How to Make More Sales This Holiday Season

ChannelAdvisor is out with a white paper on the results of their 2010 Consumer Shopping Habits Survey, and you will love the results.

The first thing that you will notice in the report is that 59% of consumers start their online shopping experience on search engines such as Google. This is why it is very important to spend the time and resources on search engine optimization for your website, especially if you engage in e-commerce. You've probably noticed that some search engines have a product search that shows you results from various online retaillers, both large and small. Good SEO will help you rank well here, too!

And while we're at it, you're probably thinking that you cannot compete with the household names such as WalMart and TigerDirect. That is simply not true! Two thirds of consumers throw brand recognition out the window and would purchase from an unknown retailer if they offer a better deal.

It doesn't matter if you are an e-commerce veteran or just getting started, remember to diversify your sales avenues. 43% of consumers say that Amazon is their first choice, while 22% hit up eBay first. This means that you can reach 65% of consumers through those two marketplaces alone! How's that for visibility?

Now here's the real kicker: 92% of consumers actively read reviews for a product. Out of that pool of consumers, 97% are influenced one way or another by the reviews. This means that product reviews can make or break you!

If you're not using social media as part of your marketing strategy, you should be. 90% of consumers are on Facebook. Facebook not only allows you to connect on a more personal level with your customers, but it also allows you to create fine-grained marketing campaigns. This is an opportunity that you should not pass up!

Finally, you need to make sure to optimize your website for mobile users. As more and more consumers are using smartphones, they also tend to browse online while waiting in long lines or shopping. And with most smartphones having the capability to scan bar codes, many consumers are actively making price comparisons online through their phone while shopping the local brick and mortar retailer. If your e-commerce website is not yet optimized for mobile browsing, you need to make that a priority prior to this holiday season!

The white paper contains more information in more detail than I covered here. It is a free download, and I encourage you to read all 10 pages of it.