‘Tis the season to be jolly and nothing gives us more Christmas cheer at Bang Digital than happy customers! So with Christmas around the corner, is your business making the most of the giving season? We recently read this wonderful Think With Google article and it got us thinking about our own clients and how they’re optimising their digital campaigns this holiday. Read on to find out where to focus your efforts in this final stretch towards the Xmas finish line.1. Timing is keyWant to win the holiday? The key is starting early! Timing is everything when it comes to optimising your digital Christmas campaigns with holiday shoppers now browsing and purchasing over longer stretches of time.According to Google’s insights, most people are active from October through to the end of December. There are four types of holiday shoppers, each with their own unique behaviours. They are:
As you can see in the image above, consumers are always shopping during the Christmas period. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to be there for them this holiday. So what can you do? An always-on strategy is critical to reach people whenever they need you - not just when it suits your campaign calendar.2. Create a seamless experienceRegardless of their shopper type, people’s expectations have risen rapidly as a result of the internet. With more to do and less time to do it, they want their shopping experiences to be frictionless and efficient, especially over the holidays. To help get things done, they’re relying heavily on technology and have become:
Gone are the days of brand loyalty and welcome to the Age of Assistance. Don’t take our word for it? How about Google’s? According to the search engine giant, 61% of shoppers buy from new retailers during the holiday season and this year, people are more open to discovering and trying new brands than ever before. As proof, mobile searches for “brands like” and “stores like” have grown over 60% in the past two years. So this is your opportunity to convert new customers by picking up the pieces and assisting them when they need along their shopping journey. It’s the brands that can help them overcome these pain points that will fare best this Christmas. Meeting these moments with seamless, assisted experience is the only way you’ll be able to differentiate yourself. But at the same time, don’t forget to nurture your existing customers’ needs too!3. Make it personalWhen it comes to finding what they want, people expect brands to return just the right results, tailored to them. In fact, more than half of consumers say they were interested in seeing personalised content when shopping.So what kind of personalisation are we talking about here? Here’s a few examples:
These are great nuggets of information that you can use to your advantage when optimising your online store. Listen to your customers, anticipate what they want and deliver it to them in a personalised way.4. Smartphones play a huge role in the shopping journeySmartphones are guiding the consumer of today’s shopping journey. Last holiday season, shoppers said half of their online purchases were made on their smartphone, showing they’re on mobile and they’re ready to buy.Whether it’s a spontaneous purchase online or to inform their in store trips, they’re turning to their smartphones for shopping help with greater frequency. In the past two years, searches for “shopping app” have jumped 90% while searches for “online shopping” have grown 180% in that same period.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that mobile should be at the core of your holiday strategy. Thanks to the breadth and strength of resources available online, shoppers are now comfortable with online and mobile purchasing, so it’s essential to ensure you mobile experience is frictionless.80% of smartphone users said they were more likely to purchase from companies with mobile sites or apps that help them easily answer their questions. So if your site isn’t optimised for mobile, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to gain leads. Mobile offers the perfect opportunity to capture new customers, with 60% of users saying they discovered a new company or product when conducting a search on their smartphones. So don’t miss out by making sure your mobile site is there every step of the way on the new shopping journey:
5. Don’t forget video!It’s also worth noting that digital video has become a favourite research tool for holiday shoppers. In fact, you could even say it’s become the new window shopping with two-thirds saying video gives them ideas and inspiration for purchases. People are increasingly turning to video for input, especially YouTube, with 90% of the above two-thirds saying they discovered products and brands on the platform. It’s being used throughout the entire shopping journey - from early-stage browsing to product reviews to learning how to use a product. So if you’re not utilising video in your digital campaigns then you’re missing out on a golden opportunity to capture more customers. People turn to a wide range of video content to drive their buying decisions, so we cannot stress the importance of incorporating video in your digital strategy cannot enough.Final thoughts?Don’t let the holidays be a headache for your customers. With so much choice at their fingertips, customers are finding holiday shopping overwhelming and are begging brands for help. Your job it to help cut through the clutter and make them feel confident in their choices. By providing relevant, personalised and efficient assistance and optimising across mobile and video, you’ll take a big step toward reaping long-term customer loyalty and business growth - not just during the biggest shopping moment of the year, but beyond!Help your customers to help yourself by implementing these best practices. Then, have a chat to Bang Digital about your brand’s digital strategy. We have the knowledge and experience to help you make a statement online.
