Cyber Monday. The term was coined in 2005 by Shop.org , giving a name to the Monday directly after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. This is the day that retailers use to encourage customers to look online for holiday deals. For those people who like to avoid the mall, but still want to get great deals, Cyber Monday is an excellent time to start shopping. If you are a small to medium business owner, especially one with an active online presence, creating a plan for Cyber Monday can bring in holiday shoppers and boost your revenue. Keep in mind these tips and you will be ready to take this huge online shopping day by storm!
- Let’s Make a Deal – Customers expect your best deals on this day. Pull out all the stops and offer a couple of “door buster” deals that will attract shoppers. If you have other good deals, your customers will include those too.
- Promotional Codes – While offering sale prices is great, many shoppers feel like they are getting the best deals when they are using promotional codes. Consider a code that offers a percentage off a total sale of a certain value (such as 20% off orders of $100 or more) giving customers a reason to add an extra item to an order.
- Free Shipping – It is not always practical, but if you can, find a way to offer free or discounted shipping (even on only larger purchases). This infographic by Shopify states that 43% of customers abandon their “online shopping cart” at checkout when they find high shipping prices.
- Email Campaign – Make sure you let your current customers know about your big Cyber Monday sale. A simple email allows you to share your promotions. Make sure you encourage customers to share the email with friends.
- Blog – If your store has a blog, make sure you ramp up excitement by blogging about your Cyber Monday deals. If you are not skilled in promotional writing, look into blog writers for hire and let an expert wordsmith craft your posts.
- Social Media – Social media is more important than it has ever been before. Make sure you post regularly on your Facebook page, Twitter profile and any other active social media pages. You should also optimize your blog posts about your sale for easy sharing on social media. A great sale with well-optimized posts could get viral exposure.
Once Cyber Monday is passed, you are in a prime position to continue your reaching new and repeat customers throughout the holiday season. Take advantage of your new connections and stay in touch with your customers. While Cyber Monday is the prime time for online sales, as you get closer to the holiday, you may want to offer sales on overstocked products or off-season services. Keep in mind your goals to raise your overall revenue and this could be your best holiday season yet.
Tracy S is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
