating with each other?
- If fulfilling in-house, do you have enough storage room, supplies, and materials?
- Which shipping carriers and services will you offer? Are you prepared to ship orders out without delay?
- How will you be managing your work and personal life so that you’re not burned out? (Don’t forget, you deserve a great holiday season too!)
It’s a long list, but we often find that most business failures can be linked back to miscommunication and mismanagement of alloted resources.
Let your Customers Know What’s Going On
It’s easy to focus customer communication around marketing messages like “Buy Now!” and “Next Day Shipping!” But what else can you be communicating with them to not only provide great customer service, but keep your business top of their mind? We recommend double-checking the regular communication that you send out to ensure it’s functioning like it should.
Things like abandoned cart emails, and shipping status emails should be running with no hiccups so that customers are getting the right information at the right time. And should you have to deliver bad news, be sure to do it with a discount!
Roll Out Your Holiday Strategy
You’ve done your data analysis, taken a second look at your target demographic(s), assessed your infrastructure and double-checked that regular communications are running smoothly. Now it’s time to roll out your holiday strategy! Just remember that the Krampus…err the devil…is in the details!
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