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How You Can Use Social Media to Spur Holiday Shopping

November 26th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

If you had any doubts that social media is playing a growing role in consumers’ shopping habits, a new study from Research Now should help dispel them. The survey, conducted by ConsumerSearch.com, looked at what influences consumers to buy when they’re shopping for holiday gifts.

Some 62 percent of respondents report that they regularly use social media to get gift ideas. However, while you might think of social media as simply sites like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, it also included online reviews and wish lists shared by friends and family. Of all the social options, online reviews were the most popular social source, used by 41 percent of people seeking gift ideas.

That doesn’t mean you should give up on other marketing methods. The study found traditional methods of getting gift ideas were still slightly more popular than social media, with 64 percent reporting they look to ads, company websites and emails from businesses to get ideas for gifts.

While consumers are doing a lot of research before they buy gifts this year, more than one-third (37 percent) report that they rely equally on online and in-store research before committing to a purchase. One-fourth (24 percent) prefer to both research and shop online, and 17 percent prefer to both research and shop in physical stores.

What does it mean for your business this holiday season? To capture your share of the average $500 consumers will spend on gifts this year:

Create an integrated marketing plan that incorporates the methods most likely to reach your customer, whether that’s email, online advertising, offline advertising, social media or some combination of the above.
Some 65 percent of respondents say they rely on word-of-mouth to get gift ideas—so make it easy for customers to share your marketing messages, whether by encouraging them to “forward this email to a friend” or posting deals and offers on social media. Consider creating “tell a friend” or “bring a friend” shopping discounts and deals.
Make sure your products and your store can be found on ratings and review sites. Build your presence online by encouraging your customers to review your store.

Image by Flickr user ivanpw (Creative Commons)

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Tags: holiday 2012, retail, sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Marketing, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media | No Comments »

Web.com Partners With American Express to Support Small Business Saturday

November 14th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

Web.com has joined forces with American Express to promote this year’s Small Business Saturday, November 24, 2012. Now in its third year, Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to strengthening local communities by supporting local, independently owned small businesses.

“Web.com is committed to helping small businesses grow and succeed online,” said David Brown, chairman and CEO of Web.com. “The fact that we’re already helping small businesses get in front of their local customers by giving them visibility in their communities aligns very nicely with the purpose of Small Business Saturday.”

American Express launched the Small Business Saturday initiative in 2010. Last year, millions of consumers shopped at small businesses on Small Business Saturday; more than 230 public and private organizations, 75 corporations and elected officials in all 50 states and Washington DC declared their support for the event; and more than 500,000 small business owners leveraged an online tool or promotional materials for Small Business Saturday.

To ensure your business attracts lots of customers this year on November, 24, American Express is providing a wide range of tools small business owners can use. Visit ShopSmall.com to access:

Free online advertising for qualifying small business owners

Social media tools to help your spread the word about Small Business Saturday
Personalized point-of-purchase materials you can use to show customers you’re participating in the program
A searchable map where consumers can find small businesses near them that accept the American Express card

If you’re on Twitter, you can promote Small Business Saturday with the hashtag #SmallBizSat .

November 24th marks the third annual Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday was created in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: more customers. American Express is the founding partner of Small Business Saturday.

Image by Flickr user coolinsights (Creative Commons)

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Tags: holiday 2012, Marketing, small business, small business saturday, social media
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Retailers Plan to Spend More, Make More This Holiday Season

November 9th, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

U.S. retailers have high hopes for the upcoming holiday shopping season, and are spending accordingly on their marketing programs to make sure they grab their share. According to a new survey from Retail Systems Research and Bronto Software, more than 20 percent of U.S. retailers say they plan to significantly increase their spending on mobile, social or email marketing channels this year. An additional 22 percent will slightly increase their marketing budgets.

Overall, retailers are very optimistic about the coming holiday, with 68 percent projecting their sales to increase compared to last year. Of those, almost one-fourth believe that their sales will increase by over 50 percent.

Email, mobile and social media marketing channels are all top concerns for retailers this year, with a full 20 percent of respondents planning to allocate more than half of this year’s holiday marketing budget to one or more of these channels. However, out of the three, email is by far the most important for retailers, with a whopping 87 percent using it and more than 50 percent saying they will send more marketing emails this year than they did in 2011.

To prepare for this massive email marketing push, retailers have been spending money on:

Subscriber acquisition (46 percent)

Automated/triggered messages (43 percent)
Personalization (36 percent)
Segmentation (21 percent)

Other areas where retailers have invested in the past year to improve their service and operations include:

New email service provider (50 percent)
Mobile applications (49 percent)
New ecommerce platform (46 percent)
Mobile website optimization (43 percent)

“While email is a more established channel and has inherent technologic advantages for communicating with consumers, marketers are getting ready to use mobile and social to break out of the pack,” said Joe Colopy, CEO of Bronto Software, in announcing the results.

Free shipping is the main promotional tool that retailers will use this holiday season; all of the companies surveyed say they will offer some form of free shipping. How will ecommerce retailers lure customers back to abandoned shopping carts? Some 43 percent say they will use an email message offering free shipping, and 35 percent will use percentage-off or dollar-off emails.

Although this survey focused on large retailers, knowing what tactics the “big guys” are planning for the holidays can help you determine your own business’s marketing strategy. How will you beat the giants this holiday shopping season?

Image by Flickr user ccarlstead (Creative Commons)

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Tags: ecommerce, Email marketing, holiday 2012, retailers, small business, social media
Posted in Email Marketing, Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

The Holiday Retail Outlook Is Positive. Here’s How to Grab Your Piece of the Pie

October 22nd, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

While the surging cost of gasoline and the upcoming presidential election are still wild cards that could affect holiday spending, so far the retail outlook for 2012 is positive, according to a Deloitte forecast.

Total holiday sales are projected to reach between $920 billion and $925 billion, a 3.5 to 4 percent increase in holiday sales (November through January) compared to last year. Although that forecast is below last year’s increase of 5.9 percent, Deloitte is also predicting an increase of 15 to 17 percent in non-store sales. Three-fourths of that is online; the rest are from TV and mail order catalogs.

Not only are nonstore sales outpacing overall retail growth, Deloitte says, but they are increasingly influencing what consumers do in-store. “From trip planning, to in-store product research, [to] post-purchase reviews and sharing, this holiday season, retailers’ most lucrative customers may be the ones they engage across physical and virtual storefronts,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and retail and distribution sector leader.

Consumers will still be price-conscious this year, making your digital marketing and retailing strategy even more important. What do you need to know?

Offer more price transparency. Your pricing should be the same across mobile, online and in-store channels.
Get mobile. Deloitte says mobile-influenced retail store sales will account for 5.1 percent, or $36 billion, in retail store sales this year during the holiday season. Even if you don’t yet offer m-commerce, make sure consumers can find your store on local search, ratings and review sites, and that your website is mobile-friendly so customers can find the information they need.
Don’t fear showrooming. Deloitte reports that shoppers who have smartphones are actually 14 percent more likely to make a purchase in the store than those who don’t use smartphones in-store. Make sure you engage with smartphone-toting shoppers to answer any questions they have and provide relevant information.
Use analytics. Pay more attention than ever to how customers are getting to your business website, where they’re coming from and what they’re doing while they’re there. Tweak your site as needed to drive purchasing and respond to customer needs.

Image by Flickr user Steve Snodgrass (Creative Commons)

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Tags: ecommerce, holiday 2012, retail, small business, Technology, Web Design
Posted in Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »