Finish the yr robust; Start the yr stronger – Growth Decoded S2E4

This article is a round-up of Growth Decoded, a show that explores the relationship between customer experience and business growth, one topic at a time. to register here and conquer the customer experience!

Black Friday. Cyber ​​Monday. Saturday for small business. Tuesday give. Green Monday.

‘Tis the season again. The holidays are just around the corner and companies are launching compelling campaigns full of offers, discounts, and deductions aimed at attracting customers.

The holidays also mark the end of the calendar year. The end of the year is a good time to take stock of your company’s performance over the past 12 months, compare it to the previous year, and plan for the new year.

It’s also a chance to provide your customers with an incredible buying experience that will keep them coming back time and time again. and tell their friends about it.

But – as you know, the world looks and behaves differently than in the past.

2020 brought a whole new vacation experience with new predictions based on the changing landscape and a whole new way of shopping –

2021 is your year of pandemic vacation experience, and many 2020 trends will remain true as you step into this year’s season.

What hasn’t changed

There are still some unknowns for every country or state. There are labor shortages and delivery / production delays – even more this year when it comes to the supply chain.

However … you know these things exist. They know the importance of getting ahead of the holiday season and this can help you better prepare so that your business can successfully close in 2021.

Let’s look at this year’s landscape in context:

Corresponding eMarketer, total retail spend grew 6.5% overall in 2020, while e-commerce grew a whopping 32.5%.

Forecasts for 2021 predict a further increase in e-commerce growth of 11.3%.

Corresponding Don’t sell me, consumers say they will be making 51% of their purchases online and 49% of their in-store purchases this holiday season.

What does this mean for you as a company?

First of all, it has to be easy to buy from you. That means as close as possible to a smooth customer experience, regardless of whether your customers are in person or online.

Make sure you are able to collect customer information, automate processes and track all your customers – whether they are in a pop-up shop, your stationary location, by phone, on Instagram or through your online shop .

But it’s not just about ecommerce businesses. The holidays are big for all types of businesses.

With half of all Christmas shopping done online, you now have to compete for attention, traffic, and conversions in a new arena – online

1 in 2 purchases for the holidays will be made through online shopping. If you have relied on in-store purchases in the past, you will have to adapt.

If you’re a smaller business looking to make a splash, you have the option and a gigantic Consumer market.

If you’re not an ecommerce or retail company, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate. More people will be online than ever before, and digital or non-physical products (or services) are just as marketable as something sent through the mail.

The holidays are the end of the calendar year. And no matter what type of business you are, you want to close the year off to get started in the new year.

If you’re looking to create a campaign this holiday season, or are looking for ideas on how to bow and position yourself this year to kick off next year, here’s what you might want to know:

• When to start planning
• Things you can do right now
• What to watch out for this year
• Recommended course of action
• Common mistakes
• What to do after the holidays and at the end of the year

We covered all of this and more in our last episode of Growth Decoded. We wanted to break down the Christmas promotions at the end of the year and the best ways to close the year.

To do this, we met Milena and Jovana Vujnic from BumperLeads, an Australian marketing agency, and Brandon Kirkland EpicShops
– a digital marketing agency based in southern Oregon, United States.

Here’s what we learned:

Start planning now. Your holiday and year-end promotions are not a one-time initiative, but the culmination of all the things you’ve done all year round!

Build trust with your contacts and customers. Listen to them. And work to bring them quality content and value year round.

You don’t have to be an ecommerce company to run a Christmas campaign – In fact, some of the most successful Christmas or end-of-year campaigns come from companies you wouldn’t expect.

Your Christmas campaign doesn’t have to be a sale. It could be a digital event. It could be a way to do even more for your customers. It could be last year’s internal audit and jumpstart the big steps you will take next year.

This is what good Christmas campaigns and year-end plans have in common:

You take into account the differences in your audience. The future of e-commerce, of marketing, lies in the personalized customer experience.

Ask yourself:

• How can you improve your audience segmentation?
• What things do you do now that feel more like “one-size-fits-all” or group all your contacts in one bucket?
• How well do you know your customers?
• How much better COULD you know her?
• What doors would that open for you if you knew her so much better?

This article is a round-up of Growth Decoded, a show that explores the relationship between customer experience and business growth, one topic at a time. to register here and conquer the customer experience!