Are you 100% prepared for the intensity of this year’s end?
The end of the year has several dates that are real milestones for retailers, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November, and Christmas in December. Even if these are known and expected events, many times the SME is not adequately prepared to exploit these opportunities, and some mistakes end up being committed, jeopardizing the company’s revenues.
Some examples of errors that could be avoided are: slow buying pages during peak hours, websites going offline due to high number of hits or because their domains haven’t been renewed, and important pages showing an error 404.
In this sense, it is essential that the enterprising person prepares his company website to take advantage of the increase in traffic and the consequent online sales on these dates.
Keep your domain updated
The first action that the entrepreneur should take is to check if the registration of the domain of his business (ie the address of the brand on the internet) is renewed. If the domain expires, it can take a long time to recover and, in extreme cases, the company can lose the domain to another brand with a similar name.
Another service to watch out for during this time is website hosting. It is important to check that everything is in place with your contract so that you don’t have any unexpected events. Also, it’s worth checking in advance whether the contracted plan is robust enough to support increased logins during dates.
Depending on the size of the business and the number of website accesses, cloud hosting may be the best option, as it offers a dedicated environment with no access limits.
Due to the risk of a page displaying the 404 error, it is important that the entrepreneur also checks the website, at least the most important pages, to make sure that they are all online.
Google Search Console is a great tool to help you find error pages. If necessary, the enterprising person can redirect pages that no longer exist.
Never offer unrealistic discounts
Another action, which may seem obvious, but which I believe is important to strengthen at the end of the year, is that the enterprising do not make “false” discounts. This is an argument that always comes back during Black Friday: brands raising the prices of their products days before the date, then offering bigger discounts at the event. Don’t go that way.
Your relationship with your customers and your company’s reputation are worth more. If a person exposes a fake discount, they will probably never buy from that brand again and maybe even become a detractor, influencing other people not to buy as well.
All the technology behind good security on the PME website should also be reviewed. This year we have seen many attacks on websites and vulnerabilities exploited by hackers. Strategies that include digital security should be a priority.
One of the biggest objections people have to not shopping online is the fear of their data being leaked, especially their banking details. In this sense, it is essential that the entrepreneur verifies the SSL Certificate of his company website.
In short, SSL is responsible for adding an extra layer of security in the communication between your website server and the data submitted by your users.
Be transparent with your customers
Another piece of advice I want to share is to always let your customers understand which are the official channels of your company, also reinforcing those that your company does not use. This communication helps them not to fall for scams, improving the relationship between you and also the reputation of the brand.
It is also essential to train the entire support team (in addition to all employees who work at customer touchpoints, such as the social network analyst). During seasonal dates it’s common for calls to peak, so it’s important to align your talk ahead of time in preparation for increased demand. Make it clear how promotions, special conditions, rewards, etc. work.
I think the PME should do this check-up to be as prepared as possible at the end of the year. Bringing you the best deals and providing good customer service is key to taking advantage of the holiday shopping season. This applies not only to the retail sector, but to everyone who offers some kind of online service and wants to make money this year.
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Source: Terra

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.