The holidays have beckoned with the BFCM feelers, looping Christmas carols, festive decorations, and cheerful vibes as people try to move on from a “dark” year that was 2020. Many retailers have reluctantly pivoted to full-on digital marketing and curbside pickup services to adapt to all the changes happening on a global scale.

While the retail industry is still reeling from the effects of the economic slowdown, there is no better time to pull all the stops and get the wheels back on track once again. Find out how you can take advantage of the season with the following surefire ways to boost your holiday revenues.

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1) Have a well-stocked inventory

Don’t waste your marketing efforts when you have insufficient inventory in the first place. Save for a limited edition strategy, now is not the time to turn away customers’ discretionary purchases just because you don’t have your products on hand. With a million others in the industry ready to swoop down on that customer, the opportunity cost is high. Make sure to check your stocks before embarking on a promotional campaign, or better yet, prepare months ahead of the holidays. Not only will you benefit from a lower wholesale cost from your supplier, but you can also have higher sales as a result.

2) Optimize your surpluses

Most business owners might think that surplus inventory can be a big problem, especially after statewide lockdowns. After all, such excesses can cost time, money, and storage space to have them just piled up in your warehouse. Get creative on how you can move your overstocks. Start including them in a bundle deal. Highlight them as such on your online shop or place them in your discounted and clearance categories. With holiday shoppers hungrier for deals now more than ever, they’ll be gone in no time.

3) Sell what they want

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Does your product solve a problem? How many products like yours are out there? These are some considerations of entrepreneurs when selling goods and services to their targeted market. But the nature of the problem is often neglected. Like how big of a problem is it that will entice a customer to buy your product? Many fail to realize the importance of listening to your customer’s needs and not just having a product looking for a problem to solve. Aside from analyzing your sales reports, encourage customer feedback to learn more about them so you’ll get the most out of their purchasing power.

4) Grow your list

It is said that over 60 percent shop for the holidays in advance as soon as the “ber” months commence. Use the lead time to build your customer list by catering to their shopping habits. Running campaigns during this pre-holiday period helps drive more new customers to your website instead of focusing on the holidays alone. By the time the holidays arrive, such buyers would grab your more premium items.

5) Let them try for free

Some companies would value repeat customers more because they generally would have a higher purchase amount and, therefore, help you exceed your quotas. But after a while, such customers will stray once they outgrow your products; hence, new names are just as important. Acquiring them can be as doubly hard as maintaining them. Offering free trials without commitment is a great way to lure them in and improve your conversion rate. It will tell you about their needs which allows you to strategize a custom marketing approach. You can also dangle more carrots with a higher discount for first-time buyers, bundle promotions, etc. Such efforts appeal to reluctant shoppers by building their trust while increasing your brand value.

6) Go headless

These days, selling a product is simply not enough. More businesses are now looking at improving their customer experience as well. We all know that dreaded post-holiday sales slump. With headless eCommerce and API software, indulge your holiday shoppers while allowing your dedicated backend site to offer level-up products to keep up with the changing needs of your existing customer base. At the same time, you can consolidate technologies without investing a lot of time and resources.

7) Engage actively

Customer relations definitely should not end after a purchase, especially when you’ve got so many revenue opportunities with an incoming holiday season. Time is of the essence, and buyers often appreciate getting the first dibs straight from the source, you. Their positive interaction will increase the likelihood of succeeding purchases. Send that email or text message whether you are greeting them on their birthday or alerting them of a curated offer they can’t refuse. This is why it’s essential to keep track of your customer’s journey. Make it easy for them to reach you by providing multiple communication channels and personalized service.

8) Observe your margins

At the onset of the Covid restrictions, businesses have already foregone profits to focus on getting the orders delivered to clients under the circumstances. Now that everything has somehow subsided, some entrepreneurs might be willing to take a hit yet again, considering the massive loss of jobs and looming inflation. Bombarding clients with one promotion after another may cause disjointed offers and excessive discounts that could result in a company’s financial ruin. Yes, you could be making a lot of holiday sales in the process but hardly profiting from such efforts at the same time. Streamline the flow of your offers to stay profitable.

9) Reinvent your product detail page

Customers are fast becoming tired of products that only present unbacked merits. User-created content has proven to be more effective in driving online sales. Encourage your buyers to share pictures of their purchases along with their feedback and post them on the product page. Another way is to do live-selling, which has already caught on in China. Explore other online platforms like TikTok to peg your products in a fun and entertaining style.

10) Set up a live chat facility

Buyers often leave items in their digital shopping cart and eventually abandon them because they might have questions that are best addressed immediately. Besides humoring your customer with a pending cart email reminder, install a highly visible live chat facility to eliminate opportunity gaps and speed up the buying decision, making for better conversions and enhanced user experience.