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10 tips on how to succeed at the peak of the 2023 season

The main season online arrives for most e-commerce projects with the fall. Owners of e-shops and marketers know that Christmas and the sudden Black Friday are just around the corner. And one needs to be as prepared as possible for the rush. So what are the important points that you should always think about well in advance, if you want to make the most of this season?

8 min read

Petra Klemová
5.10.2023

author Petra Klemová

10 tips on how to succeed at the peak of the 2023 season

8 min read

Petra Klemová
5.10.2023

1. Plan with sufficient lead time

Having a good plan is essential. Ideally, you are already following it (after all, Christmas in e-shops starts to be discussed as early as spring). Thanks to it, you won't be surprised by problems such as stock outages, misunderstandings with suppliers, too much pressure on the website, or even a constantly ringing phone that no one will be able to answer. Analysis of last year's season will provide you with valuable data and important numbers. In addition, it is important to set a goal for this season. An example is a target turnover, according to which you will then know what number of orders will be key for you. And also the margin you need to set within the goods. However, it is always necessary to work with numbers against the background of cash flow, which you will always have under control.

Broken down into detail, you will want a plan for:

inventory,
human capital (manual execution of orders, administration, and customer care),
transport,
marketing and campaigns (how to support the business),
budget (personnel costs and increased expenses for inventory or marketing activities).

UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: When planning costs, do not forget the basic mathematics. If you plan to achieve 50 orders a day during the season, instead of the current 30, it will not be possible without a higher POR – the cost ratio on turnover.

2. Make your website more attractive in organic search

After all, it doesn't have to be just a paid campaign that brings new customers to the website. Check, how you are doing in terms of organic search (unpaid search results). You may discover weaknesses that are depriving you of new orders. SEO – search engine optimization, includes, in addition to technical elements (website speed, indexing), also incorporating relevant keywords, valuable content in the right form and linkbuilding. Investing in search engine optimization will ultimately pay off even after the season. Since SEO does not turn off, with continuous optimization you will benefit from it for a much longer time.

UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: A nutritious article with tips on how to improve SEO and be first in search can be read on our blog.

3. Do not neglect UX and the customer journey through the website

UX – user experience is one of the most important factors that decide whether a customer will make a purchase with you. While on the one hand, you are trying to get more customers to the website through paid campaigns and better SEO, on the other hand, it can easily happen that you will have a higher increase in page abandonment. Why?

The reason is simple:

the user does not find what they are looking for on the page,
the customer cannot navigate the categories,
the form to be filled out is lengthy,
and so on.

There are indeed many mistakes and missteps that websites still have not fine-tuned from a UX perspective. The journey through the website (from the first display of the page to the completion of the shopping process) should be intuitive, friendly, and uncomplicated for the customer.

UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: Our UX/UI designers have put together a checklist with the most common mistakes that cause a customer to abandon the cart. An example is the lack of support during shopping (online chat or telephone contact), incorrectly set validation fields, or the need to fill out complete forms repeatedly in case of an error. Read the entire list of most common mistakes.

4. Improve customer service, you will improve CX

User experience even has its own extension. CX (customer experience) – customer experience includes the impressions your customer gains within all touchpoints when they come into contact with your company. An example is also a brick-and-mortar store or customer care.

Customer service is ultimately one of the significant factors in the decision-making process for a purchase. Therefore, it is important to provide support at every stage of the shopping process. There are several channels. Online chat directly on the website, always visible quick contact, thoughtfully elaborated FAQ, swift responses from the support team and even customer care after the purchase itself (complaints, service, etc.). In a busy period, definitely count on a higher influx. During it, customers will appreciate if:

customer support is available even in later hours (for example, after 18:00),
online chat is in active mode,
they can ask questions directly in the product detail,
they get an answer to a question even if it is not possible in real-time (effective management of inquiries at the customer care department).

5. Automate and fully utilize AI

While on one hand, you need strong customer support, on the other hand, it is sometimes personnel and financially demanding to ensure it. And that's the moment when a smart chatbot or tools based on artificial intelligence will help you. In both cases, automation relieves support, especially in a strenuous season. The currently most inclined tool Chat GPT can help you with content creation and overall content strategy, keyword analysis, PPC advertising, or even understanding the search intent of your potential customers.

Proof that AI can increase sales are automatic recommendations, which offer the website visitor supplementary or complementary goods and services. Without manual clicking, complex pairing, and administrator intervention. The golden nail is effective upsell and cross-sell in the cart, large product detail, or another part of the website, which increases the conversion ratio (on average 3 – 5 times) and subsequently also revenues. In the case of the cart by 4.5% per visit and in the case of a large detail even by 25%.

Do you have a contact database? Use it! Email marketing is still one of the strongest tools to draw customers into the whirl of shopping. Remind them through the newsletter of unused loyalty points or offer a special benefit (for example, a discount code or time-limited actions) or premium content and let them know about you before the biggest shopping holidays of the year. This period is also a suitable opportunity to expand the database with new email addresses for newsletter subscription.

The same goes for remarketing chase. The costs for it are lower than acquiring new customers. Display the offer to those who have already shopped with you or remind those who for some reason did not complete the purchase and left the shopping cart abandoned.

Depending on which social networks you choose, create interesting content for your target group. You don't have to be everywhere, but choose at least one channel as dominant and regularly post. Within the Meta space (Facebook and Instagram), you can also use effective advertising campaigns, which you can effectively target according to interests. Today, well-thought-out automatic tools can create a campaign with interesting results.

UIČKOVSKÝ TIP: At ui42, we can manage advertising campaigns for our selected clients thanks to the ROI HUNTER tool with better results than before. Read how we create more effective ads with lower costs.

In addition, do not forget about organic reach of Tik-Tok, Twitter with low advertising costs and niche LinkedIn if it is in line with your business. However, activity is not just in content creation. Potential customers will appreciate if you engage with them in the comments.

8. Create content that makes sense

Unique and beneficial content, based on a well-processed keyword analysis is the way to give added value to your potential clients. Interesting articles, a premium e-book, or the aforementioned posts on social networks are exactly what creates your competitive advantage. Share your know-how, show that you are a specialist in your field, or offer advice, tips, and solutions to exactly those problems that trouble your customers. In addition to all the above-mentioned advantages, content marketing contributes to brand building.

Similarly, as in the case of SEO, it is an activity from which you can benefit in the long term. If you create meaningful content according to a well-thought-out content plan throughout the year, you are also preparing for the main season and do not have to catch up on things at the last minute.

In addition to classic content on the page, you can also create categories or landing pages that focus more specifically on Christmas themes. Or add the theme of Christmas as filters to the search (Christmas gifts, gifts for grandma, etc.).

9. Work with data

Data are the most important information, according to which you should make decisions. Experienced e-commerce players therefore monitor, analyze, and evaluate them on a regular basis. In addition to showing exactly where the shopping process on the website fails, they also provide valuable information about customer behavior anywhere on the website (immediate departure rate, cart abandonment). To be able to work with them, do not forget to clean up your Google Analytics account. Ideally, a data analysis tool that allows you to collect and handle data in your ownership. Focus on seasonal products and services, or those you want to push the most. A few tips on what not to forget: