With Valentine’s Day a little more than a month away, jewelers, florists, and chocolatiers are getting ready to kick into high gear. They’re not the only ones: many businesses hope for a sales boost from customers filled with that loving feeling. In 2017, the National Retail Federation reported consumers spending of $18.2 billion, both in-store and online. This year, Valentine’s Day sales projections are cautiously optimistic. If you’re hoping to be part of this good news, here’s 4 things to keep in mind:
Customers Expect Your Website to Love Them
Your website needs to load quickly, work great on mobile devices, and offer shoppers personalized recommendations and individual attention. To provide the type of experience today’s customers demand, you need robust data collection and analysis tools. If you’re not sure your Google Analytics account is installed and configured correctly, now is the time to do so!
Clear Paths to Purchase Work Best
If you’re promoting a specific offer on social media, make sure your customer can either complete the purchase on that platform or get to the purchase point with only one click. Valentine’s Day purchases are often happen in the moment: if your customer has to search extensively to find what they want, they’re going to give up.
Have Your Online Customer Service Systems in Place
Customers shopping your website will have questions, comments and concerns. Make sure you have the systems in place to respond to your customers no matter which platform they choose to reach out to you, including LiveChat windows, email, text messages, phone calls and social media.
Plan to Keep the Relationship Going
Every new customer has the potential to become a great customer. Make sure you have a strategy to strengthen your connection to shoppers who have already chosen you once. Email marketing, text messaging and social media all have a role to play.
