It’s that time of the year again. We are right in the heart of the holiday shopping season and both online and brick-and-mortar retailers expect the highest traffic at this time of the year. This is great for retailers, but competition is also likely to be higher than normal. We will be discussing some of the best practices that can help a retailer stay ahead of the competition.
Below are some tips on how to run a successful holiday campaign:
1. Keep it Simple:
Simplicity tends to work very well for any campaign, but this is especially true for a holiday campaign. When building a Google or Facebook campaign, it is best to start with a focus on a few core products or services that are most likely to set you apart from competitors, which brings me to the next point.
2. Competition Will Be Fierce
It is no surprise that every retailer wants in during the busiest time of the year. After all, this means more sales and more profits. But with such an increase in the volume of shoppers also comes a large increase in competition. When it comes to paid social and Google campaigns, this translates into higher cost per click since the platforms work on a bidding system.
To get around this, we always recommend increasing the campaign budgets during this time. A 30% increase is a good place to start, but this number can vary depending on the client’s vertical. Again, as a retailer, you are investing more money into a campaign that is also very likely to yield higher than normal returns.
While budget is a big part of the equation, it is also important to be mindful of cart abandonment. Again, with the competition being so fierce, shoppers have many retailers to choose from. Some ways to prevent high bounce rates are being transparent about pricing (i.e., avoiding unexpected tacked-on fees), ensuring that the site is and feels secure, and keeping the checkout process as simple and streamlined as possible.
3. Avoid False Urgency
This one relates very closely to creating trustworthiness with customers and avoiding high cart abandonment rates. Although that false sense of urgency could create short-term success for the campaign, it will likely not work so well in the long run. Establishing trust with your customer base is an essential step in getting ahead of the competition.
4. Do Not Neglect Existing Customers
Returning customers are a very important part of any campaign, and holiday campaigns are no exception. These customers are also likely to have a lower cost of acquisition. Think of a customer that explicitly searches for your site and lands there organically with the intent to buy a product, as opposed to a newcomer who clicks on your non-branded paid campaign.
Furthermore, word-of-mouth is a very powerful form of (free) marketing. This is why it is so important to pay very close attention to existing customers. Customers who had a positive experience will also be more likely to respond positively to a remarketing campaign.
5. Plan Ahead
When you are getting ready to sell merchandise for the holidays, it is important to plan for inventory ahead of time. Success for a paid or organic campaign does not happen overnight, and the same idea applies to a holiday campaign. Ideally, you want your Holiday campaign ready to roll before Halloween. Not only will this give you a head start from the competition in terms of online presence, but you will also have a chance to optimize the campaign for the right audiences, resulting in higher ROI’s.
Boost Your Holiday Sales This Year with a Paid Campaign from VDS
At V Digital Services, we strive to provide a high level of service in order to help our clients meet their business goals, and this also holds true for the holidays. We actively follow the latest industry trends and adhere to best practices to ensure success. We pride ourselves on maintaining an open line of communication and transparency with our clients.
Learn how a paid campaign can boost your Holiday sales this year!
Sources: Big Commerce, Forbes
Image Sources: Faizal Ramli / Golubovy / TierneyMJ / Dzun / Nomofoto / Shutterstock
Thank you for sharing your blog, seems to be useful information can’t wait to dig deep!