It’s that time of year again – Q4 is here.
The kids are back at school, summer is a distant memory and retailers are buckling down for the busiest quarter of the year. There are 65 productive business days left until 2023 and multiple events and holidays where you can push hard to achieve the targets you’d like to reach.
The big sales kick starts off with Halloween and culminates with Christmas but with the World Cup 2022 and the ever growing Goliath that is Black Friday/Cyber Monday there are plenty of opportunities to maximise sales. But, how do we do this? Is your plan in place?
Looking back to move forward.
In order to improve on fourth quarter sales, it’s a good idea to take a close look at your current numbers and compare to last year. This will help you establish where your efforts need to be focused.
If you look at every month-end as a quarter-end that will change the performance of your sales organisation. When you manage sales on a monthly versus quarterly basis, there’s a level of accountability and focus that keeps performance aligned with sales goals.
But it’s not only the sales figures you need to consider when devising a plan. You will need a well thought out marketing calendar to help you make the most of these opportunities.
Organising your calendar will allow you to create successful campaigns that make the most of the surge in website traffic on these key dates.
Be e-commerce ready.
The UK is the third-largest online market in the world just after the US and China. Online shopping statistics in 2022, predict 86.7% of UK shoppers will shop online in Q4.
But slow load times, inaccurate results and hard to find search bars can leave customers frustrated and patience isn’t common factor among online shoppers.
Having a website that won’t load quickly can easily lose you sales. Approximately 40% of people will leave a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Therefore, making sure your website’s speed is up to the task of an added influx of customers at the busiest times of the year should be high on the list of your priorities.
In addition, optimising your search bar will ensure it is delivering genuinely relevant results and performing to its maximum potential.
Better product titles, bullet points, search keywords images and short educational/product demonstration videos help create higher visibility. This will work to boost your sales, improve engagement rates and promote customer loyalty.
Embrace THE FEED.
Social media for business is no longer optional.
If your are not active on social platforms you’re not open – it is reported that 80% use social media to help make their buying decisions.
It’s an essential way to reach your customers, gain valuable insights, and grow your brand.
If you’re not taking advantage of social within your digital marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach almost half the world’s population.
Content is everywhere, so get creative and utilise your surroundings. This doesn’t need to just be in store or office, but also out in the community.
Here’s to Q4 – lets embrace the madness and finish the year strong.
