Retail Holiday Readiness: Make It Special

Image Credits: national museum of american history

Welcome to the last installment of Retail Holiday Readiness, our series to help you prepare for the 12% increase that the holiday season might bring you. We’ve talked about stocking up and scaling up and being more findable.

Now that your shop is stocked and find-able, the last step in being ready for the holiday season is to make it last. Turn your 12% increase into a long-term growth by getting those holiday shoppers to return again and again. How? Take this opportunity, which is probably the first experience the shopper has with you, to delight them and make it easy for them to return.

First Impressions

While the holiday season brings an increase in traffic and sales, it also brings a wave of new-to-you shoppers. Every day you’ll be making a first impression on someone new, so it’s time to make sure you make an excellent one. If this first impression is pleasant (or downright lovely!) they’ll remember you the rest of the year. Half the job is already done by having your curated, well-stocked shop. The second half is to make the entire experience easy and special.

Make it easy

Start with the very first click: Is everything easy to find and easy to buy? Are coordinating products suggested? Are your policies and shipping information easy to find and understand? Answer all the customer’s questions before they have it. When the buyer is ready to check out, how simple is the process? Does it require signing in? Does every step look professional and trust-worthy?

Make it shine

Once the order is complete, let the rest of the transaction exceed all expectations. The expectations build from the moment they land on your shop - whatever you’ve promised in your policies regarding shipping, packing and communication must be delivered in a timely fashion. But this is also the best opportunity to shine. Make your post-sale communications friendly and brand-specific (are you chatty? Sunshine-y? Elegant? Hilarious?) and reiterate when the buyer can expect their package. And that package is a hundred chances to shine. Your wrapping, inclusions, labels, tags can all reinforce the experience of your brand.

Bring ‘em back

Now that you’ve delighted and surprised that buyer, how do you make sure they remember the experience after the holiday craziness is over? Send them a note, of course! Create a simple email list (I like Mailchimp) and invite all your customers to join it in your post-sale communication. Use the list to thank them for their patronage with discounts or customer-only specials, like access to a limited-run color or a private-label product. Keep your emails relevant and worthwhile and it can bring you repeat orders for years.

How are you planning for the holidays? How are you preparing to keep the growth in the new year?

Tara Swiger, the author of Market Yourself, is a right-word-crafter, yarn-maker and Starship Captain, and would love to discuss peppermint mochas with you on Twitter

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