It’s happening – the air is getting crisp, the sun is setting earlier, and the leaves are just starting to change. With fall officially starting tomorrow, it’s time to take a look at your eCommerce site and make sure you’re ready for the new season.
Decorate
One of the most fun things about fall is the decorating. From carving pumpkins to buying hay bales to finding new uses for candy corn, changing up your décor makes it feel like fall is in the air. Make your site reflect the autumnal season by changing out your usual color scheme for one with earthy jewel tones. Add fall-related banner images, profile pictures, or CTA boxes. Incorporate leaves, pumpkins, and other symbols of the season. These tweaks should look great and work well with your overall site, but also be easy to change or remove when the winter holidays roll around.
Get organized
This time of year is perfect for cleaning out the shed or garage, organizing the home office or filing system, cleaning out the pantry, and putting things in storage. Now is the time to organize your site as well. Fall fashion means lots of layers – add layers to your site with layered navigation. This will make it easier for customers to filter and search for what they are looking for. Organize your products into packages that go with the season. For example, clothing retailers could put together a fall outfit using their pieces, or home stores could compile fall decorations or tools for autumn projects.
Inspect
To get a house ready for fall, homeowners are advised to check their furnace, clean the gutters, test detectors and alarms, check the fireplace, and inspect trees and landscaping. By maintain and preparing their house throughout the year, homeowners are protecting their investment. Your eCommerce site is a huge investment for your business. Take some time to evaluate your site and fix any problems. Perform a site crawl, fix any broken links or redirects, check page load times, evaluate the checkout process, update content, and optimize for mobile.
Warm it up
As the weather gets colder, it’s nice to make your home feel cozy with blankets, candles, hot cider, and comfort food (and by turning the heat on). Bring some of that warmth to your site by stepping up your customer service. Incorporate loyalty programs, send special offers, give meaningful rewards, and create valuable content. Interact with customers on social media, encourage them to write product reviews and reward them for doing so, and consider a customer appreciation sale. For more tips, check out our previous post on customer appreciation.
Avoid extra costs and repairs
Experts will tell you to take steps to save money and avoid costly repairs. This means making sure your roof is holding up well, sealing any drafty windows or doors, preparing your heating and air conditioning systems, and buying a programmable thermostat. When it comes to your website, it means avoiding downtime, staying current with upgrades, and having a backup plan. By having a support plan, you can rest easy knowing that someone is monitoring and maintaining your site. Click here to learn more about support options from ParadoxLabs.
Prepare for spring
When preparing for cold weather, it is important to fertilize your lawn, clear out flower beds, put away outdoor furniture, and clean the gutters. These tasks ensure that your home will be ready to go when the glorious spring weather returns next year. In the rush of holiday shopping and personal obligations, don’t forget to prepare your business for spring as well. Think about the business goals, marketing tactics, merchandise, and promotions that you will use next year. By starting to plan now, you will be prepared to take your business to the next level.
If you’re ready to take a deeper dive into updating your marketing efforts, contact ParadoxLabs today here or at 717-431-3330.