#HolidayPlaybook
DATA (August)
MARKETING(September)
WEBSITE(October)
FULFILLMENT(September)
Prioritize what you want to sell and forecast how much you’ll be selling.
Evaluate what worked last year, what’s been working this year, and what you want to learn for next year.
Optimize your website for a brand new customer.
Prep your partners.
The playbook
Data will point you to what you should be promoting this season and how much you’ll need.#HolidayPlaybook
#HolidayPlaybook
Identify your top-performing products
#HolidayPlaybook
Forecast demand
2013 Searches that yielded no results
Orders that weren’t fulfilled
2014
?
#HolidayPlaybook
DATA (August)
MARKETING(September)
WEBSITE(October)
FULFILLMENT(September)
Prioritize what you want to sell and forecast how much you’ll be selling.
Evaluate what worked last year, what’s been working this year, and what you want to learn for next year.
Optimize your website for a brand new customer.
Prep your partners.
The playbook
Build marketing around what worked last year, what’s working this year, and what you want to learn for next year.#HolidayPlaybook
#HolidayPlaybook
Evaluate what worked last year
2013 2014vs.
#HolidayPlaybook
Jan. – Oct.
Evaluate what’s been working this year
Nov.-Dec.vs.
“Most companies start with a budget and then allocate it. We don’t. We use RJMetrics to find the channels with the best ROI, and then spend money there.”
Vishal AgarwalCMO
Nomorerack.com
#HolidayPlaybook
Treat main days differently
Nov.-Dec.Black Friday
Cyber Monday
Free Shipping Day
#HolidayPlaybook
Plan what you want to learn for next year
Ask shoppers if they’re buying a gift Test new campaign ideas Introduce a new product line Try something you haven’t done before: social
referral campaign, retargeting ads, etc. Ask yourself: What do I wish I knew about last
year?
#HolidayPlaybook
DATA (August)
MARKETING(September)
WEBSITE(October)
FULFILLMENT(September)
Prioritize what you want to sell and forecast how much you’ll be selling.
Evaluate what worked last year, what’s been working this year, and what you want to learn for next year.
Optimize your website for a brand new customer.
Prep your partners.
The playbook
Searches result in 11% higher average order value than non-searches.#HolidayPlaybook
Optimize site search
“We had one month before the holiday rush and needed to focus on the highest-impact area, we chose to optimize our site search.”Victor Castro
Director of EcommerceZachy’s Fine Wine
13% increase Conversion Rate98% increase in Transactions130% increase in Revenue19% decrease in Bounce Rate
The Results 13% increase in conversion
rate 98% increase in
transactions 130% increase in revenue 19% decrease in bounce
rates
Remove every single possible barrier preventing a customer from finding the perfect gift.#HolidayPlaybook
Create curated landing pages
“We pose everything as a gift. We want to make sure every single customer knows why a subscription to our product will bring the gift recipient ongoing happiness as well as the ease of giving the gift. This is a basic tip, but it works.”
Walter BlakeCEO
Bocandy.com, bojerky.com
Give your top-performing products extra love
Don’t let your competitors surprise you. Have a process & practice in place for monitoring the competitive landscape.#HolidayPlaybook
#HolidayPlaybook
DATA (August)
MARKETING(September)
WEBSITE(October)
FULFILLMENT(September)
Prioritize what you want to sell and forecast how much you’ll be selling.
Evaluate what worked last year, what’s been working this year, and what you want to learn for next year.
Optimize your website for a brand new customer.
Prep your partners.
The playbook
#HolidayPlaybook
Pay attention to the big three
Black FridayNovember 28
Cyber MondayDecember 1
Free Shipping
DayDecember 15
#HolidayPlaybook
Streamline your supply chain
“Long before the holidays start we have to talk with our partners to forecast demand, ensure that products will continue to be available, and strengthen the distribution channel of products to us and products to our customers. These conversations ensure no one is surprised by volume and that our customers receive quality gifts every time.”
Tanner AgarCEO
The Chef Shelf
What about mobile?
#HolidayPlaybook
Estimates in 2011
#HolidayPlaybook
Actual 2013
Actual: $42.13B +
Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Total-US-Retail-Sales-Top-3645-Trillion-2013-Outpace-GDP-Growth/1010756
#HolidayPlaybook
New Estimates for 2014
Actual: $42.13B +Estimated: $114B
Source: http://mashable.com/2014/05/12/mobile-commerce-sales/
Thanks for reading!(and happy holidays!)