Dan Leberman, Vice President, GM of North America SMB Core/Online Business, PayPal
1. Don’t offer discounts to buy, offer discounts to buy MORE
A time when the masses are expecting to spend a little more than usual is a great opportunity to clear out your inventory. But rather than sell your individual products and services for a special holiday price, offer a discount when customers spend over a set amount (e.g. “10% off if you spend over $150”) or if customers buy several items all at once (e.g. “20% off if you buy more than 5 items”).
Not only will you minimize the risk that you give away deals where you don’t need to, but you also will assuredly increase the average order size.
2. Craft very straightforward marketing and sales language on your site
Very few visitors closely read the words on your webstore. This is especially true during holiday shopping rush. To capture the conversion you seek, make sure to be simple and clear in guiding customers around your site, attracting them to certain areas, and describing the key benefits of your products. Some tactical tips include:
Provide gift suggestions so customers can find useful products even if they don’t know exactly what they are looking for Use special fonts sparingly where you want to draw attention Write one-line bullets emphasizing benefits of each products
3. Leverage low-cost marketing channels that don’t require advance planning
Social media platforms, offer engines, and email-retargeting campaigns can be fairly quick and relatively low-cost ways to engage new and existing customers. But when we’re all suffering from the inevitable information overload that comes with holiday marketing, it takes a little finesse to be heard.
Engage with online shoppers using bite-sized chunks of content in these channels, and don’t be afraid to try out less crowded channels. Vine, for example, is perfect for this type of content: short, simple, and best yet, free. Home Depot, a PayPal merchant, has done this recently with fun videos that are engaging, easy to consume, and can be shared on other networking sites.
Start Thinking About Next Year Now
Use this year’s holiday shopping season to take note of what you wish you had done this year, and get the jump on next year right now. If you are looking to get ahead in one particular area, pay special attention to cross-border trade (CBT) as an opportunity area in which to invest early. Already, 50% of online shoppers are currently buying from other countries around the world. If you get on board with cross-border, you can boost sales throughout next year, and especially during next year’s holiday season.
While going global might sound a little daunting, PayPal eases the process by offering a guide that’ll help you get started (see our 6 step guide to international holiday sales here. Also, check out some videos from a recent event I hosted with a number of insightful PayPal merchants talking about cross-border trade:
Good luck with the holiday rush!