10 Rules of E-commerce this festive season

The high street lights are finally switching on and the countdown to the big day is finally here.

However, before we get too excited there is the dreaded Christmas shopping to do. Gifts for the family, gifts for none family, staff parties and of course those cousins and aunties that you get to see once a year.

Not including the Christmas turkey.

For e-commerce businesses it is the busiest time of the year and it can either be the making or the breaking of your online store.

What follows are the 10 rules of e-commerce this Christmas.

Don’t ignore customers:

Customers, especially this time of year, are stressed enough. The worry of getting all the presents wrapped and to their friends and family is huge. So if you’ve got an inbox full of customer enquiries that you’re ignoring, its time to get onto that list and get back to customers right now.

A customer shouldn’t have to wait any longer than 24 hours for a response.

Be prompt

Most online stores will have some form of live chat feature. If there is one major bug bear, perhaps it is personal one, is when you’re kept waiting for hours on end to speak to customer services on an instant chat box.

At the end of the day its called instant for a reason, taking 4 hours to respond to an instant message is hardly instant. So make sure you have a dedicated member of staff that can respond to messages in an instant.

When you’re not there switch on the out of hours form so you don’t miss those all important messages.

Be clear (last order dates)

Do you know what really frustrates customers? Products that don’t arrive on time. Do you know what frustrates them even more? When the customer can’t find the delivery time frame.

Christmas will be here before you know it. You’ll have the staff party to organise, the early closure, the auto responses and so on.

So be clear as to when your customers last order deadline is and when they can expect their order.

Over deliver

Occasionally you’re going to get a customer where the system just didn’t work. Your product arrived late, it arrived damaged or worse it didn’t arrive at all.

It is natural in these circumstances to become defensive of your brand, especially if you’re a small retailer. However within these comments there is also opportunity to learn and turn a bad situation into a positive one.

Provide exemplary customer service, show empathy, show genuine concern for your customers complaints and then handle them promptly and with sincerity.

Once you’ve handled their complaint take it to another level with a complimentary gift or money off voucher.

Maximise customers budget

When it comes to Christmas, especially this year, budgets are always a little tighter than the previous year. This is your opportunity to show that you have made a note of their budget but also that the products that you sell are more valuable than the customers budget.

Not only that but Christmas is the perfect time to cross sell complimentary products that are the perfect stocking filler.

Offer giftwrap

Offer your customers the opportunity to have their gifts pre-wrapped. Not only will this save them time but it will also give you another way in which to market your own business as well as charge a small additional fee.

You could also use special Christmas packaging around the box, jiffy bag or whatever products you use to deliver your items. Don’t forget to include a Christmas card wishing your customer a very Merry Christmas.

Plus for your customers it saves them one hell of a job.

Get festive

By now, day 3 of December, you should have a very festive looking website or at the very least some festive banners and emailers heading out the door this weekend.

Make sure you go a little further with this, perhaps hold a competition with the winner getting a special voucher. The point here is to engage with your customer, the more time they spend on your online store the greater the chance will be that they’ll spend more money.

Have some fun and great creative.

Build trust with your customers

Your customers are entrusting your business to deliver their products by Christmas to their friends and family.

Capitalise on this by ensuring you get as many reviews as possible from them. Whichever platform you use whether its TrustPilot, Google MyBusiness or Feefo ensure you collect as many customer reviews as possible.

Remember you’re not going to please everyone so expect some negative reviews via social media. Make sure you handle these appropriately.

Learn for 2022

Above all else, 2021 is a good time to get an idea as to what is working within your business and what is going to need a bit more work. Keep a notepad handy and encourage your front line staff to keep notes of any issues that may arise during the festive rush.

Then in the new year hold a meeting to discuss what went well and what didn’t.

E-commerce is expected to take a bit of a later hammering than usual this year as budgets become a little more tighter. As online store owners it is your responsibility to ensure your customers get their products to their friends and family this festive season.

Do all you can.