December is nearly here, and you are almost out of time to get new stock and process it, so now comes the task of ensure you are running your business smoothly. There are a few things left to add to your plan for Christmas:

Prepare for returns

Things break, buyers make the wrong purchase and people get buyer’s remorse, don’t see returns as a personal insult to you and your business, they are all part of life as an online seller.

The more you sell the more returns you are likely to get.

Things to prepare:

Get up to speed with business and consumer rights for all areas you sell to
Ensure you know your rights with courier insurance policies
Communicate your returns policy effectively
Act quickly with returns, make sure you process returns daily – you never know if a customer will purchase from you again so it pays to keep them happy
Test your returns policy – it’s easy to create a gap where customers feel lost

Last posting dates

Familiarise yourself with your couriers last posting dates for each service you offer.

Communicate your last order dates with your customers – remember your last order date is not always the last posting date.

It’s not over

Make sure you keep communicating with your customers throughout December – don’t stop after your last order date as people will still order for the new year.

Keep communicating

Make sure you continue communicating to your customers:

Add a “Delivered in time for Christmas” notice to your site and communications
Make order tracking prominent
Consider splash page promotions
Limited flash sales
Product bundles
Buy one get one free

Sample December Campaign Plan:

2nd December

Email Campaign – create a compelling Christmas campaign that seems too good to be true, remember you are competing for inbox space as buyers will be receiving hundreds of sales mails at this time of year.

16th December

Email & Social Campaign – create urgency with messages about running out of time for Christmas delivery – some people need a nudge to make the last few purchases.

24th December

Don’t forget to wish your customers a Happy Christmas, don’t be tempted to try and sell something with this mail – just a genuine message that will help your customer loyalty.

26th December

Email campaign – Start your January sale, inform customers you have a huge sale and drive traffic to a January sales category.