How to prepare an online shop for 8 March

In the first days of spring, businesses prepare for International Women's Day on 8 March. Every marketer simply has to think about getting the site ready for the occasion. The aim is not only to sell more but to pay attention to the women in your audience. 

Where to start  

Any large event calls for preparation as early as possible. If you run an email campaign, write letters with greetings. You do not have to sell anything in them — although a brief mention of holiday discounts would be perfectly appropriate. 

Dressing the site up for the occasion 

The next step is the site's design for the occasion. Themed banners, a header, photographs and other elements create a festive atmosphere and show that you remember a day that matters to the women who buy from you. 

All of that applies to 8 March and to other holidays. Only the particular theme and the styling differ. 

If you are selling special products or running promotions, you can create a separate landing page with information about the holiday offers. We recommend putting a link to it in your email. 

The product range 

Plenty of mistakes are made when working with the products, and they turn into lost profit or even damage to the shop's reputation. What should be taken into account when preparing?

• The occasion will affect everyone, whatever you sell. Even if it is a car parts shop, it makes sense to prepare for 8 March and other holidays. 

• Stock availability. Make sure every popular product is in the warehouse in sufficient quantity. Every unavailable item turns into lost profit. 

• Think through your special offers. Put together gift sets for the occasion, and work out the discounts and bonuses for your customers. 

• If you can, provide gift wrapping for the products or greeting cards. Personalised greetings would be the finest touch of all. 

Communicating with your visitors 

Talking with visitors, and the service you give them, matter greatly to successful sales:

• Remember that traffic to the site rises on holidays — sometimes by an order of magnitude. It is important that the site works correctly under that load, and for that it needs good hosting and a technical audit, which will reveal the shortcomings and the factors slowing the site down. 

• Be sure to state how your site will operate over the holidays, and to spell out the terms for sending orders and so on. 

• Make sure customers can get through to you or send a message easily. Check every channel of communication. A failure would be unwelcome even on a working day; over a holiday such problems can turn into a scandal. 

• When talking to customers, make only the promises you will certainly keep. Be careful about taking on obligations. 

• Think through your returns system and check how your logistics work. Everything has to be at its best here as well. 

Summary

Preparing an online shop to work over the holidays touches the technical state of the site, its design, how communication with customers is organised, and the buying and sending of goods. Get it all right and keep the system running without failures, and you will make a serious profit, attract loyal customers and improve the shop's reputation.