The holidays are of the utmost importance to online business owners. This is the season when customers come to the Internet with credit cards in hand to find the perfect gift for loved ones. Even amid the recent recession and retail sales decline in 2009, holiday ecommerce grew to an all time high. According to leading online analyst firm ComScore, $29.1 billion was spent online during the holiday season – an increase of 4% from 2008. More importantly, this figure is expected to climb even higher in 2010.

These growth numbers make sense when you think about the unique advantages ecommerce has to offer. Online shopping allows customers to satisfy even the most specific tastes by quickly browsing through millions of unique products. Ecommerce also lets customers shop from the comfort of their own homes instead of fighting lines at retail stores. Because of these trends and growth, the upcoming holiday season is far too significant for you to enter unprepared.

Luckily you can start crafting your strategy now to help capitalize on this golden opportunity. All it takes is four important steps.

Highlights

Four Steps to a Profitable Holiday Season

Holiday Success Strategy

1. Determine promotionsand featured productsThis crucial step allows you to build timelines and ensure that your business is on track for the holidays.

2. Adjust your online marketing effortsWhether you need a few design tweaks or a complete overhaul, start making enhancements now to prepare your site for the rush of holiday shoppers.

3. Remind customers the holidays are comingAs the holidays come closer and closer, remind customers that you’re the perfect venue for their gifting needs.

4. Optimize your site forholiday conversionsOnce the holiday season arrives, there are several ways to adjust your site to convert more holiday sales. Read on to find out more.

1. Determine your promotionsand featured productsThis is a crucial step as it allows you to build timelines and ensure that your business is on track for the holidays. Remember, you’ll be spending a lot of your time processing orders, so having a set strategy takes a big weight off your shoulders.

First, decide which promotions you want to run. To determine which deals to offer, look back and see which offers fared well during the year and the previous holiday season. Free or reduced shipping is one of the most popular promotions for any industry. Discounts upon purchasing a certain number of products or dollar amount are also well-received.

In regards to timing, the retail and ecommerce industry both acknowledge Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) as one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Another huge day in ecommerce is Cyber Monday (the Monday following Black Friday). In 2009, over 80% of online retailers offered promotions specific to Cyber Monday. These are both prime opportunities to launch special offers that entice customers to buy.

To coincide with your promotions, decide which products you want to feature. This requires analysis of which items performed best throughout the year and previous holiday seasons. It’s also recommended to conduct market research for any developing buying trends in your industry. Deciding on these featured products allows you to make plans on site adjustments and marketing campaigns once the holidays come closer.

Finally, set specific timelines for your promotions and featured products – this will allow you to focus on bigger priorities like marketing and shipping.

2. Begin adjusting your onlinemarketing effortsThe holidays are a completely different ballgame for online shoppers, particularly regarding product searches. Thus, you should start making adjustments to your search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) efforts early on – SEO results takes patience and PPC requires fine tuning to find the right mix.

To get started, use your analytics tool to find which keywords are driving traffic to your site. Also, pull a report from previous holiday seasons to see which keywords brought the most visitors. Then, perform keyword research to see which industry keywords are important during the holidays – many of these will simply add the word “gifts,” “holidays,” or “presents” to your standard product keywords. Once these terms are identified, start increasing your ad spend and optimization efforts.

Another frequently overlooked online marketing aspect is design. Many of us think design is completely separate from marketing, but it’s actually one of the most powerful tools you have. Take a look at your site – is your design impressive to first-time visitors? Does the appearance encourage shoppers to trust your business and purchase something? If not, you’ve got a problem. Fortunately there’s plenty of time and options to make improvements. Whether you need a few design tweaks or a complete overhaul, start making enhancements now to prepare site for the rush of holiday shoppers.

3. Remind customers the holidays are comingThere’s nothing wrong with asking customers for their business. As the holidays come closer and closer, remind customers that you’re the perfect venue for their gifting needs. Even if customers aren’t ready to purchase holiday gifts now, they’ll remember you and come back later.

During the holiday season, highlight your business and promotions with tailored customer communications. You can do this by providing featured products and coupon codes in your newsletters, e-mails and social media outlets. Include the dates for customer communications in your plan so you have time to make your content as effective as possible.

4. Optimize your site forholiday conversionsOnce the holiday season arrives, there are several ways to tweak your site to convert more holiday sales. Here are a few tips how:

Make holiday design adjustments. This late in the game, there’s no time for a complete site makeover. You can, however, make updates to your homepage and category graphics to give your website a holiday feel. The idea here is to get site visitors into the holiday spirit so they’re more likely to spend.

Adjust your categories for easyholiday shopping. Take your best gift items or featured products and place them in holiday-specific categories. Some examples include “Gifts for Her” or “Gifts for Dad.” This tactic gives last-minute shoppers a quick way to dive into your products and find the perfect gift idea.

Prominently offer gift certificates onyour site.In 2009, over 60% of shoppers purchased gift cards or gift certificates during the holiday season. These items provide a quick option for shoppers and present you an opportunity for easy sales. With this in mind, promote gift cards throughout your site as a featured product or within your design template.

Tell shoppers the last day to purchase. You can create a sense of urgency by letting customers know the last day they can buy with guaranteed shipping arrival. If orders have to be made by December 22 for arrival on Christmas, inform customers of this ahead of time so they won’t be disappointed later.

Highlight your promotions everywhere. Sometimes the final push a holiday shopper needs is a simple reminder that they can save money. This means that you should spotlight your promotions throughout your webpages for continuous customer reference.

Whatever the case, be sure to track results against your metrics to see how you’re performing in each of your channels – this will allow you to make proper adjustments.

And voila! By following the above steps and catering them to your business, you’re well on your way to one of the best holiday shopping seasons on record. Regardless of industry, this prime e-tailing season is ripe for revenue, so make the most of it by planning ahead and working hard. Once your done, you’ll be able to enjoy the best holiday gift of all – online success!

The most wonderful time of year for your online business is coming quick. Make the most of it by following our Month by Month Playbook for Holiday Success to keep you on track. You can print it out, laminate it, stick it on your fridge – whatever you need to take advantage of what’s sure to be a booming holiday season!

www.volusion.comSend us a note. sales@volusion.comGive us a call. 800.646.3517 op. 2Experience Out of this World SupportTM at support.volusion.com

JulyBuild your overall holiday strategy and timeline

Conduct keyword research for holiday SEO andPPC efforts

Establish a budget and wish list for sitedesign changes

Begin research to identify any oncoming buying trends in your industry

AugustDefine your holiday promotions

Identify which products will be listed asfeatured products

Start your design projects if undergoing a majorsite overhaul

Optimize site content based on findings from your keyword research

Begin general PPC advertising

SeptemberBegin testing of email subject lines and promotions tosee which resonate best with customers

Check with suppliers to ensure inventory levels are secure for the next few months

Install Live Chat software on your site to handlecustomer inquiries

Revisit and finalize your customer return policy

OctoberFinish your overall site design

Move your featured products to the homepage ofyour store

Include a section in your email newsletter reminding customers of the holidays

Acquire any holiday or seasonal graphics for yoursite design

Contact your shipping provider to check for any new or reduced rates

NovemberAdd holiday oriented ads to your PPC campaigns

Insert holiday design elements to your store

Send a dedicated holiday newsletter to customers

Create holiday specific categories (“Gifts for Dad,” etc.)

Launch promos for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

DecemberSend reminder emails to customers with promotions and featured products

Indicate the last day to purchase with guaranteed arrival on your website

Enable an overnight shipping option forlast-minute shoppers

Sell, sell, sell – time is ticking!

Month by Month Playbook for Holiday Success