Before your team heads off for the year, make sure you’ve made this list and checked it twice so that you can maximise business profits at a time when shoppers are spending big.

Look familiar?

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Nothing gets ecommerce business owners or team members fist pumping quicker than news that a key retail period is just around the corner. Before you clock off for 2017, make sure you’ve got this list covered.

#1: Have a plan

You need to plan ahead to ensure everything is taken care of while your team has a well earned rest over Christmas and the New Year. Look at any areas that leave the business vulnerable and have a back-up plan in place just in case things don’t go to plan. Analyse how customers are using your systems in recent times and whip out graphs from last year so that you can predict sales. That way, you can ensure you’ve got enough stock on-hand and take care of any shipping issues before the holidays.

#2: Communicate effectively with customers

If customers should expect any delays, let them know. This is one instance where surprises are not welcomed - be proactive and communicate effectively with customers so that you retain their loyalty and business as we head into 2018.

#3: Create urgency and encourage people to buy before the holidays

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on, which means shoppers are already on the hunt for early bargains. Get the ball rolling by having a pre-holiday sales bonanza so that people shop ’til they drop before the holidays so that there are no unforeseen issues or delays. This will also help you to ensure that any discounts and promotions are working correctly and give you ample time to tweak them if necessary.

#4: Organise emergency contacts

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Now that’s not a happy person - you don’t want to waste any time stressed or unhappy while you’re away from the office. To minimise any potential stressful situations, have a back-up plan and know in the event of your website experiencing issues over the break, who is the main point of contact and what the plan is. Any emergency contacts need to be available and willing to work over the holidays if required so aim to have the discussion with any necessary staff members well in advance.

#5: Set-up automated responses

Don’t greet your customers with crickets by forcing them to wait until you’re back from the break for your reply. Automated responses are quick and easy to set-up, while maintaining good customer service standards and ensuring your customers are kept satisfied until you’re back in action.

#6: Increase necessary website resources

Been putting off adding those extra resources to your site? Now is the time to think ahead. You shouldn’t have any concerns about your site remaining live as you head off for the holidays. If you do, consider doubling all existing resources to cater for the site’s increased workload over the festive season.

#7: Make any necessary updates to your FAQs

Chances are, customers experience the same issues repeatedly over this period and tend to ask similar questions. Now’s the perfect time to go back to your FAQ section and ensure it’s updated with the information relating to queries that pop-up most often. Look back to last year and aim to include any common queries made over the holidays. You want to make it as easy as possible for customers to find the information they need so that they don’t get frustrated and bounce off your site without making a purchase.

#8: Avoid making significant changes before the break

When it comes to your website, the last thing we want is any nasty surprises before the holidays. You don’t want to be testing things or making updates now so that you can minimise any unexpected issues. Customers are looking for reliable sites they know and trust. If you’re planning a site re-design, consider putting it off until early 2018.

#9: Don’t forget about your social media channels

You need someone managing your social media channels throughout the break. Customers don’t switch off - sure, plan the bulk of the content ahead of time (countdown to Christmas, wish people a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year posts and so) but you need to be responding to any customer queries that come through in real-time and as quickly as possible.

#10: Keep your eyes open over the break

We all deserve a well-earned break so that you can return in 2018 reenergised. However, it’s important that someone is keeping an eye on your business’ website, social media channels and so on over the holidays. Perhaps different team members can take it in turns so that everyone enjoys the break. Either way, you need to be made aware asap if there are any severe issues that stand to seriously impact your business’ profits over this key retail period.

#10: Make good use of customer reviews

Customer reviews encourage buyers unlike anything else. When someone else assures us that an item is great, we’re more likely to make a purchase. Before the holidays, collate all positive reviews and upload them to your site to entice customers. If you have a new product you’d like to market, why not send some samples to your most loyal customers in return for a review? This is also a great way to collect product reviews for the future.

Woven wishes everyone a successful Christmas and New Year period. If you need any assistance or guidance with your holiday planning, please get in touch.