There are certain occasions that retailers up and down the country look to target in order to make timely boosts to sales and encourage brand engagement.
Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, Mother’s Day is a great chance for people to visit their mother, or even their mother’s in law, and shower them with great gifts and presents.
So with Mother’s Day 2019 on the horizon, we wanted to give you some helpful tips and ways to ensure that this year, you make sure that you take the opportunity to increase revenue. We’ve picked out a few key things to consider as a retailer.
1 – Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
It’s an old adage but it is certainly applicable here. Any online store needs to know what they’re doing ahead of time and make a special effort when it comes to a big event like Mother’s Day.
This of course applies to events throughout the calendar, so a worthwhile exercise is sitting down with your team and identifying the key events you want to target in relation to your business. You can then come up with strategies around how to take advantage of these events, and select the optimum time to start each campaign.
For example, could your store create campaigns around any of the below?
- St Patrick’s Day
- Father’s Day
- Easter
- Christmas
- April Fools’ Day
- Halloween
- Major Sporting Events
It’s all about identifying where you can make that connection to the event, and finding ways to make customers excited about what you’re doing and offering.
Creating a campaign calendar can help you find the measured, strategic approach to marketing campaigns that will allow you to succeed all year long.
2 – Set up a dedicated section on your store
For any retailer looking to push specific products ahead of a big event such as Mother’s Day, it’s important to have everything you want to sell in one place.
So ahead of any big event, be sure to create a dedicated section of your website that includes all relevant items. Including this on your main navigation bar or having a direct click-through block on your homepage makes it clear to visitors looking for Mother’s Day gifts for example where they should head to, and might actually provide them with a timely reminder that they need to get their mums something before March 31st – which is Mothering Sunday this year just in case you’ve not got it in your diary!
3 – Where are you focusing your marketing efforts?
How can you get the word out about what you’re doing this Mother’s Day? By having a well-planned and well-executed marketing strategy.
SEO-optimised blogs are a great way to appear higher in search results and attract more and more shoppers to your online store.
A timely email marketing push can also make subscribers aware of what you have available, while social media provides the perfect opportunity to create a buzz and excitement ahead of the event.
Look to place yourself as the ideal retailer to help your customers make this Mother’s Day extra special.
4 – Make things as easy as possible to purchase
So you’ve attracted a customer, convinced them to buy their mum something from your store thanks to the great products you sell, and they’re about to commit to buying.
The last thing you need is to put them off at the last minute due to a convoluted, frustrating payment process.
Having a streamlined payment process is the best way to ensure as many transactions are completed as possible and there are a low percentage of cart abandonments.
There are plenty of ecommerce platforms out there that make this possible. For example, Magento Commerce has a two-step checkout process, meaning fewer opportunities for cart abandonment.
Be sure to review your current payment process and if there’s a way to enhance it, don’t delay!
5 – Push your USPs
What makes your store different to the competition? Are you selling Mother’s Day presents for less than your competitors? Do you have an exceptional delivery offering?
Whether you offer personalised gifts, Mother’s Day cards, gift sets or other products that will help your customers make this Mother’s Day one to remember, make sure that potential customers know what benefits they can take advantage of by shopping with you.
A good experience ahead of this event could see them return to your online store time and time again.
Get Mother’s Day 2019 right
Whether you specialise in giftware, homeware, fashion or something else, by adopting a strategic marketing approach, there’s a chance to boost your sales this Mother’s Day.
Get your ecommerce store ready and prepared and make sure Mother’s Day 2019 is one to remember for your business.
Looking to optimise or upgrade your ecommerce store? Get in touch with Williams Commerce.
