Cyber Monday is a hot date in the diary. Dubbed by many as ‘Mega Monday’ it’s presence in the UK is starting to grow and it’s even beginning to surpass ‘Black Friday’ with an ever increasing number of retailers offering discounts and offers for online shoppers. So with all businesses jumping on the bandwagon to make sales, getting ahead of the game to ensure your business can compete is crucial this year.
Let’s look at a top five list of how to prepare and ensure great service throughout the day and afterwards. Remember: Do not make the mistake of getting set for just one day. Cyber Monday should really be seen as Cyber week!
Lengthen the campaign
To really capitalise on the potential of Cyber Monday ensuring everything is in place for just the official date, isn’t enough. The execution of the run-up, the date in question and post-event has to be coordinated as one campaign. Treat it as a one-week event so that customers know about the business and what it can offer well in advance to avoid missing the boat and losing out to competing brands.
Ramp up marketing
Step up brand and product awareness the week prior to Cyber Monday. If on a usual week one-two marketing emails are sent out, this should be increased by 50-100%. If Adwords are a normal part of the mix too, increasing the PPC budget for the week will mean ads and Google stars get the extra attention needed to drive sales.
Consider shopping behaviour
Just because it’s Cyber Monday that’s not to say shoppers won’t already have shopped on the high street or online beforehand – afterall pay day and Christmas holidays mean bargain shopping can start from as early as the 25th. Don’t miss out on a chance to lure customers in earlier. Black Friday might not be as big in Europe, but you can always use it as a way of getting noticed by customers that can be offered a sneak preview.
Spread the love with social
Social media is a great way to shout about Cyber Monday and pull in customers with offers such as free shipping and extra discounts. Even adopting a co-buying campaign is worth pursuing to help encourage the sharing of offers to generate increased recommendations, drive traffic to the website and engage shoppers.
Prepare for post-event
Think about extra orders. Retailers will leave themselves vulnerable to lost future business or negative reviews if they fail to consider resources to accommodate picking, packing and customer service. This could mean offering overtime for teams or even asking couriers for extra collection slots on the Monday and Tuesday to speed things up.