the e-commerce effect: top 6 busy-season tips for mid-sized businesses
Cyber Monday. Maybe you’ve heard of it — the online version of Black Friday’s heavily discounted in-store shopping day. Regardless of how involved your business gets, Cyber Monday and the busy season ahead are that time of year when e-commerce will be put to the test.
That’s especially true for mid-sized businesses. Alongside the Amazons of the world, the stakes are high for mid-sized companies that need to win share through the online customer experience.
“When it comes to competing, it’s important to answer this question: Why would customers choose you over, say, Amazon?” says Frank Aloise, theturnlab co-founder, digital. “There’s an opportunity for mid-sized businesses to win share through e-commerce elements like improved response time, better communication, personalized site functionality, and overall user experience.”
“That being said,” Frank adds, “I wouldn’t recommend innovating your e-commerce now, this close to the holidays.”
go with what you know to win the e-commerce season ahead
As a mid-sized company, you may be battening down the hatches and holding your breath for the season looming on the horizon. We feel you. We’ve been there ourselves and seen many-a-client through to holiday-season success.
But one thing we’ve learned e-commerce will never be is forgiving. We don’t recommend learning by trial and error. Innovation is great, but save it until the storm clears. Instead, heed these six e-commerce tips for a Cyber Monday and holiday season you won’t regret.
our top 6 e-commerce tips for retail success in the busy season
1. don’t let the e-commerce bugs bite.
New e-commerce features are great — and necessary to compete as the market and technology evolves. But now’s not the best time to release them on your site. The last thing you need is an infestation of e-commerce bugs mucking up the customer experience. New features may inadvertently affect other functions as well, leading to even bigger disruptions.
2. can we cyber chat?
Does your site have online chat? If yes, think about increasing your staffing to deal with the volume of requests.
3. where my package delivery at?
Part of online shopping’s appeal is of course the ease of it. Point, click, wait a couple days, then voila. That all goes to pot if the package doesn’t come in time for the holiday season. Establish cut-off shipping dates for the holidays. Contact your delivery service to see when their cut-off times are, and ensure your customers are fully aware when they visit the site.
4. plan your e-commerce plans.
If you have scheduled updates to the site over the holidays, have another schedule of what’s happening, and then schedule in daily checks to ensure they’re being executed.
5. go ahead. over-analyze every bit of data.
This is the time to make sure your analytics are in place. Not only are you getting valuable information for next year, but you can also check if something isn’t working as it should be. Are sales suspiciously lower than normal? Your analytics can signal something’s not working right.
In addition, use this data to think ahead to next year’s holiday campaign. Have it thoroughly planned and ready to go before the holiday rush. Secure all the product you’ll need, confirm your communication schedule with your customers, on-board additional staff if needed. You can even look into changing the layout to your homepage based on previous years’ activities to make sure you’re speaking to your customer.
6. prepare for the impending e-commerce disaster (that we hope never happens).
We hope it won’t, but it could. Establish an emergency protocol if something should happen. Create a team list and define each team member’s role should an emergency should arise.
the best e-commerce experiences go unnoticed
For all the technology, innovation, insight, strategy, effort, and time that go into creating the ideal e-commerce experience, the disheartening truth is that no one will notice. In fact, your goal should be that they don’t notice.
That’s because, like a perfectly edited book or an impeccably designed car, the user experience should be flawless.
What customers will notice — and what they’ll remember above all else — is when things go wrong. One off-putting e-commerce transaction can spoil a customer’s otherwise staunch loyalty to your brand. The Amazons of the world may be able to bounce back from screw-ups, but for mid-sized businesses competing with them, remember this, write it down, frame it, and nail it to the wall above your computer:
Every single e-commerce transaction counts.
Curious to learn more about how e-commerce can help your mid-sized business win share? Contact theturnlab and let’s start a conversation.
about us
We are one part ad agency, one part consultancy, and one part technology company. We provide 360° solutions for brands committed to turning their business around. Our lab team is made up of a healthy mix of industry veterans, entrepreneurs, innovators. We are business analysts, strategic planners, media experts, brand experts, content creators, digital strategists, interactive programmers and software developers.
Visit theturnlab.com to learn more.
