‘Tis the season to ring up online sales. If, that is, you prepare for it.
Golfballs.com Inc., of Lafayette, La., constantly tweaks its site during the holidays and watches the results with analytics software from Omniture Inc. of Orem, Utah. This approach has helped the company figure out some winning strategies.
For instance, PoolDawg.com Inc., an online seller of pool cues based in Lafayette, Colo., avoids buying ads on broad terms such as “billiards,” instead focusing on brands it sells, such as “Scorpion pool cues.”
Among the most important social sites for small companies are those where consumers post reviews of local businesses, such as Citysearch and Yelp. Matt McGee, director of strategic search at KeyRelevance, a search-marketing agency based in Dallas, recommends that businesses find ways to address poor reviews as well as encourage their loyal customers to write positive reviews.
A strong presence on review sites “encourages other shoppers to become customers, it’s good word-of-mouth marketing and can have long-term impact in the search engines, which often award better rankings to well-reviewed businesses,” Mr. McGee says.
KEEP UP WITH EMAIL Lots of companies send out regular messages to customers who sign up for email lists, giving them special offers and letting them know about new products or providing other information.
Finale Dessert Co., a high-end dessert maker that operates four cafés in Boston, relies on an email service from Constant Contact Inc. to publicize events and new desserts among more than 14,000 customers who have signed up. The company is trying something different for the holidays this year.
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