Top 3 tips to improve seasonal marketing plans

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First, let data be the guide by determining which seasonal trends your customers engage in. Not all online businesses, for example, will sell out of twinkle lights just because it’s the holiday season.

“To get started, retailers should look at their monthly sales volume and web traffic – which months experience the highest spikes and which have the lowest valleys? Then compare those numbers year over year to ensure that they’re consistent, and create an overall calendar that helps project when the highest volume will take place. On the customer service front, this calendar can help retailers know when to expect higher than normal contact volume and ensure that adequate inventory is available before the rush, whenever that may be,” said Matt Winn, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Volusion.

Second, allocate marketing budgets accordingly: Forecast marketing dollars for the busy periods to maximize ROI and drive qualified web traffic to retailers’ ecommerce sites. Sending additional emails, increasing spend for paid search, and offering more enticing discounts during the busy season is a helpful way to stay ahead or on par with primary competitors – remember, if it’s a busy season for you, it’s also a busy season for all the competitors in your industry, so stay ahead of the pack with savvy marketing.

Third, use the off season to your advantage by taking projects that are too clunky for the heavy seasons.

“For example, taking a look at potential efforts for conversion rate optimization and website redesigns make perfect sense during slower sales periods, as is implementing internal or external-facing tools to improve the overall customer experience. Much like a shampoo, retailers are encouraged to Sell, Optimize, and Repeat,” advises Winn.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.