Are you prepped for Peak?
With the summer holidays over and the kids back at school hopefully you’re back in the swing of things and focusing on getting your brand geared up to make the most of the 2018 peak season…
It’s mere weeks until we’re into those insane months covering Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas that can make or break a brand, so what do you need to be aware of to ensure success for this peak season?
What you need to know
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now no longer considered separate days but part of a larger, all encompassing “Cyber Week” which will run from the 19th until the 26th November this year.
A PwC survey found that 31% of people will be completing their Cyber Week shopping using just their mobile phone, and that 65% of over 65s (a market often neglected by brands online) will be doing their Black Friday shopping digitally.
Over the Christmas period the UK is predicted to spend 33% more compared to the rest of Europe. And on Christmas day, 1 in 5 people are expected to be shopping – online of course. So even though all the shops are closed, the 25th December is predicted to become a £1bn shopping day.
Plus, with delivery options better than ever and buyer confidence increasing, Christmas gift interest isn’t expected to drop until the 21st December. 3 or 4 years ago, interest would drop much earlier around the 15th or 16th. ago.
The knock-on
All this has a knock-on effect though. The January sales period is expected to continue dropping in value for retailers Year on Year (as it did in 2017), as the boom period between cyber week and Christmas day compresses the festive shopping period earlier in the calendar.
But what do all these online shopping developments mean for us marketers?
The big picture is that there’s a lot of customers and a lot of revenue to be had online this festive season. But you’re going to have to be ready to fight for it.
All your competitors will be going big, but it’s not necessarily about going bigger. It’s about doing the RIGHT things.
Doing the RIGHT things
So, what should you be doing to make this peak season a great one for your brand? Here are our 3 top tips:
- Build awareness now – If you kick off your brand building and awareness activity in cyber week itself, you’ll be far too late to the party. You need to start engaging your target customers with softer, design lead and more brand focused messages and creatives so you fill the top of your funnel now. Speaking of the funnel…
- Look at your whole funnel – It can often be the case that around peak season you throw budget at bottom of the funnel activity looking to convert customers quickly. This can mean you end up in an arms race with other brands with escalating CPCs and diminishing ROI.
Spending budget wisely further up the funnel – on social or content for example – can often lead to better ROIs overall, increased conversions and improved brand loyalty beyond peak season.
- Open up your channels – Making sure you’re present wherever your customers are is key. But some channels can often be forgotten or even avoided – Amazon being a case in point. Some retailers see Amazon as the enemy, but If your products are on Amazon your customers will be too, so it makes sense to work with Amazon and use the functionality that Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) provides to secure sales.
Hopefully the stats we’ve shared and our 3 top tips have given you food for thought and you’re well on your way to being prepped for peak. If you still feel like you need a helping hand though, just get in touch.
About Us
Red Hot Penny are team of strategic and creative search marketers with an outstanding ecommerce pedigree.
We help ecommerce retailers and online brands who want to grow to identify and acquire customers, using data and insights to create the perfect strategy and deliver made-to-measure campaigns.
We’ll deliver the growth that matters to you and will make your competitors wish they’d picked us first.
@RedHotPennyHQ
