Marketing: Prepare Your eCommerce Website for High-Traffic Events
You've invested resources and money into driving traffic to your website. It's the most efficient platform to convince your visitors to become your customers. With sales events, it's crucial you ensure your ecommerce website not only survives but thrives during peak sales seasons. We've curated a list of essential tasks and strategies designed to supercharge your marketing efforts, engage your audience effectively, and drive those coveted conversions.
Marketing Strategies for eCommerce
◻ Plan early and assign ownership: Decide who is in charge of which tasks and create procedures to quickly update website content and media. – Colin Vleerbos, Senior Marketeer, Gorilla Wear on How to Get a Competitive Edge on Black Friday
◻ Collect Data: Collect data from previous sales events to make a comprehensive plan and ensure you have the capabilities to adjust your strategy in real time. Track your key performance indicators (KPIs) and respond to fluctuations as needed. – Manuel Nicanor Gioffré, Commercial Director, Improntus
◻ Learn from Past Promotions: Analyze past event promotions and learn from your successes and failures. Also, research competitor promotions to see what’s working for them. – Rogier Ikink, Marketing Manager, Gorilla Wear on How to Get a Competitive Edge on Black Friday
◻ Display your brand and products clearly on your website: Make it a priority to visually clarify and present your brand identity, product range, and industry expertise to establish trust with visitors. Use high-resolution images and graphics to effectively convey your brand’s message and values. Try SpeedSize to leverage impressive brand visuals without slowing down site speed. – Colin Vleerbos, Senior Marketeer, Gorilla Wear on How to Get a Competitive Edge on Black Friday
◻ Abandoned Cart Recovery: Implement a strong strategy to bring back users who abandon carts. This can significantly boost sales during any event. Magento users can use Amasty’s Abandoned Cart Email extension to automatically send personalized recovery emails. – Anastasia Yaskevich, Content and Communications Specialist, Amasty
◻ Use AI for Content Creation: Use AI-powered tools like ChatGPT to generate product descriptions, blog post ideas, and social media captions. This can help you keep your content fresh and engaging. See Amasty’s extension. – Anastasia Yaskevich, Content and Communications Specialist, Amasty
◻ Exit-Intent Popups: Implement exit-intent popups offering discounts or promotions to capture potential lost sales. Make sure they work perfectly if you wish to keep them during the event itself
◻ Update Product Info: Ensure that all product information, including prices and descriptions, are accurate, consistent with marketing campaigns, and up-to-date.
◻ Highlight a single, compelling discount: Direct your ecommerce efforts to feature a top deal—one that’s attractive enough that you’d want it too. Keep your messaging straightforward and make this discount the focal point of your sales communication. Simpler, clearer promotions have proven to drive revenue better than a scattergun approach to discounts. – Rogier Ikink, Marketing Manager, Gorilla Wear on How to Get a Competitive Edge on Black Friday
◻ High-Quality Videos: Use high-quality videos for product descriptions, explainer/educational demos, and branding purposes. Videos can help set the mood, engage customers visually, show product details, and educate customers about the benefits of your products. Use SpeedSize technology to ensure these videos load quickly without slowing down your website.
◻ Include Video Demos: Incorporate short product demo videos to provide users with a better understanding of your products and increase conversion rates. With SpeedSize no-code integration, you can use videos without worrying about loading speed or low quality. Learn More from Shopify
◻ Landing Page Testing: Conduct A/B testing across marketing channels and your landing pages to optimize elements like buttons, banners, and advertisements way before the sales event. Continuously measure and adjust your campaigns, but avoid A/B testing during the event itself (see next point). – Colin Vleerbos, Senior Marketeer, Gorilla Wear on How to Get a Competitive Edge on Black Friday
◻ Suspend A/B Testing for Peak days: The JavaScript code required for A/B testing can impact your pagespeed, especially during high-traffic events like Black Friday. To maintain a fast and responsive website during this critical period, consider temporarily suspending A/B testing or use a server-side solution. Read More – Roderik Derksen, Commercial Director, RUMvision
◻ Gift Card Promotions: Create exclusive event gift card promotions using Amasty’s Gift Card extension. Encourage customers to purchase and share gift cards as gifts during the holiday season. – Anastasia Yaskevich, Content and Communications Specialist, Amasty
◻ Test Promo Codes: Test all promotional codes and discounts to ensure they work correctly.
◻ Shipping Countdown: Create a shipping countdown to create urgency and offer expedited shipping options for last-minute shoppers. Magento users can use Amasty’s Shipping Suite Pro for this. – Anastasia Yaskevich, Content and Communications Specialist, Amasty
◻ SEO: High-traffic sales events aren’t just short-term boosts; they lay the SEO foundation for lasting success. Maximize immediate gains and ensure long-term growth by preparing and following best practices: SEO eCommerce Website Checklist
◻ Tracking & Analytics: Check these tips for attaining insights to direct your strategy
◻ UX Considerations: Improve your website’s user experience and impress the influx of visitors on your sales event
Conclusion
Your marketing team holds the keys to high-traffic event success. From data to AI, these strategies empower your efforts. Plan ahead, execute with precision, and secure lasting growth. For more tips, use our comprehensive checklist for all teams!
Read: The eCommerce Website Guide for High-Traffic Sales Events
