Is your small business ready for the upcoming holiday shopping season?

According to CNBC, Cyber Monday 2020 was the biggest e-commerce day in all of U.S. history with record online sales totalling $10 billion.

In fact, e-commerce sales reached a staggering $100 billion for the first time ever in November. And, if 2020 trends are anything to go by, this year’s Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday promise to be just as lucrative.

So, what can you do to strategically position yourself for success and get through this busy season without losing your mind? Here are our five top tips. Let’s get started!

Tip #1 Optimize your website and app

Gauging from these statistics it is of vital importance to ensure that your website and app are fully optimized so that people can take advantage of a hassle-free shopping experience.

But what exactly is optimization?

VWO.com defines website optimization as the:

“…process of using tools, advanced strategies, and experiments to improve the performance of your website, so you can drive more traffic, increase conversions, and grow revenue.”

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a fortune to test how well your website is optimized. 

By simply turning to gig economy platforms like Fiverr.com, Upwork.com and Freelancer.com you can find web designers of various skill levels and price points to assist you. 

But what if you can’t afford a custom website or app? Here’s the next best thing…

Tip #2 Open a store on a major e-commerce platform

Having your own website from which to sell your products and or services is great. However, many small businesses are making good fortunes by simply relying on popular mainstream e-commerce platforms such as ShopifyPlus, Volusion, and WooCommerce. 

The advantages of doing business on these platforms include:

·         Cloud-based shopping software with enterprise-grade features

·         Access to a ready market that’s coming with an intent to buy

·         In-built safe and secure payment gateways

·         Buyer and seller protection policies

·         Account management options

Tip #3 Understand what people want to buy

According to a poll by IMI International here are the top things buyers said they consider when shopping during Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday:

Consumer buying psychology is science you simply must master. Knowing how your ideal customer thinks will allow you to design target-specific effective marketing campaigns. And speaking of marketing…

Tip #4 Don’t neglect your content marketing

Adobe’s Holiday Shopping Report has shown us that the rate of email engagement increases over the holiday season:

• Email open rates increase by 6%

• Email click-through rates go up by 4%

If you’ve been building an email list and haven’t started sending regular emails, the weeks leading up to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are as opportune a time as any to start.

Furthermore, you’ll want to work on what promotions you plan on running. Don’t forget that every business is vying for consumer attention during this time period so you’ll want an A-star copywriter to craft your promotional offers.

Remember: The quality of your marketing campaigns can make or break your efforts so invest your marketing dollars wisely.

Tip #5 Offer multichannel shopping experiences

When it comes to shopping, people are looking for convenience.

Brands that did well last year during Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday made sure they offered their customers a variety of shopping channels and modalities such as:

·         In-store experiences

·         Online experiences - mobile, desktop, and tablet 

·         Buy-Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS)

·         Social media buying options

·         Convenient delivery including free shipping