The Guide to eCommerce Holiday Success – Part One: Before the Season

Nicole Dean

Nicole Dean

Last year, one in six dollars spent over the holiday season were spent online. How are you planning on capturing your share of that revenue?
Trellis has been working hard on a three-part series guide about eCommerce holiday success covering ways to help you succeed this holiday season by breaking down your to-do list into more manageable sections.

Part 1: Before the Season

In this eBook, we will help you reflect on 2015 to set 2016 up for success, build your 2016 holiday marketing plan, and audit your systems.
 

part 1 guide to commence holiday success
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What the eBook Covers:

Last year, holiday sales increased to $626.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Online purchases are becoming a larger part of that each year, with online sales making up $105 billion of 2015’s number.
Review, Review, Review:
One thing to keep in mind is that the timing of the holidays change each year. Unlike 2015, this year Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are several days earlier in November. With the slightly earlier holidays, you have more buying days, and the revenue generated will impact both November and December sales.
Make Your Plan:
Take a comprehensive look at how you did last year and set benchmarks based on that performance. What are reasonable expectations for email open, click, and conversion rates based on last year? What were your revenue targets? How did specific marketing activities drive revenue? Then, once you have benchmarks for your holiday marketing activities, start to set goals. You should also start working to determine which specific activities you’ll use to reach that goal. Keep in mind that you may have multiple goals that you’ll develop. For example, you might add a set of “stretch goals” based on ideal (but possibly less realistic!) numbers.
Develop Your Holiday Campaigns:
Once you understand the best practices for your audience and the promotional timeframes you’re working with, start brainstorming! There are so many opportunities beyond marketing only Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. There are opportunities for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa campaigns, as well as promotions around shipping deadlines, and virtual gifting once those have passed. You could even have a Twelfth Night sale!
Cover Your Bases:
You’re well on your way to making this holiday season a success with your promotion and content plans. But, you also need to make sure that your site is in tip-top shape before the holiday traffic hits it. Now’s your chance to do housekeeping and make sure you’re putting your best foot forward – on mobile, marketing automation, and list health. All three are critical to your year-round success, so it makes sense to check that everything’s working well before a busy holiday season. After all, there’s always room for optimization!

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