Essential and Free Marketing Actions in the run-up to Christmas (Part 1)
For many businesses, the weeks leading up to Christmas represent the peak opportunity to generate revenue, followed by a surge from Boxing Day to New Year, as people spend money received as gifts. Optimising your opportunities during this period not only ensures short-term sales are maximised but also creates long-term benefits for future marketing efforts.
This will be a series of six articles, focusing on each one. If you would like to view the entire guide without waiting, which outlines the six essential marketing actions that every business should take, all of which can be implemented in a single day, click here.
1: Before you do anything else: Double-check your website UX
Sometimes, in the rush and excitement of new marketing ideas, people overlook the simplest and most important aspect of sales: their website. Your website is the primary converter and destination for most of your new prospects, and you can anticipate an increase in traffic during December.
If there are any flaws in the user experience, these will become apparent with every visitor to your site. This represents an opportunity cost, as you may not realise the sales you have sacrificed – but they will undoubtedly have been lost.
For example, yesterday a customer asked me to review their business website. Within five minutes, I had identified several broken links, but worse still, their drop-down menus were blank. This had been the case for several months without being noticed. Any visitors to the site would have been unable to navigate to key pages, although the site appeared functional as the main menu was still visible.
Unless you take the time to visit your own site and actively explore its features – for example, hovering over drop-down menus – you might remain unaware of such issues. Even a technical audit might not catch them, as the site could still pass basic functionality checks.
Actions:
- Take an hour to work your way through various pages and navigation paths on your site.
- Run a technical audit (you can search for ‘broken link checkers’ on Google), but always regularly use your own website.
Keep in mind that even an automatic software update can ‘break’ elements without your knowledge.
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The ' Essential and Free Marketing Action' guide was written by Elliot Forte of Business Think.
If you have any questions or would like to work with Business Think to improve your marketing performance, please email: info@businessthink.co.uk for more details. Click here to download the full guide in PDF format.
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Elliot Forte is a business consultant and Director at Business Think, bringing over three decades of expertise in consultancy, marketing, and strategic planning. Known for his innovative approaches and practical insights,
Beyond his consultancy role, Elliot is a published author of three highly regarded business books that delve into strategy, leadership, and marketing. His passion for knowledge-sharing extends to academia, where he teaches graduate and postgraduate courses in strategy and marketing at university.
Elliot is also the creator of the Life-Led Business Programme, an innovative framework designed to help entrepreneurs and business leaders balance professional success with personal fulfillment, with a focus on individual well-being.
Based in the picturesque town of Bude, North Cornwall, his consultancy work extends well beyond the region, supporting businesses across the UK and North America.
Photo credit for featured image: Roman Odintsov (Pexels.com)
