| Here comes Santa Claus...here comes Santa Clause... | | | | 4. Will you be offering any specials or discounts? |
| Yep, it's almost that time again. As we head into | | | | 5. If so, on what products? |
| September, every e-commerce site should be | | | | 6. Is your site updated with all products? |
| formulating a plan for the holiday season. Even the | | | | 7. If you've moved up in the search engine rankings, is |
| sites selling the, "I hate the holidays" t-shirts. | | | | your site ready to receive more traffic or will it bog |
| Prepare or Be Doomed | | | | down? |
| You may be thinking, "It is only September. I've got four | | | | 8. Have you compiled a list of email addresses for |
| months to get ready for the holidays in December." | | | | people that bought from you last year? |
| Well, you're wrong. Let's consider a scenario. | | | | 9. Do you have your email material ready to send to |
| First, the mad dash for purchasing holiday gifts starts | | | | them? |
| early to mid-November depending on the popularity of | | | | 10. Did you make the changes to the site you wrote |
| the products on your site. The online holiday season is | | | | down from the last holiday shopping season? You |
| not in mid-December! If you agree with this position, | | | | know. The ones you swore would be done so the site |
| your preparation time is already down to two months. | | | | would really hum next season? I'll wait while you go dig |
| You're probably thinking, "Two months? Shorter than I | | | | through the notes crammed in your desk. |
| thought, but I still have plenty of time." Sure you do. | | | | Obviously, there are many other questions that can be |
| If you think two months is plenty of time, ask yourself | | | | asked. The point of this article is you should be asking |
| the following questions. | | | | them NOW! You may find two months isn't looking like |
| 1. Is your product line currently updated? | | | | nearly enough time. |
| 2. Do you have sufficient inventory? | | | | Remember, prepare for the holidays and you will clean |
| 3. What's your holiday sales slogan? | | | | up. |