Get Ready for Q4 Now!

It’s the same conversation every year. “Hey, it’s October, have you launched your Q4 offers yet?”

 If you’re an online retailer, you know that Q4 is a critical time. 

The reality is that the most successful businesses are already running ads by the end of September, and planning for Q4 and all of their offers months in advance. 

Q4 is a competitive time for businesses, but the secret is that you, too, can plan effectively and maximize your earnings. Here’s how:

Do you have inventory to sell?

If not, you need to order soon. October and November are typically the busiest months for online shopping, so you don’t want to get caught without enough product. Make sure you have enough to meet customer demand!  

No one wants to wait until the last minute to do their holiday shopping, only to find out that the items they ordered won’t arrive until after Christmas.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you also want to make sure that you have enough inventory for Q1 as well– manufacturing times can be unpredictable, especially now, so you want to save yourself the trouble for both quarters.There are backup methods, but you need to be planning now.

Your business needs a wellness check!

Now is a good time to take a step back and assess your business as a whole. 

Is your audience ready for this? 

Are they going to be responsive to your outreach? 

It would be a waste of your time and energy to prepare all of your great offers, and then find out that your audience simply isn’t responding to your engagement… 

What could a 60-day warm-up do for you?

…but guess what? You can fix a cold audience with a 60-day warm-up! 

Start by identifying the channels you have and which ones aren’t performing like you wish they would. The 60 days before Q4 is great for this. Start engaging your email lists, abandoned social channels, etc., in those 60 days to get your audience prepped and ready. You don’t want to test offers or start offering ads when you want to be converting your audience, so timing is key. 

Plan, plan, plan… your offers!

Your product might be great, but if you don’t have attractive offers, customers might not bite. This is the time to start planning your holiday offers. 

What kind of discounts can you give? 

What kind of bundle deals can you create?

 Are there any partnerships you can build? 

These are the questions you should be asking as you figure out your offers. Get creative, and think about what would make your audience EXCITED to purchase from you.

Finalize your Q4 offers and outreach

After you have your offers finalized, next, you’ll want to plan your outreach and engagement plans well in advance of Q4. Schedule your social content well in advance, and finalize details if you are using influencers or partners in your offers. Again, the last thing you want to be doing in Q4 is planning or catching up when you should be managing an exciting period of growth. 

It’s important to remember that success doesn’t happen overnight. Make sure you plan ahead and put the necessary systems in place so that your business can thrive during the holiday season and beyond! 

Shopify -or- Kickstarter? That is the question!

Take the quiz to find out where you should launch your first (or next) product

Take the quiz to find out where you should launch your first (or next) product