🔒How to keep your retail business competitive in 2020

The holiday season is already ancient history for consumers, but for retailers around the world, it’s already time to begin strategizing for next year.

Maine retailers, in particular, can take crucial steps over the next several months to help drive end-of-year sales in 2020. Now is the time to look backward and forward — to find issues that can be addressed in the quieter first quarter and opportunities that can be maximized before the busier spring months.

Here are five pro tips to pave the way for a profitable 2020.

1. Evaluate your web hosting

Over the years, we’ve found one statement to be tried and true when working with e-commerce clients: cheap hosting is expensive. Like a power or phone utility, you don’t necessarily think about it until it isn’t working and this usually comes at the worst possible time, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Investing here is critical in building a reliable foundation for your site. With a sturdy host, your site is better equipped to handle a digital rush and less likely to crash under the pressure. Your e-commerce setup could mean the difference between mediocre end-of-year sales and your best year yet.

2. Use marketing tools to tell your brand story

Once you have a reliable foundation online, it’s time to build out your company’s story. A strong website is imperative, but it won’t be put to work if your story isn’t being told using modern awareness tools such as social media, newsletters, paid ads and earned media. Consumers want to hear about your unique offerings, your curated collections and what makes you stand out in the local economy. The modern consumer wants to shop based on deeper connections. It’s your job to give them a reason to connect with why your business matters to them and ultimately why they shop with you. In Maine, especially, being able to tell a local story can be the cornerstone of success.

3. Be strategic with sales and offers

We are all familiar with special holiday sales and offers, especially toward the end of each year. But it’s important for retailers to evaluate how and when sales and offers are used to be most effective. Would you typically have successful end-of-year sales without special promotions? If so, should you save special offers for slower times of the year? This kind of strategic thinking will help you organize your marketing calendar in a thoughtful and effective way.

4. Prepare your shipping tools

When orders are pouring in, shipping and fulfillment are risk areas for customer service breakdowns. Stable and effective tools are key to avoiding this. There are a number of high-value shipping management tools out there that will not only save you and your customer’s money on constantly rising shipping costs but will also keep you sane and your shipping queue in order. Your goal with shipping is to establish a long-term customer. Accuracy, speed and fair prices are the best ways to ensure a customer will stick with you. For local retailers in particular, including a handwritten note reminding the customer the package was assembled by a human, not a robot, is an opportunity to make a personal connection. Consider going the extra step and offering your direct email to reinforce the idea that you are available to help the customer. Every communication with your customer is an opportunity to make a connection and add a layer of thoughtful customer service and personality.

5. Define policies for returns and shipping

This might seem like an obvious tactic but most customer complaints stem from miscommunication on this subject. Your policy should be clear and easily found. Customers want to know what to expect, and as an e-commerce business, you can’t control anything once the shipment leaves the station. With Murphy’s Law in mind, it’s wise to safeguard chance by building in buffer time for when the customer can expect their package.

Steve Pogson is the founder and lead strategist of Helm Digital in Portland. He can be reached at steve.pogson@wearehelmdigital.com.