Submitted by: Grace Villarica

The whole world will be celebrating Christmas in two months’ time, but many online sellers have been preparing for the busiest season of the year as early as September.

They have started meeting with their suppliers regarding the items which they want to put in their inventory.

That is to ensure they dont run out of stock when shoppers start stopping by their stores in the run-up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

If you haven’t heard about it yet, this years Black Friday is expected to be a week-long profit-generating event.

As early as November 21, online shoppers are going to be busy looking for products that are not only on-trend, but also sure to give value for their money.

You want to be around when that happens, promoting your best offers, lest another seller benefits from a potential sale.

Shoppers will be looking for not only presents to give their loved ones and friends, but also cool items which they can reward themselves with for their hard work.

No one could get enough of gadgets, so having these in your inventory gets your Black friday off to a good start.

If you have a different product line, don’t fret. With a dash of creativity, you’ll be making a killing, too.

With that said, here are five steps to getting your eCommerce business ready for the most profitable season of the year.

Step 1. Bring in your Key Products

Stock up your inventory with your best sellers. Products which sell in high volume whether it’s Christmas or not should be a priority.

Aside from having those in your inventory, research items which people are considering as potential gifts.

Google Trends comes in handy as it shows the most popular keywords and their search volume during this time of the year.

Step 2. Spread the Word

Send out personalised emails about your new products, best offers, free vouchers or limited edition to build up anticipation among your customers.

Visitors to your website would definitely want to know your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

If youre offering free gift wrapping and shipping, it’s worth including these in your message.

Come up with a compelling subject line so that the recipient won’t have any choice but to click and read your email.

Aside from sending out an effective promotional email, tell the social networking community about your cool deals through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, among others.

Step 3. Stock up Holiday Packaging

Its very important that you invest on holiday-themed packaging materials.

Youre less likely to have repeat customers if you deliver dull-looking parcels at this time of the year.

Holiday-themed packaging never fails to infect people with the holiday cheer, and it says a lot about how you regard your customers.

Whilst it is important that you stock up on holiday packing, it’s more important that you have them in different sizes.

Step 4. Partner with a Fulfilment Company

Expect the volume of your orders to double as Black Friday gets nearer.

Are you capable of processing and fulfilling those orders without any delay?

It’s so easy to lose a customer with one delayed shipment, so try your best to fulfil orders quicker than other online stores could.

That way you give them a reason to be loyal to you.

Start putting an order fulfilment plan in place rather than deal with shipping issues later in November and December.

If youre unsure how to handle the influx of orders, then considering a third-party company that offers fulfilment service is the safest way to go.

Step 5. Have a Reliable Customer Support

Never make them your customers wait.

You should have a reliable customer support by now.

If you havent worked on that yet, outsource the task or, better yet, hire someone for the holidays.

However, if you sell online all year round, you might as well consider letting the person whom you hire stay for the long term.

Then again, if you’re comfortable with the idea of handling customer queries and complaints by yourself, forget that suggestion.

In addition to that, make sure that your websites Contact Us page specifies the hours that you provide customer support aside from your contact details.

With these five simple and doable steps, turn your business into a success in the upcoming holidays.

Ho ho ho!!!

About the Author: Online sellers don’t be left behind. Multichannel marketing is the quickest route to reach your customers. Join me on

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where everything related to Magento, M2E Pro, Magmi and other eCommerce tools for selling on Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces are discussed.I hope to see you there:)

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