Your Ecommerce Sites Are Ready For Christmas When...

Why Christmas Happens Now

Christmas for e-commerce merchants is happening right now. Christmas happens now because Google is setting their index. There is usually one BIG October Google surprise (to insure PPC payments go UP), but content that is winning now will probably keep on winning right through the holidays (and Vice Versa).



Christmas is happening now because Internet marketing teams are looking hard at their numbers to figure out what is HOT and what is NOT. HOT products get special attention (and more inventory). NOT HOT products are moved to the "wait and see" or "not going to happen" areas (a lost limbo of a place).



If that sounds like e-commerce is one big GUESS you aren't far off. What is or has been HOT so far is no guarantee of hotness in October - December. There are always 4Q surprises too. 4Q Surprises are products that weren't hot but got an Oprah mention or some other huge boost and suddenly became hot. E-commerce merchants can ONLY play in the 4Q Surprise Sweeps if they have content brewing now.



Most E-commerce merchants restrict testing in the October-January sales period. They are testing everything from product mix to "Add To Cart" button location and color now with an eye toward increasing conversion in 4Q. Once Halloween is a memory most e-commerce merchants are too busy shipping to test.



In fact life gets so crazy most ecommerce plans are being drafted and put to bed right now. Answer YES to these Top 20 Holiday Ecommerce Questions and you can hit the beach. Your ecom site is READY. Answering NO, Maybe or Sort of means there is work to be done and not much time to do it so Santa may be the only one surfing.

e-commerce Content Marketing For 4Q

Is Your HOT or NOT Keyword Research Complete? (Yes / No )



Is your 4Q Content Strategy Outlined? (Yes / No)



Is Your 4Q Content Strategy Generating Related Social Marketing? (Yes / No)



Is Your 4Q Content Strategy Telling A Story Across Owned, Earned, Paid and Curated Spaces?



Does your content marketing plan have at least 25% TIME

allocated to LISTEN and RESPOND? (Yes / No)



Does your content marketing plan have at least 25% TIME

allocated to CURATE and REWARD? (Yes / No)



Tools  & Tactics - Is content you are going to create where and in what frequency defined?

(Yes / No)

e-commerce Social Marketing For 4Q

Is your Social Marketing Plan Defined? (Yes  / No)



Is Your Social Marketing Plan Consistent and supportive to other channel's marketing plans (Yes / No)



Does Your Social Marketing Plan have at least 25% TIME for LISTEN and RESPOND?

e-commerce Cause Marketing

Is Your "Save The World" Cause Defined? (Yes / No)



Is Your Save The World" Cause seamlessly integrated into all marketing channels? (Yes / No)

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e-commerce Making or Missing Plan KPIs

Are Your 4Q Tactics Summarized With An Owned, Earned, Paid and Curated Overlay?



Is Your 4Q PPC Plan Defined with What If options for missing plan, on plan and over plan? (Yes / No)



What Are Your Top 4Q Surprise Products? Are you an organic Player on potential surprises? (Yes / No )



Is your User Generated Content (UGC) Strategy Defined and Consistent With Your Content, Social, Mobile and Cause strategies?

e-commerce 4Q Analytics

Are "On Plan", "Missing Plan" and "Over Plan" Daily & Weekly Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Set?

(Yes / No )



Is your plan tuned to what is important to YOU (i.e. profits, list growth, improve awareness)? (Yes / No)



Have you created Online Reputation Management reporting systems? (Yes / No)



Do You Have a Defined Disaster Plan and know when it should be called into effect? (Yes / No )



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What have I forgotten? Share how your ecommerce team gets ready for the holidays and I will push a link to your site across my social net now AND in October :).