MD of Infinity Nation Al Krek offers six top tips to maximise online January sales

New year, new look. Key calendar events like the January sales present massive opportunities for retailers online – especially for those brands offering larger, life-changing purchases. But with increased competition and consumers making flash judgements on your online offering (in as little as 50 milliseconds [source: T&F Online]), what can be done to capture attention and convert more of the online browsers into buyers? And how can you re-engage with existing customers? As part of a test, measure, evolve approach, your e-commerce sales strategy should include these six areas:

• Paid search – the job of good paid for search is to find the hunters – those that are actively looking for kitchen or bathroom furniture – and to direct them your way. Key is to identify the phrases that they’re actively searching for (e.g. white modern bathroom suite) rather than starting with what you’re trying to sell. Consider a range of approaches – for example, we’re currently finding that 50% of revenues from paid search is coming through Google shopping.

• Re-marketing – effectively targeting those who have previously visited is key. Ensure you have different approaches based on past behaviour – those who have previously visited and purchased should be treated differently to those who have previously visited and not bought, for example.

• Email – analyse your email database and segment based on historical purchases. Let all of your customers know you’re in a sale period but always make relevant product suggestions based on purchase history. For example, for those who have bought a fitted kitchen in the last year, lead with kitchen accessories. 

• Paid social – consider paid social – especially visual channels, such as Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, allowing you to trade harder in a dynamic and agile way. Remember to tie images in with your overall campaign imagery. 

• Content marketing – although an SEO strategy should start weeks and ideally months before a campaign, a strong content strategy can have a shorter lead time. Consider PR and sponsored content to support your sales push. 

• Maximise your site – when traffic lands, ensure your site is ready to capitalise. Strong merchandising, aspirational banners, signposting and countdowns to sales ending are all good techniques, and ensure your visuals are consistent with your campaign. Create banners specifically for January sales items and position them at the forefront of your site, changing them frequently to keep those returning visitors engaged.