Today is Cyber Monday in the USA. It's said that after a 3 day weekend of holiday gift shopping in local stores, Americans will secretly spend several hours of their work day today shopping on the internet for the things they could not find over the weekend.
This is the day that the e-commerce websites have waited for; this is the day that e-commerce sites find out if their website is attractive, or if the navigation works, or if they have the right prices, or if their AdWords campaigns are on target.
Perhaps it's not a make-or-break day for e-commerce sites, but it sure is a good barometer early enough in the season to review analytics and make changes.
On the other hand, the brick and mortar stores are either reveling or reeling from the last 3 days of sales.
Starting today, and continuing for the next few days we will talk about some website tactics that, if used correctly, could help draw more foot traffic into your store.
Our first such tactic is an obvious one, and an old one: Use your website to educate.
Many jewelry sites have 4Cs, birthstone and gemstone information. Even though that information is readily available on many sites, you should still have it on yours. You don't want your customer to leave your site for any reason, even for a bit of light reading.
While you educate your customers you are establishing a trust relationship. It might be true that every jeweler can rattle off the 4Cs and what makes one SI1 better than another SI1, but the younger generation shopping for their first engagement ring needs your tutelage, your guidance, your expertise. While you give it to them, you are also planting a firm first impression that will stay with them for a lifetime. First impressions and customer service could easily land you that lifetime loyal customer.
Presentation of this educational information is important. The new audience will easily consume video or photos before they stop to read. The presentation needs to be attractive, user friendly and accessible on the myriad devices that your audience is using.
Here's something else to think about: The twenty-something consumer may have just graduated college or is still attending. At that age, the learning process still comes very easily because of college conditioning, so don't be afraid to include a lot of technical details. Although, if you are producing video and expect a twenty-something to watch it, then you will need to include whatever style currently appeals to them, including pop culture.
