For online business owners, this time of year can be very stressful. With the holiday season creeping up on you and your sales starting to slow down, it’s easy to start feeling like you’re losing momentum.

But don’t worry! We’ve got some strategies for how to keep your sales engine running strong through the holidays so that not only will you survive but thrive as well!

Why Are Holiday Sales Important?

Holiday sales are significant not only to stay afloat but also for your overall business health. The holiday season is the time of year when businesses make money hand-over-fist, and online business owners are no different.

Of course, you’ll want to take care of your regular customers by making sure they have an excellent experience throughout the holiday season. However, you also want to make sure that you’re also focusing on acquiring new customers who are likely to generate additional sales for you after the holidays.

Why Acquiring New Customers Is Important?

New customers are important because they expand your base of potential buyers. You see, people buy from businesses they know, like, and trust. So if you can acquire new customers during the holiday season when business sales are high, there’s a good chance they’ll become regular customers who keep buying from you long after the holidays are over.

Why Focus on Both Holiday Sales and New Customers?

Although it may seem counterintuitive to focus on acquiring new customers simultaneously as focusing on generating holiday sales, it makes a lot of sense.

After all, if you can acquire new customers that enjoy your products and intend to continue buying from you in the future, then that’s additional revenue that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. So for every customer, you bring in during the holidays, there’s a good chance you’ll make extra money from them in the future.

How to Succeed at Holiday Sales and Acquiring New Customers

Now that you know why holiday sales are essential, how you can focus on acquiring new customers during this time, and why it makes sense to focus on both, let’s talk about what you need to do to succeed.

Focus on your brand. 

Your branding is the foundation for everything else you do to market and sell your products or services, so you must take care of it and use it as a starting point for all of your holiday efforts.

Buyers don’t just want another product; they want a solution to their problems. So if you can develop a strong brand that establishes you as an expert in your niche, it will make people more likely to buy from you.

Add value to your product. 

What makes your products or services unique? What qualities do they possess that make them stand out? How are they better than the competition’s offerings?

People want the best product for the lowest price, so if you can show people how your products are an incredible value, they’ll be more likely to buy from you during the holidays.

Train your support team. 

The holiday season is stressful enough without dealing with poor customer service on top of everything else! Make sure your support representatives are aware of how to handle high volume customer inquiries. After all, you wouldn’t want your customers leaving negative reviews because they had a bad shopping experience with you!

Get your sales to funnel in order.  

Think about what happens when someone buys from you. First, they go through the sales process, which gradually brings them closer and closer to the point of purchase.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What can you do to make this process easier for them? For example, can you place links right on the product pages, so their shopping experience is simpler and more streamlined? Or perhaps you could organize everything into categories that are easy to browse through, like by brand or price. These techniques will keep customers from being overwhelmed, so they’ll be more likely to complete the sales process.

Prioritize customer satisfaction.  

Customer satisfaction is critical for building a loyal base of customers. You can’t afford to lose potential holiday shoppers by having dissatisfied customers leave negative reviews on their social media pages and other online sources available for all to see.

Avoid internal mistakes like sending the wrong product colour, and ensure your support team is appropriately trained. Monitor the comments on your social media pages to see if any issues need to be resolved quickly.

Focus on mobile marketing. 

Today, more people than ever before in history own smartphones, and they’re quickly becoming the primary source for online shopping. So don’t let your holiday sales be low because you’ve neglected to optimize your company’s website for mobile browsing.

Think about it; if people search for products on their phones instead of desktops, why would you invest all of your money in desktop users? Unfortunately, this is an area that many people are neglecting, so it’s an opportunity for you to gain an advantage over your competition with little effort on your part.

Use the right keywords when optimizing your website. 

When search engine users plug in their desired keywords into Google’s search bar, what will they see when clicking on the results page? If you’ve optimized your website, the top results will be sites relevant to the keywords they’re searching for.

To rank high on Google’s search results page during the holidays, you need to use specific keywords that people might use when searching online for holiday gifts. Also, keep in mind that new products or services may not appear when searching for big-name brands, so make sure you use different keywords to get the best results.

A firm brand name goes a long way when it comes to making your company more successful in any business venture! If people can quickly identify what your company is all about due to its unique branding, they’re more likely to choose you over the competition.

Promote your brand on social media.  

Social media is a great way to promote your company and the products you offer, but it needs to be done correctly for people to trust you as a reputable seller. For example, if your Facebook posts are about sales and deals, potential holiday shoppers will think that they only want you as a last resort.

Instead, share informative posts that your followers will find interesting and appealing. By taking this approach, you’ll gain people’s trust as someone genuinely interested in making their lives better.

Email Returning Customers.

It’s essential to make sure you have a refined email marketing strategy if you want to withstand the holiday shopping season. What do they want when people are stressed out trying to get gifts for their loved ones? They want someone who can save them money while still providing outstanding customer service.

With an effective email marketing campaign, you can keep your loyal customers coming back for more. Make sure that all of your promotional emails are personalized based on past purchases, and offer exclusive deals to make their email address worthwhile.

Offer Free Shipping.

If you’re selling something online, there shouldn’t be any reason people avoid your company simply because they don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. That’s why you should always offer free shipping as an incentive for people to buy from you instead of the competition.

Your customers will appreciate being able to order products from you without worrying about the cost of shipping, and it gives you a good reputation as an online store. Even if your competitors are charging less for their products, people will realize that they’re sacrificing quality to make more money off shipping fees.

Next time someone’s browsing through different eCommerce websites during the holidays, why should they choose your company? Offering great prices and valuable incentives will make them realize that you’re the company to turn to during this busy time of year.

However, to gain people’s trust, you need to have a marketing strategy that keeps your brand at the top of the list when holiday shoppers make their final buying decisions.

Generally speaking, people don’t buy products online on a daily basis. When they’re stressed out during the holidays trying to shop for everyone on their list, they hope that someone like you is offering great deals and incentives that will make it convenient for them to purchase gifts.

With these 10 tips in mind, even small businesses can have an effective marketing strategy during the holiday shopping season, which is one of the most profitable times of year for eCommerce companies.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to handle customer orders during the holidays?

The most important thing you need to respond quickly if customers have questions or concerns. If someone puts order in but then decides they would like something else, try to help them change their order as soon as possible so they don’t feel panicked. You can also include a short note in the package of their previous purchase, wishing them a happy holiday and reminding them to put your company at the top of their list for any future purchases.

What is the main thing eCommerce businesses need to do during this busy time of year?

During the holidays, you need to offer special deals and incentives to attract seasonal shoppers. This is when having a marketing strategy in place is incredibly beneficial since it will help to transform the way people think of your company.

Why is free shipping important during the holiday shopping season?

One of the biggest reasons some people don’t buy products online is that they don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on shipping. By offering free shipping as an incentive, you can boost your sales and make your customers feel like they’re getting the best deal possible. The more people who buy from you this holiday season, the better your chances of gaining new loyal customers.

What should companies do if their customers change their minds about placing an order?

If customers contact your company asking to cancel their order, you need to respond quickly. You can make an offer to help them change their order instead of letting the customer feel like they’re stuck wasting money on something they don’t want anymore.

Last Thoughts

If you’re looking for the latest tips to help your business succeed this holiday season, we hope these three strategies will be helpful.

You’ll need to start with an effective SEO or marketing strategy that drives sales by considering how your customers think and feel at different stages of the purchase process.

Next is a thorough understanding of what consumers are searching for during their shopping experience so you can better target them online with ads on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.

Finally, it’s important not to forget about customer service – they might have questions before making a purchase decision so make sure there are easy ways for them to get in touch!