Six Cyber Monday Marketing Tips

 

Cyber Monday is fast approaching, the day when turkey-sated shoppers, back at work after a long weekend but perhaps less than enthused about it, turn to their keyboards to procrastinate — and kick-off their holiday shopping.

During 2006, ComScore Networks reported Cyber Monday sales rose 25 percent, versus the previous year, to around $608 million, and e-tailers are hoping to see more of the same this year.

"Although there are other days of the holiday shopping season that traditionally see traditionally more sales, this Internet shopping day gets most of the attention. It provides increased buying power for consumers along with increased sales opportunity for merchants and is a time of the year that shouldn't be overlooked," said Eric Leuenberger, co-founder of EnhancedConcepts.com, who also writes a blog at ZenCartOptimization.com on e-commerce issues.

So, with millions being spent online and the holidays quickly approaching, what can you do to help increase sales from your online store during Cyber Monday? Leuenberger offers six tips for e-tailers, that he said, are proven to be effective. "I don't recommend a strategy unless I've tested it," said Leuenberger. "You can't advise people unless you've tried it and found that it works." So, without further ado, here's some expert marketing advice:

1. Give a Free Gift Away for Orders Over a Certain Amount
   "I'm not talking free shipping promos. Add something different to it," said Leuenberger. "Something with a flare. Such as, 'If you buy this flashlight, get a pack of batteries free.' Make it worth their while. People expect free shipping, so if you're trying to be competitive, be the one who offers that plus a deal, and you'll get more sales."
3. Create Product Bundle Gift Packages
   Develop a "gift package" bundle that includes items that complement each other. Make sure the price of the bundled package costs less than if the shopper actually purchased each product separately from your store.

"We do quite a bit of testing, and this is one of those little things that makes a big difference to the bottom line," said Leuenberger. "It will boost the average order value."

1. List a Promotion on CyberMonday.com
   Use the marketing muscle of the site CyberMonday.com run by Shop.org. "A lot of smaller e-tailers don't know the site exists, but it's an extra area of exposure you can captilalize on," said Leuenberger. "To stand out, though, you have to have a great deal, something beyond just free shipping."

In fact, the site is getting a facelift this year. This year's new features include an option for shoppers to sign up to receive the best offers from e-tailers via e-mail every Monday; RSS feeds that provide up-to-the-minute updates on deals, discounts and promotions; dedicated pages highlighting merchants with free shipping offers, gift cards, and a holiday-themed page; a home page featuring hot holiday products and category-specific pages for quick shopping and product search capabilities allowing shoppers to search more than 15,000,000 product SKUs. To get information on how to get listed at the site, contact Kristyn Golier, vice president of merchant development at Mall Networks, the company that operates the site, at 781-541-6819 or kgolier@mallnetworks.com.

1. Follow Up Before and After Thanksgiving
   Make sure you send out an e-mail to your list at least a week before the scheduled "Cyber Monday" specials. Then, make sure you follow that up with another one early the morning of Cyber Monday reminding them of the deals to be found at your site. You want them to know what you have to offer, and then to remember it when the time comes to take advantage of it, said Leuenberger.
2. Give Customers A Way to Spread the Word
   Viral marketing is a wonderful thing, said Leuenberger. One happy customer gets a deal, then tells two other potential customers who buy, and the circle repeats itself. Pretty soon you have sales coming in from all angles. If you market properly about Cyber Monday you'll have an increase in traffic and you should make sure you take full advantage of that increase by asking (don't just assume it will happen) your customers to refer others. A good place to ask for the referral is on the confirmation page after a sale has been made.

"There are two things to keep in mind," he said. "One is that sometimes 'Tell A Friend' doesn't work on its own. You need to say, 'tell a friend, and get x amount off the next purchase.' Again, some may balk at offering yet another discount, but in the end, you get two people buying instead of one, so you can still profit. "The second thing is that the thank-you or confirmation page is the most viewed by customers, naturally, you have their attention because they want that assurance, and to know what's going to happen next with the order. It's a great idea to take advantage of that, and offer incentives for them to tell their friends about your products."

1. Offer Certain Deals Only on Cyber Monday but Promote for Several Days
   In order to create sales, you must sometimes create urgency, said Leuenberger. Make sure you stress that certain deals you are offering will only be made available during the 24-hour period called Cyber Monday. After that, they will no longer be found. And then stick to that principle.

Once people understand that your "limited offers" are truly "limited" your sales will show it with each subsequent promotion, he said. Offering only select deals on Cyber Monday is great, but make sure you run your entire promotional sale for other items over a multiple day period. You want to give users time to refer others to your store to get similar deals.

 

 

 

source: ecommerce-guide.com