It’s may be difficult to think about snow and mistletoe when the dog days of summer are still here but if you’re an online retailer, preparation is everything and now is the time to be readying yourself for the holiday shopping season in a few months.
Retail sales are still lagging some, but many experts believe more people than ever will shop online for the holidays in 2009, which is even more of a reason to solidify your marketing and sales decisions in advance of the most important time of the year. We’ve compiled a few tips that every online retailer can use to put themselves in the best position to succeed when the weather does turn cooler.
1.Organize: first and foremost, take a look at where you’re at. Analyze what worked and what didn’t work in previous holiday shopping seasons. Where can you improve? Should you consider advertising this season? Are there effective marketing initiatives from the past that should be built upon? Be honest and objective and build a realistic plan of attack.
2.Get your site ready: technical issues and/or a website crash in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving are akin to retail suicide. Make sure your site and accompanying technology is humming along well, capable of handling lots of visitors and processing multiple orders at a time. If you’ve had concerns about the platform you’re operating on, maybe now’s the time to upgrade. Aesthetically your site should be well organized and laid out, with easy access not only to products, but to customer support and help features.
3.Branch out: there are plenty of ways to increase your online presence for little or no money, particularly in the social networking arena. One example would be Sortprice.com’s Merchant Store application on Facebook. If you’re a Sortprice merchant, you can build a store for your products right on your Facebook profile FOR FREE. Tap into additional audiences by starting a Twitter feed or a Myspace page. The more people that know about you, the better!
4.Consider your promotions: what promotions can you devise that will separate you from your competitors and ensure that shoppers keep coming back? This is a question that should be answered now. Think outside the box and offer coupons or special discounts for bulk orders. Free or discounted shipping during the holidays is always a popular choice as well. Regardless, set your promotional schedule in advance and make sure that ALL promotions are prominently displayed on your homepage.
5.Advertising: while it’s great to have free or low-cost options to promote yourself, intelligent and targeted advertising is still a great way to get the word out about your store. But as we always say on this page, do your research and don’t pursue advertising options that will not pay off in the end. Consider a banner ad campaign starting as early as October to plant the seed in consumers’ minds about your site. If you have pages on social networking sites, take a look at their advertising packages as well. Even if you spend just a little on advertising now, the payoff at the end of the year could be great.There are some TV series that are so good, watching them once is just not enough. And with networks packaging their shows for DVDs, the good news is that you can watch them whenever you want. We talked to our resident television series aficionado here at E-Commerce Junkie to get her take on which TV series everyone should watch and own. These are her four choices. Most of these choices have been out on DVD long enough that you can pick them up at a great price.
Six Feet Under Alan Ball’s epic look at a family-run funeral home over the course of five years, Six Feet Under has some of the best acting and writing you will ever come across. The storylines can be deep and dark but they’re offset at times with some rare comedic moments. And the final ten minutes of the series finale will have you reaching for that box of Kleenex.
Seinfeld The “show about nothing” continues to be the gold standard of television comedy even to this day. While you cannot currently purchase the entire series on DVD, you can buy up to two seasons together in one package, complete with out-takes and other special features.
M*A*S*H* Younger generations might not even know about M*A*S*H* but the fact is, the series finale remains the most-watched television episode in U.S. history. The beauty of this classic is the nuances of the comedy against the backdrop of a bloody war, as well as Alan Alda’s brilliant portrayal of Hawkeye. Pop in a few episodes and you’re guaranteed to laugh.
The Sopranos No show dominated the Emmys the way HBO’s The Sopranos did. James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and crew delivered a tour de force performance for six-plus seasons. This isn’t the type of show you share with younger audiences but if you’re a fan of mob-based drama (or from New Jersey!), this is a must-have for your collection.
Retail sales are still lagging some, but many experts believe more people than ever will shop online for the holidays in 2009, which is even more of a reason to solidify your marketing and sales decisions in advance of the most important time of the year. We’ve compiled a few tips that every online retailer can use to put themselves in the best position to succeed when the weather does turn cooler.
1.Organize: first and foremost, take a look at where you’re at. Analyze what worked and what didn’t work in previous holiday shopping seasons. Where can you improve? Should you consider advertising this season? Are there effective marketing initiatives from the past that should be built upon? Be honest and objective and build a realistic plan of attack.
2.Get your site ready: technical issues and/or a website crash in the days and weeks after Thanksgiving are akin to retail suicide. Make sure your site and accompanying technology is humming along well, capable of handling lots of visitors and processing multiple orders at a time. If you’ve had concerns about the platform you’re operating on, maybe now’s the time to upgrade. Aesthetically your site should be well organized and laid out, with easy access not only to products, but to customer support and help features.
3.Branch out: there are plenty of ways to increase your online presence for little or no money, particularly in the social networking arena. One example would be Sortprice.com’s Merchant Store application on Facebook. If you’re a Sortprice merchant, you can build a store for your products right on your Facebook profile FOR FREE. Tap into additional audiences by starting a Twitter feed or a Myspace page. The more people that know about you, the better!
4.Consider your promotions: what promotions can you devise that will separate you from your competitors and ensure that shoppers keep coming back? This is a question that should be answered now. Think outside the box and offer coupons or special discounts for bulk orders. Free or discounted shipping during the holidays is always a popular choice as well. Regardless, set your promotional schedule in advance and make sure that ALL promotions are prominently displayed on your homepage.
5.Advertising: while it’s great to have free or low-cost options to promote yourself, intelligent and targeted advertising is still a great way to get the word out about your store. But as we always say on this page, do your research and don’t pursue advertising options that will not pay off in the end. Consider a banner ad campaign starting as early as October to plant the seed in consumers’ minds about your site. If you have pages on social networking sites, take a look at their advertising packages as well. Even if you spend just a little on advertising now, the payoff at the end of the year could be great.There are some TV series that are so good, watching them once is just not enough. And with networks packaging their shows for DVDs, the good news is that you can watch them whenever you want. We talked to our resident television series aficionado here at E-Commerce Junkie to get her take on which TV series everyone should watch and own. These are her four choices. Most of these choices have been out on DVD long enough that you can pick them up at a great price.
Six Feet Under Alan Ball’s epic look at a family-run funeral home over the course of five years, Six Feet Under has some of the best acting and writing you will ever come across. The storylines can be deep and dark but they’re offset at times with some rare comedic moments. And the final ten minutes of the series finale will have you reaching for that box of Kleenex.
Seinfeld The “show about nothing” continues to be the gold standard of television comedy even to this day. While you cannot currently purchase the entire series on DVD, you can buy up to two seasons together in one package, complete with out-takes and other special features.
M*A*S*H* Younger generations might not even know about M*A*S*H* but the fact is, the series finale remains the most-watched television episode in U.S. history. The beauty of this classic is the nuances of the comedy against the backdrop of a bloody war, as well as Alan Alda’s brilliant portrayal of Hawkeye. Pop in a few episodes and you’re guaranteed to laugh.
The Sopranos No show dominated the Emmys the way HBO’s The Sopranos did. James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and crew delivered a tour de force performance for six-plus seasons. This isn’t the type of show you share with younger audiences but if you’re a fan of mob-based drama (or from New Jersey!), this is a must-have for your collection.
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