Do you see a big drop in ecommerce traffic and sales after Christmas? You\u2019re not alone. Maybe it’s time to try an off season strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, cycles are a normal part of business. The high season is followed by the low season. Things heat up for a while, then cool back down. One day, it\u2019s tough to find time to eat lunch\u2014then, all of a sudden, you\u2019re scrambling to find something to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worst part is there doesn\u2019t seem like much can be done about it. Erratic traffic and erratic sales are to be expected. Such is life for an ecommerce team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s plenty that can be done to help smooth out the rollercoaster ride. You can keep employees busy and the transactions coming in year-round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stick with me a few minutes, and I\u2019ll provide examples of tactics you can use to accomplish that feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no reason for any ecommerce website to depend on last-quarter sales to carry the whole year\u2019s expenses. Follow these suggestions to keep customers coming back all year long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breaks in the action aren\u2019t always a bad thing. Basketball coaches use halftime to make strategic assessments, change up the game, and boost team morale. NASCAR<\/a> teams use December and January to rebuild and redesign, so their cars will run even stronger the next time the flag drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You, too, can use the off-season as a time for growth instead of a time to pull back. Sometimes, all it takes is a shift in mindset to turn slow-time doldrums into \u201cLet\u2019s get ready for the next round\u201d excitement. All you need is a different perspective \u2013 one that sees value in the quiet hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are five examples to get the ideas flowing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a code freeze<\/a> during the busy season, for example, your off-season is the perfect time to make changes. Less traffic means less load on your resources \u2013 both machine-based and human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the rush to keep the wheels turning, it\u2019s easy to forget you can purposely save some of the work for later. The old maxim about \u201cNever put off until tomorrow\u2026\u201d isn\u2019t always correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you been putting off a site redesign? Do you need to generate new images or other creative assets? Are there employees to hire or train? Do you need to launch an in-house initiative to make sure the team is working together effectively?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slow time is the best time to get those and many other tasks accomplished \u2014 not the time to take a break. Smart ecommerce VP\u2019s know their most lethal competitors are doing push-ups while others sleep. If you\u2019re going to compete with those astute ones, you\u2019ll need to do push-ups too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use A\/B Testing to optimize your website for your targeted audience segments. That will help to increase conversions and bring in more sales revenue all during the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s something else: once you\u2019ve optimized your site, you\u2019ll get more return on ad spend (ROAS). That will allow you to get more aggressive with advertising and attract even more visitors to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ads alone won\u2019t provide the desired results. You can get ten times more traffic, but fail to get an appreciable number of more sales. The often overlooked ingredient is digital experience optimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Higher numbers mean nothing if those visitors aren\u2019t converting from prospects into buyers. More about that in the next tip.<\/p>\n\n\nWhen you say ROI, do you mean return on investment or risk of inaction? -@pgillin <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Remove friction. Use the slower periods to analyze data from when things were hopping. Where did you underperform? Where are your biggest bottlenecks? Once you\u2019ve identified your stuck points<\/a>, you can plan improvements based on your highest impact areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of that assumes, of course, that you\u2019ve identified the metrics you\u2019ll need and the formulas you\u2019ll use. If you find there are holes in your strategic view, you\u2019ll need to patch them. Maybe you\u2019ll need new tools, maybe you\u2019ll need to train staff members, maybe you\u2019ll have to hire to cover lapses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your off-season strategy will include time to take a close look at the buyer\u2019s path to sales and kick the rocks out the way<\/a>. It may be there is no other activity that can pay off like this one. We preach it over and over and over again: traffic that doesn\u2019t convert is like a car with no wheels; you can steer it all you want, but it\u2019s not going to take you anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\nEvery aspect of marketing is entirely useless unless it produces conversions - @jeremysaid. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Keep your first-time customers coming back by designing and implementing an effective onboarding campaign via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can bring them back with offers of complementary products, for instance, or by offering special rewards for purchasing again soon. You\u2019re limited only by your imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main thing is to let those new customers know you appreciate their business, you\u2019re open to feedback on their shopping experience with you, and you want to keep them as ongoing customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Focus on what you can\u2019t do during the busy times<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Tailor your website to your target audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Find the roadblocks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Bring your new customers back during an off season strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n